[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ithout so much fanfare, a new business hotel appeared in the skyline of downtown General Santos City earlier this year and in less than three months, has been packing them in – weekday travellers, tourists, businessmen and sales people, among others.  These are people who love the comforts of a business hotel that does not burst their wallets.

Yes, Columbus Plaza Hotel which is housed in a four-storey building at the corner of Osmeña and Champaca Streets is starting to be the most preferred economy business hotel now.  I slept over for a staycation weekend very recently and was able to deduce the reasons why.

This is how Gensan’s newest business hotel, Columbus Plaza, looks below.  Click on each photo for a LARGER VIEW.

I.  Location. The business hotel is right at the heart of Gensan and is a 5-minute walk to the government center including the City Hall, the city park Plaza Heneral Santos, scores of private and government banks, school campuses and restaurants. On my first night, I was able to check out the Osmeña Street’s new dining establishments on foot here and take shots of them with my Samsung phone.

 

II.  Affordability. The hotel’s room rates are very affordable and easily within budget for anybody.  Their Single Room is at P999 only, discounted from its gross price of P1,400.00 (which is actually still cheap).  Standard Rooms are at P1600 (discounted from P2,000); Premium Rooms are at P1,800 (discouned from P2,500) and Family Rooms are at P2,500 each (discounted from P3,599).  It makes perfect sense why it is a most preferred budget hotel in the Tuna Capital now, enjoying almost 100% occupancy.

Columbus Plaza Hotel Standard Room
THE COLUMBUS PLAZA HOTEL STANDARD ROOM WHERE I STAYED
Columbus Plaza Hotel Standard Room
THE COLUMBUS PLAZA HOTEL STANDARD ROOM

III. Accessibility to Public Transportation.  Columbus Plaza Hotel is right at the crossroads of the city’s major streets. The most preferred and the cheapest form of public transportation here, the TRICYCLE can be hailed easily as soon as you get out of the hotel’s doors. From here, I just flagged a tricycle to take me to SM City General Santos and was poorer by only P8.00.

IV.  Room Features and Amenities. Columbus Plaza Hotel’s might be super affordable being a budget business hotel but the owners did not scrimp on the features and amenities in each rooom.  They are all equipped with hot and cold showers, individual airconditioning, LED Cable TV, PABX System and Electronic Lock Door System.  The bed mattresses, lines, bath towels are of good quality plus they have their own official toiletries. Everything felt luxurious and I felt pampered. CLICK ON EACH PHOTO FOR A LARGER VIEW.

V. Ease of Access to Upper Floors. An elevator that leads up to the fourth floor is available for all guests. This is actually good news to people who hate using the stairs (like me) or guests who are always in a hurry (again, like me).

VI.  Free Breakfast for each occupancy.  A single room comes with a Free Breakfast while Standard, Premium and Family Rooms are provided wtih Two (2). All these are served at the Columbus Plaza Coffee Shop, which will soon be fully functional. We had korean breakfast served by the hotel’s temporary supplier and hopefully, they will have more food options soon.

COLUMBUS PLAZA HOTEL COFFEE SHOP
THE SOON-TO-BE FULLY FUNCTIONAL COLUMBUS PLAZA HOTEL COFFEE SHOP

VII. Free WIFI. For the traveller and hotel client who need to be online, they can gain access to each floor’s wifi hotspot for FREE.  I had the time of my life using their decently fast internet connection while sharing on social media and doing work on my blog in the comforts and privacy of my 3rd floor room up to midnight while watching the news on cable.

VIII. Multiple Dining Choices. Columbus Plaza Hotel also house various dining establishments. It has a very afordable Korean Restaurant (Park’s Cuisine), a Pizza Parlor (Pizzakaya) and a small homey Cafe (Kopi Covana Cafe).  I have been to these three and I must say, all are highly recommended for your eating pleasure.

IX. Airport Transfer. For hotel guests flying in and out of Gensan, they can avail of the hotel’s van to pick them or bring them to the General Santos City International Airport.  They may also ask to be transported to any destination in the city pending its availability and for just a small fee.

COLUMBUS PLAZA HOTEL VAN
THE COLUMBUS PLAZA HOTEL VAN USED FOR AIRPORT TRANSFERS

X. Board Room.  There is an available mini conference or function room for guests who want to conduct a meeting here. The room can accommodate 20 persons.  Food can be ordered from the hotel’s concessionaires.

XI.  Security. Columbus Plaza Hotel has 24-hour security and is located in a peaceful dining and entertainment district of downtown Gensan so you can feel safe here and elsewhere. Walk around, tour the other establishments at night or go enjoy the beautiful Plaza Heneral Santos where local peace and order personnel will smile at you and make you feel at home.

XII. Online Booking.  You may book or reserve your scheduled stay online.  Just go to www.columbusplazahotel.com and Zoom, you can have your room right away.

COLUMBUS PLAZA HOTEL WEBSITE SCREENSHOT
A SCREENSHOT OF THE HOMEPAGE OF THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF COLUMBUS PLAZA HOTEL

Those are just twelve reasons we came up with after my pleasurable stay at Columbus Plaza Hotel.  I am sure that you will be adding your own once you decide to check it out and realise why it is becoming to be a most preferred budget friendly business hotel in downtown GenSan that is available for any discriminating and frugal traveller to the city.

columbus plaza hotel lobby

For more information, you may contact Columbus Plaza Hotel at any of these numbers: (083) 552-7998, 552-7990, 0977-8053315, 0926-6226495.