Iloilo is a small town about an hour plane ride away from Manila. Most people would not go to Iloilo without a purpose. We went to Iloilo because that is where my husbands developers live and work at. It is a town that is on the Panay Island and is a pretty cute little town, with a lot new development.

We stayed at the Hotel Del Rio. The hotel offered free breakfast in the mornings, the staff was very welcoming and polite. They had some beautiful weddings while we stayed there. We used the pool once while we were there, but we did have a beautiful terraced room that overlooked the Iloilo river.  Some of the rooms are quite modern and some of them have only been “renovated” and still have a bit of outdated furniture in them.

The town has a lot of great restaurants. Close to the Hotel Del Rio there is a part of the town called Smallville. Smallville is known to be a popular with the locals where they go to eat, drink and spend a fun night out on the town. The term Smallville refers to the original row of restaurants, bars, and clubs but due to several expansions in the area, it now refers to the whole series of buildings formally known as Pison Complex. Within Smallville is Japanese, Filipino and Thai Cuisine, Steak Houses and even Burgers if you are so inclined. If you ask the locals what the best restaurant is in town, all of them will say Breakthrough Restaurant. Iloilo City is surrounded by bodies of water like seas and rivers. Seafood is abundant in all around the place but really only a few cook as good as here. I would recommend taking a little bit of time and going out there for dinner.