Marianne Home Inn: Our “Home” in Palawan

Our trip to Palawan was made possible because we clinched a promo in Cash Cash Pinoy. The promo gave us 3 days and 2 nights stay in Marianne Home Inn.

Unfortunately, the hotel has no available room during our first night in Puerto Princesa so we had to do an overnight sleep in Balay Inato. This incident, however, was not a hassle since Maple Tours (sister company of Marianne Home Inn and the one that offered the promo) arranged our transfer to Balay Inato.

Marianne Home Inn is just a simple hotel. It doesn’t have a restaurant like in Balay Inato. It doesn’t have an infinity pool like the fancy hotels in the Palawan. It is just a plain and simple hotel and that’s what I like about it.

(Source: Marianne Home Inn website)

We were assigned to their Standard Room that has a bed for two guests. The room is clean and everything was in order. Our room has a hot-and-cold shower. My favorite would be the cable TV because I was able to watch my favorite cartoons (yes, I’m still a kid when it comes to TV shows) and other interesting channels.

Marianne Home Inn’s website mentioned that there is a free WiFi but I was not able to use it because I brought my own Smart Bro plug it.

Another plus point for Marianne Home Inn is that it is conveniently located in the heart of Puerto Princesa City. It is just a few steps away from the palengke, grocery, and restaurants. It was easy for us to go to the nearest drugstore where we bought meds for Lei.

There are tricycles in front of the hotel so we didn’t have a hard time getting a ride when we did our DIY Puerto Princesa City tour.

Another plus point is their complimentary breakfast, which we truly enjoyed. The hotel served us simple breakfast of fried rice with egg and fried danggit or longganisa.

We paid 6,000 pesos for the Cash Cash Pimoy promo and we got 3 days and 2 nights hotel stay, free airport transfers (arrival and departure), Honda Bay Tour for two, and complimentary breakfasts. The hotel staff, including the driver that brought us to the airport, were very accommodating I believe that we got great value for our money.

I am all praises to Marianne Home Inn and I highly recommend this hotel to everyone. Budget travellers (like me) and backpackers will definitely like this place. The only problem with Marianne Home Inn would be the lack of an elevator thus making it not recommendable for people with disability (PWD) and senior citizens.
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Second Night in Puerto Princesa: Sisig Night at Kinabuch’s

Our trip to Puerto Princesa will never be complete without tingling our taste buds with any Palaweño delicacy. So, we shunned Jollibee and Mang Inasal and went to local restaurants to taste the pride of Puerto Princesa City.

For our first night, we dined at Haim Chicken Inato where we enjoyed the Palaweño-styled chicken inasal.

I wanted our next dinner date to be as good as our first, so I googled for the best restaurants in Puerto Princesa. I searched for a restaurant with good food but not heavy on the budget (we’re on a budget trip after all). TripAdvisor listed 77 restaurants in Puerto Princesa City and of the top 10, we chose Kinabuch’s Grill and Bar.

Kinabuch’s was crowded and almost all of the table were occupied. I guess being in the top 10 list of TripAdvisor drew this crowd. A staff immediately approached and brought us to a bar styled table with high stools.

I didn’t like the table assigned to us but I didn’t complain. We were here for the food so this was not a problem. Well, at least we got best view of the pool table. I wished, though, that Efren “Bata” Reyes was the one playing.

My Beloved Wife Lei wasn’t feeling well that night. She was exhausted of the all the snorkeling, beaching, and island hopping during our Honda Bay Tour. She’s even on the brink of a having a flu.

Since Lei didn’t want to eat anything, we just ordered one hot plate of Sizzling Seafood Sisig, two cups of rice and canned softdrinks.

I brought Lei to Kinabuch’s so that she could taste their famous crocodile dishes. I already tasted crocodile meat in Australia, which I enjoyed. I wanted to share that experience with her but she didn’t have the appetite for it.

Kinabuch’s offers three crocodile dishes: the Croc Adobado, Croc a la Bicol Express, and Croc Sisig. Each of them costs 345 pesos per order.

I also wanted to try their famous tamilok dishes then decided against it. Lei didn’t want to try tamilok and I also thought that I might not like it (and waste money on it). Tamilok is a kind of woodworm which is actually a relative of oysters and other shellfish. It is the most exotic food in Palawan.

Our Sizzling Seafood Sisig came after a few minutes of waiting. It was bon appétit for me but not for Lei. She just ate a portion of her rice and then gave them all to me.

It was a quick dinner for me. We paid the bill and then immediately returned to our hotel. My Beloved Wife needed to take a good rest.

In short, we didn’t enjoy our second dinner date in Puerto Princesa.

Kinabuch’s Sizzling Seafood Sisig tasted good but there’s nothing stellar about it. I guess I’m just comparing it with the other sisigs that I tasted in restaurants outside of Puerto Princesa. With its outdoor ambience and pool tables, I believe that Kinabuch’s is one of the best place in Puerto Princesa for beer and night outs.

We spent a total of 345 pesos for this dinner date. Our meal composed of the sizzling seafood sisig (230 pesos), garlic rice (30 pesos), plain rice (15 pesos), and two canned softdrinks (70 pesos). This not expensive and I believe that we got what we paid for.
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