Located close to the heart of Iloilo’s former central business district, Citadines was an easy choice for my friends and I who wanted to explore both the old and the modern Iloilo.

Within a 5 minute walk from the property are landmarks like the provincial capitol, two museums and a number of groceries for a quick supply run.

Within a 10 minute walk is the iconic Roberto’s and the Central Market.

A quick ride takes one to historic Jaro, the favorite La Paz Market and the new centers of business.

The hotel itself is one of the surviving hotels that have stood the test of time. It doesn’t show its age, as the refurbishment has done a great job of updating it.

The check-in counter is on the third floor.

Staff were friendly and… well, friendly. All smiles, which is an amazing ray of sunshine.

We checked in at the time when nearly all of the rooms in Iloilo were taken by a national conference. We were lucky to still have a decent room which was quiet and not connected.

The room was spacious for a twin room. Even with an additional bed, there was plenty of room to walk around. Instead of single-use water bottles, the room came with a fairly large sized water jug.

Judging from the bathroom features, our guess was that the room was designed for wheelchair access, a first for me, which makes me appreciate the inclusivity appeal of the property. There were bars on walls beside the toilet and there was no barrier separating the shower and the rest of the bathroom so people in wheelchairs can easily enter. The concept was amazing, however, the execution was not. The floor sloped AWAY from the shower so each time we took a shower, the water pooled around the toilet seat no matter how hard we tried to create a barrier of towels and floor mats. This not only made a wet mess, it was also dangerously slippery.

Breakfast was a simple fair and we wished they offered more Ilonggo flavors.