Affordable hotel living at Alpa City Suites

CEBU, Philippines - Hotels that follow the European standards are clean and the amenities, such as the shower, the television and airconditioning, are working properly.

This is what Marc Kerckhofs, a Belgian national, had in mind when he invested on the Alpa City Suites located along Hernan Cortes cor. F. Cabahug streets.

"Our mission is to follow European standards. The rooms must be clean that it would be possible to eat from the floor. All the amenities in the room should also be working properly. What good is a nice cozy room if the airconditioning is not functioning properly or when the faucets do not have water," he said.

Kerckhofs took over as president and owner of Alpa City Suites in May 2010. He is also the owner and general manager of New Horizon Hotel in Manila. Surprisingly, though, Kerckhofs did not have any background in the hotel industry.

An electronics engineer by profession, he first came to the Philippines to work for the electronics company Phillips, where he managed a factory in Laguna. After three years, he went back to Belgium. He then found himself missing the Philippines so he came back and used the money he has saved to open the New Horizon Hotel along EDSA. Three years after, he invested on another hotel, the Alpa City Suites.

"When I was young, I wanted to be a cook but my mother said that I should be an engineer. I have always been fascinated with the hospitality industry. I am living my dream with these hotels," he said.

Being familiar with the standards of hotels in Europe, Kerckhofs worked on applying these standards to his hotels.

"The rooms in Alpa City Suites are all studio type, which means that all have kitchenettes and big refrigerators. Even with these type of amenities, our rooms are at affordable rates," he said, adding that rooms at Alpa City Suites start are available at P2,500 net with breakfast for two.

"In our hotel, all prices are net. Just like in Europe, we do not have ++ so there are no unpleasant surprises for the guests," he said.

Alpa City Suites has a total of 84 rooms and Kerckhofs said they have an average occupancy of 90 percent. Rooms are equipped with LCD television, a mini-bar broadband internet access, a kitchenette with a microwave oven and a 7 cubic feet refrigerator. Rooms also have an in-room electronic laptop safe and a German-technology electronic door lock system.

The hotel also has a restaurant called AMO's Café, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"We have a Belgian chef and we serve European and Asian dishes. Our breakfast buffet is quite popular," he said.

For more information about Alpa City Suites or for reservations, you can call them at 4227171 or 2381668. You can also check their website at www.alpacitysuites.com.