When I saw that Batanes Seaside Hotel has a hotel room perfect for five adults, I instantly clicked Book Now! A hotel room for five people perfectly checks off our usual family accommodation dilemma – comfortable beds for everyone and picky parents who you can’t put in a homestay/hostel. I knew its the perfect Batanes hotel to stay in.
Going to Batanes with your family? Read my 5 Days in Batanes: DIY Itinerary and Travel Guide
Batanes Seaside Hotel
Batanes Seaside Hotel, across Batanelco, is located in the town of Basco and less than 10 minutes away from the airport. It is the first and pioneer Batanes hotel in the whole province and quite has a name in regards to Batanes hotels.
My boyfriend was the one who told me about this because it is where he stayed before on his government dispatch. He was so sure my parents would love it there because, despite its homey-vibes (which technically all Batanes hotel and homestays have), it still has the hotel service and experience.
If you’re expecting something hotel-like, we’ll share the same first impression. The whole hotel looks like a big house with a big balcony and a rooftop. The interior as well made me reminisce about our old house in Bulacan. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the place doesn’t look old, but it has that typical, and I’m crossing the modern homes here, provincial Filipino big house. Red tiles, big wooden staircase, mirrors or paintings on empty walls, electric fans around and those cute drop lights, yep, big provincial home energy.
THE FAMILY ROOM
The room is modern, contradicting the theme of the hotel’s commonplace.
Anyway, all of you who grew up in a family of 5 would understand how hard it is to look for the perfect accommodation. It’s either you squeeze yourselves or splurge because a standard family room only accommodates four adults, and booking two rooms can be expensive. But Batanes Seaside Hotel’s family room consists of two queen beds and one single bed. Say goodbye to that extra bed on the floor or squeezing three people on a double bed. And can I just add that even though that there are three beds, there’s still enough space to walk around and for your baggage.
The room has towels, a vanity table, refrigerator, television, AC, electric fan, cabinet, bedside table with lamp and Bible, and a toilet and shower with heater (yahoo!). This costs P5,500 for a night inclusion of breakfast for five people. Not bad, for me.
Now let’s talk about the bed. It is the standard hotel bed – thick and comfortable that you wouldn’t want to get out off. It has clean white sheets and comforter because it is cold in the mornings. They’re generous with pillows too. I’m not sure with its size, but my sister and I (medium-sized) comfortably fit in it.
are tNOW LET ME TOUR YOU AROUND THIS BATANES HOTEL
Batanes Seaside Hotel is along National Road with no gate or fence around it. There’s only parking in front where you can park your rented motorbikes and some wooden benches for waiting. As you enter the hotel, the reception with a Batanes trademark of stone wall and the holding area are the first things you’ll see. It is mostly unmanned. It’s an Ivatan trait that you’ll understand when you got there.
Just beside the reception area, near the staircase, there are rooms already. The reception is seldom busy, only when guests arrive from their flight to check-in, so I think noise won’t be a problem when you stay in these rooms. It is also an advantage if you’re traveling with seniors since they won’t be needing to use the stairs.
The staircase will be the next one you’ll see after the reception area. It is decorated with various Batanes photos, paintings, and facts to know. The basement is the dining area/restaurant of the hotel. The hotel admin’s office is also here in case you need something. And most importantly, the hotel’s router is situated here, so the WI-FI is the strongest on this floor.
The basement dining hall
The second floor, on the other hand, has most of the rooms, including ours. There’s a common area in the middle that resembles a sala, and there are open doors that lead to the front and backside balconies. The balconies are a great place to have your coffee in the morning. The front terrace has a road and mountain view while the back balcony has the ocean view. I prefer the ocean view.
And lastly, I explored the rooftop, but it was just an empty area, no chairs and anything.
LET’S TALK ABOUT SERVICE
Airport transport service
Included in your stay in Batanes hotels is a free airport transfer service via van. I was contacted by the hotel days before to ask for our flight details, and upon our arrival, I saw a lady, in a Batanes Seaside Hotel uniform, holding a placard with my name outside the airport. The van we rode was spacious and clean and was the same van we rode on our way home.
Check-in/out
Since all of the flights in/from Batanes is in the morning, their check-in and out is not the standard 2 PM and 12NN. Check-in time is at 9:30 AM, but we arrived around 8 AM, so they offer us our breakfast first (NOTE: Breakfast on your arrival day is not included, you can either pay for this or transfer your last day’s breakfast to this day. We chose the latter). They gave us our room at 9 AM, clean and ready. Checking out, as well, is easy and fast.
Inclusive Breakfast
Every night, the receptionist’s going to give you a piece of paper that has all the breakfast set meal for tomorrow. You just need to put a check in the meal you/family wanted and return it to them. In the morning, you just need to say your room number in the kitchen crew in charge and wait for your breakfast. It took some time, maybe around 20-25 minutes, for them to serve the meal.
Their breakfast set meal is your typical Filipino breakfast – hamsilog, bangusilog, hotsilog, tocilog, pancakes, and their Ivatan dish lunis. You can choose to change your rice into toast too.
NOTE: Inform them if you’re going to have your Sabtang tour, they’ll prepare your meal at 5 AM because tour usually starts at 5:45 AM.
ROOM SERVICE
One thing I love about hotels is that after your tour around the place, you’ll end up with a clean room and a fixed bed. I’ve been using Airbnb and hostels for so long that I appreciate how they clean up our room every day. And new towels too.
IS IT WORTH IT?
It’s a yes for me, especially if there are 5 to 6 people in your travel group. I tried to search for an affordable homestay that can accommodate that number, but it’s either a bunk bedroom or two separate rooms. And imagine that two rooms in a Batanes hotel or homestay can cost me 20k PHP, only 2,000 PHP cheaper than this room in Batanes Seaside Hotel. One person (assuming you are 5 in the group) has to pay around P4500 for four nights here. In terms of price, I know it’s a little steep for budget travellers, but if you are into comfortable travel at a reasonable price, this is perfect.
And if like me, you are travelling with your boomer or senior parents, this is an automatic thumbs up for them.
If you’ve already stayed in Batanes Seaside Hotel or planning to stay soon? We can talk on the comment section below! I have other accommodation reviews in the Where to Stay section of the blog.
