Wonder Lodge

Very clean, good sized rooms, clothes hanging facilities, towels provided, seated toilets, no hot water shower. Lovely & helpful hostess owner. Right next to transit centre, epic views from restraunt opposite. Place is littered with interesting wooden artefacts.

Ah Wonder Lodge. You take the good and the bad. I really wanted to give them a 5, but also thought that maybe a 3 would be apt. So I'll split the difference. To start, I will say that you should not expect 5-star accommodations in Banaue. Most are humble, family-run inns & homestays. I will start with the bad but please read til the end: - We booked 3 rooms (with attached bath) through the Agoda app. When we got there, manang Mildred (owner/manager) wasn't expecting us. Thankfully, they had 1 room available that we originally wanted and 2 at the "shared bath" area. They then promised to move us to the preferred rooms the next day when other guests move out. It turns out, a helpful former guest set up the Agoda account and just informs them of bookings. They were not informed in this case. - The third floor rooms (shared bathroom), do not have working electrical outlets. Guests whould have to plug at the hallway near the stairs I think. - The balconies do not have light bulbs. To be fair, they offered to put bulbs, we just declined because we didn't really need it. - If you ask breakfast to be prepared by a certain time, they may not be able to make it on time especially if there are many other guests who request breakfast. To be fair again, we asked for times which we ourselves didn't end up meeting. But this could be a problem for more time conscious guests. - It is dated all over the place, but I'm not so concerned with that. Others might be though. Now for the good: - They did a lot for us but one that stands out is the extra mile they went to help my son and dad who got sick at separate times. Some of those who helped, I don't think were even employed by the hotel. I believe they were relatives. - When our vehicle's brakes needed replacing, one of the staff, manang Elsie accompanied me every step of the way to help with connections and the dialect. - Elsie also served as our tour guide and we were quite happy with her knowledge and personal stories. - As mentioned, they were very attentive and accommodating with our requests. - One night, 2 non-Filipino tourists came in, presumably from an ill-advised long hike. If I'm not mistaken they were unable to withdraw money at that hour. They requested to have just any food that can be spared. Thankfully there were some leftovers so they were able to eat. I believe they also stayed the night (not sure if they had to pay) - The food was really good. - Interesting note: they had a lot of letters/testimonials posted on their wall that were written in Hebrew. It looks like they get a good number of guests from Israel. Mildred even learned how to cook some Israeli dishes. Even the restaurant beside them (Las Vegas) had Israeli dishes in their menu. Other notes: - Most hotels in the area will not have their own parking spots. You would park at the nearby market overnight for a fee. Note that if you don't remove your vehicle during the day, you might get complaints from Jeepney drivers who use that lot. - The view from the hotel is mostly the street. You do get a glimpse of the terraces between the buildings though. - It could get noisy on the street late at night. Lots of drinking going on when we were there. I really hope this hotel finds more success in the future. I wish they are able to renovate/update eventually. It doesn't need to be extravagant. And I hope they are able to properly utilize online booking sites because this could be a good source of business for them.