A night at the Grand Summit Hotel Gensan

Before the Christmas rush set in, a couple of friends and I were invited for a quick trip to General Santos City.

We will be staying at the newly-opened Grand Summit Hotel Gensan, which is Robinsons Hotels and Resorts’ new upscale hotel brand.

Once we entered the hotel, you can still get the “smell” of a new establishment. We were warmly greeted by the front desk staff.

I made a quick look at the ground floor of the hotel while waiting for our key cards.

The lobby was quite spacious with the lounging area on the left side of the check-in area. To the right was the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, Café Summit. More on the food later.

The hotel’s front desk staff warmly greeted us when we arrived. They efficiently assisted us with our check-in. For your check-in, they also have self-check-in kiosks that you can use.

THE ROOM

We will be staying at the twin deluxe rooms on the second floor of the hotel.

I think the twin deluxe room that we stayed in was well appointed. It is what you would expect from a four-star hotel.

When my roommate and I entered the room, we were greeted by a small entryway. To the left of it were the closet and the minibar.

Inside the closet, there was also an iron and an ironing board. It was also interesting to note that there is a fire extinguisher near the closet. I think it is the first time I saw one in a room; or, perhaps, this is the first time I am noticing one in a room.

At the mini bar were bottles of water, a water heater, cups, and complimentary tea and coffee.

Across the closet and minibar was the bathroom, which was also well-appointed. On the sink, you will find personal hygiene kits, dental kits, combs, and sanitary bags. Mounted on the wall were the lotion and soap dispensers. Beside it was a hairdryer.

The room has a standard hot and cold shower. Mounted on the wall were dispensers for the body wash and shampoo.

Meanwhile, there are two single beds in the room. Placed at the end of each of the beds were health kits, which contained a face mask, alcohol wipes, and gloves.

The beds were comfortable as I had a very comfortable sleep during our stay here. The best part was the pillows, which were quite big, fluffy, and also comfortable to rest on.

*The room’s comfortable beds and fluffy pillows*

In front of the beds was the flat-screen TV. Then at the corner of the room near the window was a table and chair. On the table were some delicious chocolates, the hotel’s welcome gift to us. There is also a lounge chair in front of the table.

The view from our room was not much but you can still Mt. Matutum from where we were staying.

Overall, I find the twin deluxe room to be quite nice. The room was well appointed with the things you will need for a comfortable stay in General Santos City.

DINING AT CAFE SUMMIT

The hotel’s all dining restaurant is the Café Summit, which offers classic Filipino dishes with some Indonesian in there.

The restaurant offers a variety of seating options. For families, the regular dining tables and chairs in the main dining area would be great. For smaller groups or those who want a bit of privacy, the booths near the bar would be best for you. There is also a private dining area for those who want a more intimate dining experience.

There is also a bar at the front of the restaurant. I think this is the best place to have a drink in the evenings.

For our lunch here, we were served Shrimp Gambas (Peeled shrimps tossed in Aglio e Olio, herbs, and spices topped with crispy garlic), Cream of Brocolli, Stir-fried vegetables, Tuna Sotokil (Tuna belly sinugba, tuna loin kinilaw, tuna belly tola), and for our main course, Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Chicken. For dessert, we were served calamansi cheesecake. For our drink, we were given fresh buko juice, which was a refreshing drink on a hot day in General Santos City.

The stars of the lunch were the Shrimp Gambas, Cream of Brocolli, and the Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Chicken.

The Shrimp Gambas and the Cream of Mushroom Soup were flavorful. It was a great way to start the meal.

The Roasted Chicken was delicious too. I like how the chicken was not dry. The gravy and roasted vegetables that came with it were good too.

Meanwhile, for dinner, we were served the Caesar Salad, Chicken Satay with peanut sauce, Pork Crackling Kare-Kare, Crispy Canton Noodles, and Fish fillet in oyster sauce.

*The Grand was a concoction of Grand Marnier, Black Label, Vodka, and Lemon*

To start the dinner we were served their signature cocktail drink — The Grand. The Grand was a concoction of Grand Marnier, Black Label, Vodka, and Lemon. This was one hell of a cocktail and definitely a “traitor.” (LOL) It was a sweet cocktail making you want to make one sip after another. But once you stand, the alcohol just hits you. It was a very good cocktail but the alcohol in this one was just strong.

I liked all the food that was served during dinner. The Caesar Salad was a good way to start our meal. It was the classic Caesar Salad but the garlic croutons made this salad better. The Chicken Satay was grilled well and the peanut sauce that came with it was delicious.

The sauce of the Crispy Canton Noodles was also good. It was sweet and salty. I also like the way they served in wherein they poured the sauce on the noodles at the table.

For the Pork Crackling Kare-Kare, the pork crackling was crunchy. Similar to the Crispy Canton Noodles, they pour the kare-kare sauce over the pork crackling at your table. This was also a good dish overall.

Lastly, the fish fillet dish, which was not yet added to the current menu, was flavorful too.

For dessert, we had the Grand Chocolate Cake, which is a moist cocoa cake in semi-sweet ganache. This was a delicious slice of chocolate cake. I also like that you still get the bittersweet flavor from the cocoa. The cake was also not very sweet.

For breakfast, the Grand Summit Hotel serves ala carte on weekdays while the buffet is on weekends or when they have a lot of guests at the hotel. We were leaving the hotel on a weekday, hence, it will be an ala carte meal.

*Filipino Breakfast — two eggs, choice of tuna longganisa, chicken tocino, and boneless bangus, choice of plain or garlic rice, fruit bowl, and choice of coffee, milk, tea, or juice*

For their breakfast, your options were Filipino Breakfast (two eggs, choice of tuna longganisa, chicken tocino, and boneless bangus, and choice of plain or garlic rice), American Breakfast (Chocolate or corn cereals, two eggs, ham or corned beef, and whole or wheat bread), Chinese Breakfast (two eggs, congee or egg noodle soup topped with chicken or pork), and Hearty Breakfast (plain or Greek yogurt, whole wheat bread, and white omelet filled with mushroom, onions, tomato, and water spinach). Each meal comes with a serving of fruits and your choice of fruit juices, coffee, tea, or milk.

I went for the Filipino Breakfast and opted for garlic rice, scrambled eggs, and tuna longganisa. I liked how everything tasted on my plate but I think they could add one more piece of tuna longganisa there.

Overall, I liked what we ate at the Grand Summit Hotel. I think the food was quite good across the board. However, I did note that it could take a while for the food to be served, around 20 to 30 minutes. Hence, if you will be dining here, you might want to make some prior arrangements.

SERVICE and OTHER AMENITIES

Recently, the hotel has opened its swimming pool. However, during our visit, it was still close then. But based on the photos, the pool looks nice and features a pool bar.

The hotel has three function rooms that can currently accommodate around 30 persons each. Two of the three rooms can be connected. The hotel is also currently on track with completing its grand ballroom that could accommodate some 500 persons.

For those who need to get some things done online, the hotel has WiFi, which was quite fast. There is also a business center in the lobby that you could use if you do not have a laptop with you and need to get some things done online.

In terms of its service, I was happy with it overall. The staff was welcoming and accommodating. However, I think they just need to improve a bit more on the dining service because it could take a while for the food to be served.

BOTTOMLINE

It was a pleasant stay at the Grand Summit Hotel. I liked the overall vibe of the hotel.

The highlight of the stay for me was the hotel’s bed and pillows. They were simply comfortable to sleep on.

The food at Café Summit was also good too though they could probably improve more on the serving time.

I would recommend those coming to General Santos to spend the night here. I think the hotel is a good place to stay for those coming to the city for business or leisure purposes.

Aside from staying at the Grand Summit Hotel, we also visited the Strawberry Guyabano Farm in Kablon, Tupi. More on that in my next post!