Verbena: Comforts of home

CEBU, Philippines - This sought-after pension house among budget travelers started as a food-and-drinks station referred to as “Cozy Nook” along Don Gil Garcia Street in the late 70s, catering to construction workers and taxicab drivers.

Later on, it was transformed into a dormitory to cater to the needs of a growing number of students and office workers in the Capitol Site area.

Today, as the 45-room Verbena Pension House, it sustains providing its clients that “homey feeling” while they are out of the comforts of the real home. Some of these guests are backpackers, and some seeking medical examination services at hospitals nearby.

Says Human Resource officer/Operations manager Lendie Catubig, they are grateful that there is no such thing as a “lean season” in Verbena.

“Our primary challenge is to please our walk-in clients who have to wait to be accommodated to their requested rooms. That’s the only major concern that besets us, knowing that we have also marketed the pension house online, thus prioritizing bookings,” he explained.

However, the advantage Verbena Pension House has is that it has a sister hotel nearby, the Verbena Capitol Suites (proximate to the Cebu Provincial Capitol Building), so those who are willing to wait for pension rooms to be available can be billeted first at the Capitol Suites.

Their bestseller accommodation is the “Barkadahan Room,” offering a P500/head package with complimentary breakfast buffet at Café Tukana. The room can serve up to 12 pax. Catubig takes pride that Verbena Pension House is the only one of its kind in the city that offers buffet breakfast to guests. It is also sensitive to Muslim guests, so it opens a halal station.

On the top floor of the four-storey Verbena Capitol Suites is an English language learning center catering to Japanese nationals. “We are happy to be of service to Japanese students learning English. They are on long stays, and we appreciate them because they are a well-disciplined lot. They even go the extra mile of picking up bits of tissue paper dropped by other guests along the corridor,” Catubig stressed.

There is also a Twin City Tour package offered at P1,250/head (minimum of four pax) to key heritage sites and tourist spots in the metro.

Verbena Capitol Suites boasts of its green practices when it comes to running its airconditioning and heating systems. Catubig pointed out that exhaust from airconditioners are being collected through a pipeline leading to a heater tank. “Our trained technician is also an electrician, plumber and aircon maintenance expert. He is responsible in designing this very efficient and eco-friendly system that collects exhaust and channel the heat energy to warm water for our showers.”

Since, in the past, Verbena Pension House figured in local news stories for having reported properly to authorities the unscrupulous activities of some of its guests, thereby leading to arrests, the experience taught them to put premium on security. “Our security system caught the ire of a British national, in fact. He accused us of overreacting to security measures, pointing out that we are the only pension house in a third-world country that demands a valid ID, and takes time to verify it. Sobra pa daw mi kaistrikto sa London,” Catubig narrated.

Both facilities offer free WiFi Internet access.

For room categories and rates, log on to www.verbenahotels.com