Let's start with the few good experiences:
1. VIEW: The view was decent if you had a sea-view room. We had a pool and sea view, but it was cloudy for both days of our stay, so the sea always looked grey.
2. AMENITIES: The bed and pillows were very comfortable, soft yet firm. We slept in until we naturally woke up each day. The shower had good water pressure and hot water (many hotels in Cebu have weak water pressure and cold water).
There were too many bad things, so I'll list the most important ones:
Check-in:
Terrible experience! My friend and I booked the same room type. I checked in first and was told the room wasn't ready and I'd have to wait until after 3 PM. Okay. Then I waited for my friend. When she checked in, there was an available room for her. I asked the same front desk staff again, and they still said there were no rooms. Is there no first-come, first-served? Do different front desk staff have to '抢' (fight for) rooms? At 3 PM sharp, I went back to the front desk, and still no room! I was told I had to wait another 40 minutes. I complained to the manager, explaining that my friend, who checked in later, got a room right away. After waiting for just one minute, I received my room key.
Pool:
Shortly after checking in, I saw my English teacher's social media post from the same hotel. When we met and chatted, I learned that the hotel pool is open to the public. Non-guests can pay a fee to use the pool and beach. Honestly, I booked this hotel because I was attracted by the pool photos. It's located in a secluded corner, for privacy and quiet, but with outside guests, the pool just becomes a public swimming pool, packed with people. The next day was even crazier! A large group of kids came to the hotel for an event, all swarming into the pool. They even put candles directly in the pool! I peeked into the conference room and estimated about a hundred people, with the large conference room full.
Breakfast:
1. Reviews mentioned the hotel breakfast had many choices and tasted good. There were indeed many choices, but they were basically the same every day, and the taste was truly unremarkable. My 'Chinese stomach' couldn't adapt. Also, the hotel's standard cold cuts and cheese offerings were limited to two varieties each, and the quality was poor, not matching the room rate.
Service:
1. Room service: I had to call multiple times at different times of the day to get someone to answer. I called for towels and water, and each time I waited over 20 minutes.
2. Breakfast: If you went late, you always had to queue. There were few staff, and table cleaning was slow. They would assign the same table to different guests, which was quite chaotic.
3. On the day of departure, a staff member knocked on our door before 9 AM (even though the 'do not disturb' light was on). Their purpose was to confirm if any chargeable items in the room had been used.
Of course, the hotel offers a paid coffee bar and Thai restaurant, whose service and taste are a separate matter.
One more thing to note: the hotel is far, and it's difficult to get a taxi in and out. On the day of departure, guests waiting for taxis filled all the seating areas in the lobby. After checking out at 11 AM, it took a full 1 hour and 40 minutes to finally get a taxi. During this time, I also encountered a Grab system bug where two orders were assigned to one driver. Two groups of people were waiting to get in the car, and the driver randomly chose one order to confirm, like opening a blind box.
Original TextTranslation provided by AI
