Hotel Preciosa & Grand Astoria Hotel

During our two nights of stay in Zamboanga City, we also stayed in 2 different places. This is the only trip where I did not reserved our accommodation, thinking that our arrival date is off peak period anyway, but I was wrong. From our 6:00 am arrival in Zamboanga airport, we asked the tricycle driver to take us to Hermosa Hotel, one of the inexpensive hotels in the downtown.

Upon arrival, I was surprised that they are full, and would not allow me to temporarily store our luggages. Besides, my youngest son is uncomfortable on their dark gloomy lobby, so we tried the adjacent Grand Astoria Hotel. Unfortunately, the better-looking and more expensive Grand Astoria also was running at full occupancy, yet they allowed us to temporarily store our luggage on their place.

 

Across the street from Grand Astoria Hotel is Hotel Preciosa, which we checked after our trip from Santa Cruz island. Only their smaller rooms are available that time, and we chose their twin room for Php 1,000 that night, after discount of P100 if paying in cash. From its facade on the top left photo of the collage below, we were surprised that this hotel is bigger and has more rooms, than we expected.

Hotel Preciosa has many levels and sits on two blocks, with an elevated passageway that crosses a neighborhood creek. To give you an idea on their rooms, they are pretty basic, old, and many needs refurbishments. 

Bed linens are thin, while the bathroom lavatory has leaks. They only compensate on their staff who are prompt and flexible when I asked for 2 extra pillows at no charge, plus helpful in giving us directions around the city.

 

The next day, we moved to Grand Astoria across the street, with a photo of their lobby on the top of this post. Definitely with higher hotel classification from Preciosa, they understandably also has higher room rates, but its all worth it. We got a family room with a double bed and a single bed for Php 1,500 per night. As you will see on the photos below, the room is more spacious with a dining table and a large window. 

Our room has a small refrigerator and bigger semi-flat television. It has more furniture, a bigger closet, and better linens. They provide hot & cold purified water along the corridor, with one of those dispensers just outside our doorstep. So that saved us from buying drinking water, while preparing soup or coffee from convenience stores would be less of a problem. 

They also got  an elevator, a wide parking space, 2 restaurants, function rooms, and other amenities. With uniformed staff, they are equally helpful, but more courteous and professional.

Both hotels we stayed at have hot & cold showers, but no breakfast inclusion. Grand Astoria provides bath soap and shampoo, while Preciosa only provide bath soap. Comparing the two hotels we tried, Grand Astoria provides more value for money spent.