CEBU
Fastest Wi-Fi in Cebu
BECAUSE of the seemingly never-ending construction that is currently doubling the size of our Casa Ruffolo dwelling and pushing our family into “alternative dwellings,” this writer has been spending his days begging off “free”
Wi-Fi service offered by various vendors and restaurants throughout greater Cebu… just to check in with Hotmail.
If you find yourself likewise Internet challenged with the drip-drip-drip connection speed of the World Wide Web here in Cebu, here are some selected venues this writer has found that you too can try which offers one form (or another) of complimentary Wi-Fi.
But it’s a good note to remember that nothing in this world is totally free, and yes, you too will have to pluck down some hard-earned pesos just to check your Gmail account.
But it’s worth it: Kotobukiya, SM Consolacion. This small family restaurant offers a pleasant Japanese theme and sometimes strong but inconsistent free Wi-Fi connections. Don’t miss out on the Pork Burger Steak with mushroom sauce. Yum yum!
Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu. Sitting at the lobby with your laptop will get you more than a long look at the bar patrons and service staff. Better not be an Internet moocher and purchase at least a soft drink. Passwords change daily.
Mactan Cebu International Airport. This may be a strange place to log onto the Net, but the lobby departure lounge has a “flamethrower” Wi-Fi connection. That is, until the entire population of Cebu shows up for their flight and—you guessed it—also connects online which makes this “free” Wi-Fi crawl along at super s l o w speeds.
Montebello Villa Hotel Cebu. Nestled away in a garden-like setting, this family-owned and operated hotel may look like it was teleported in from Madrid in 1973 but the in-room Internet is really solid and consistent. Don’t forget to bring your iPad “pool side” to surf away while munching down on some of the property’s famed fried chicken.
Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa, Cebu. Flat out, the fastest Internet connection in Cebu with nearly 1 Megabytes downloaded—per second.
Best that you sit in the Business Center to log in or the hotel staff will expect you to order up a cheeseburger and at P600. It’s a bit pricey, but the view while online is simply marvelous.
SM Malls Cebu. Throughout the city and beyond, each of the SM Malls offer one-hour free Wi-Fi Internet connections. Except there is nowhere to sit, plug in your handheld device (or laptop PC) and surf the World Wide Web, and one hour simply isn’t enough.
Want more time? Sorry, Charlie, but that’s all she wrote as the SM system will kick you offline for at least 24 hours. Come back another day and try your luck!
Bayfront Hotel Cebu. Located across the street from the SM City Cebu, this 300-plus-room hotel offers a solid Internet platform in the lobby and at the restaurant Cafe Breeze with a nice luncheon buffet you should not miss. Wi-Fi connections in the rooms are even better.
Alpa Suites Hotel. An affordable hotel located a bit south of downtown and neighboring San Vicente Village in Mandaue, this unpretentious property has made a major IT framework upgrade and now boasts a solid Internet platform. Best to forget connecting in the lobby as the in-room Wi-Fi is quite acceptable and hard wires are available for blazing hot speeds.
One other technique you can try (which has saved this writer on more than one occasion) is to purchase a portable Wi-Fi connection all your own.
Yes, you too can consistently feed this beast with reload after reload, but it really comes in handy at 3 a.m. when the good people of Cebu are sound asleep and this writer can be found wide-eyed and wide awake surfing away the midnight hours as the Internet — generally at a crawl during daytime hours — is red hot and on fire.
So, if you don’t mind losing sleep each and every night and you don’t fancy dragging your entire home office along with you to any of these (or more) establishments that offer free Wi-Fi as part of their service, then be sure to caffeine yourself into a stupor and stay up past the witching hour to check your e-mail.
Questions, comments or travel suggestions, write me at [email protected]
