Marem Catanduanes — Hotel in Virac

I usually spend my summer and celebrate my birth month in this beautiful island, but it is a hassle travelling to the most beautiful and must see places so this year I decided to avail of Marem's tour package, I tagged along a friend who's dying to see Catanduanes and very much excited to explore the island. EVERYTHING in the package went beyond my expectations! (I've been to other islands around Bicol Region and some of the tour packages I availed were just so-so, there's a lot of hidden charges and some would not even care about the guest's or traveler's comfort.) Just after we arrived at the port, we were picked up with their service vehicle, WHICH IS VERY COMFORTABLE, CLEAN, EXCELLENT AIR CONDITIONING, and on top of that, the driver, Mang Jun and the tour guide, Miss Hennie are very GENUINELY WARM and FRIENDLY. We were taken to Marem first to drop off some of our stuff we won't be needing for the tour, my first reaction upon checking in was just WOW, I just loved everything I saw! Yes, the hotel has an old facade, but that what makes it unique, "old house feels" hotels actually gives you a homey and cozy feeling than modernized hotels! The rooms are CLEAN, WELL VENTILATED, FULLY AIRCONDITIONED, and I just LOVEEEEE THE BATH TUB!!! We were so lucky to get a SUPER NICE, SPACIOUS AND "SOSYAL" feels room! Not to mention the EXCELLENT WIFI CONNECTION, which makes me wonder why some reviews here would complain about the wifi, I just don't get it, you don't need that much internet connection since you will be out all day and just enjoy the beach and sun!||||Our tour started at mid day and ended just at the right time to get some dinner, a nice hot shower and a good night sleep. Our trip was quick but definitely worth it, we woke up to a hearty breakfast waiting for us at the dining area, and Mang Jun the driver and Miss Hennie was with us til we get to the port for our trip back home.||||PROS: Every bit of it was just FUN, MEMORABLE and WE WOULD ABSOLUTELY GO BACK FOR MORE! FOOD was DELICIOUS, neatly packed and prepared and water is provided and is unlimited, since its a must to hydrate! The tour guide and driver will be with you at all times, they are very knowledgeable about each place we visit, especially the historical sites like the Bato Church, the oldest church in Catanduanes! This hotel may look expensive at first glance but it is a BUDGET hotel with a WHOLE LOT OF THINGS TO OFFER! I highly recommend their TOUR PACKAGE for a group of friends, family and maybe couples who would love to explore this wonderful island!||||MY FAVORITE PART of the TOUR: BINURONG POINT, it's a good hike, you will be sweaty but when you get to the top, you would think you're in BATANES or IRELAND!||||Tips: ||1. Make sure to put on a lot of sunscreen/sunblock if you don't want to get awful sunburns because you will forget about it while having so much fun!!!||2. There's no such thing as too many pictures, take as many as you can!||3. Enjoy each moment, but don't forget to pay respect to each place! ||||CONS: Their famous bakery closes early, we didn't have the chance to try out their goods! :(||||Thank you MAREM for our wonderful tour and stay at your hotel! We will definitely come back with more friends...

This was a working vacation for me and my kids so I needed a place that was close to the provincial capitol, fit my budget, was safe and comfy with most of the comforts of home. Marem fit the bill perfectly.||||Here's the positives of our stay:||1. Affordable - I needed a family-sized room. At Php 1350/night, we got a good room. It was on the 3rd floor though but we didn't mind the exercise. We also had a good view of the "santacruzan" procession that marked the end of the Abaca Festival during our stay.||2. Comfy - The room was spacious enough for me and three young kids. The bathroom was good (it also had a bathtub which we didn't really need).||3. Safe - I felt it was a safe place. There's also security and personnel 24/7.||4. Close to everything - The Provincial Capitol is a few minutes' walk away. So is the Youth Centermall. Other places we needed to get to where a few minutes' ride away on a tricycle. Very convenient for errands and stuff.||5. Connectivity - Wifi is good.||6. Food - It was excellent but a little pricey.||||Some not-so-good stuff:||1. We could always smell the meals of other guests because the kitchen is located under the stairwell leading to our room. Not a bad thing but not such a good thing either.||2. We had no hot water in the shower and asked to be moved to a room with hot water once available. We weren't. I guess all the rooms were fully booked.||3. Air-conditioning could not be controlled. There were times the room was just too cold.||4. Power outages - not restricted to Marem, I heard, but it does lessen the otherwise good experience.||||Overall it was a wonderful stay. I highly recommend MAREM Pension House for the budget conscious travellers especially those with families.||||Reserving a room is easy, SMS or call +639291620000. I reserved our room with just a phone call, the response time...

We decided to stay at the Marem Pension House on our visit to Catanduanes. ||We secured our date prior to going and had hoped we made the correct move.||We arrived got our room, it was up on the 3rd floor. Couple full size beds, not the most comfortable, but doable. We decided to take a shower !!!! OPP'S there was no hot water. The only hot water in the island is from a electric hot water heater directly above the shower you can adjust to your likening. However we had 5 people in the room, and we had to take a shower in regular running water, pretty cold it was no comfortable.||They only give us 3 towels and 2 wash clothes. ??? MMMM we ask for more but they did not have anymore to use.. They ask us to hang our towels and let them dry and reuse them while we were there. Only AC is in the window and 10,000 unit.||We were on the main road side and the traffic is awful and you could hear it all day and night, the windows are single pain windows. This brings me to the WIFI we had hardly and connection to the outside world. the WIFI may work a little in the early morning hours and that's about it. When regular business starts in the area the Wi-Fi is gone.||We went down to have dinner in the restaurant and ordered food but seem like everything we wanted on the menu they were out of. So we ate out the rest of the time we were there.||I have been to the Virac area 4 times over the last 8 years, this was more than likely my last trip there and if I had any questions about my decision this hotel help push it over the top, when I left that hotel after 5 days I was HOT, SWEATY AND NO CONTACT TO THE WORLD. I DO NOT RECOMMED THIS HOTEL FOR ANY KIND...