Hotel Essencia, Dumaguete: A Review

[MikeB]

1 hour ago, BrettGC said:

Not recommended:  Hotel Essencia

Just curious, why? I stayed there 3x and liked it a lot. Except the beds are rock hard, hardest I ever slept on. If you drive they have a large underground parking lot w/guard so no worries parking.

[BrettGC]

16 minutes ago, MikeB said:

Just curious, why? I stayed there 3x and liked it a lot. Except the beds are rock hard, hardest I ever slept on. If you drive they have a large underground parking lot w/guard so no worries parking.

Ok I should qualify my statement by saying not recommended for the price, there's far nicer places in Dumaguete for the same cost and cheaper. 

1.  As you said the beds.

2.  The room was dirty even after we asked them to clean it.

3.  Exposed wiring along the ceiling that would arc out occasionally.

4.  The food was mediocre even by Pinoy standards, not a real issue given that there's so many damn good restaurants in town.

5.  Booked a room for SAO's mother, brother and daughter to stay for the weekend.  Booked it as 3 adults on Agoda and on the site it said the room was good for 3 people.  They slugged us 500PHP a night for an extra bed regardless even though mother and daughter were happy to sleep in the same king sized bed and they charged us for an extra "free" breakfast each morning even though the room had been booked for 3.  This after me showing them the booking receipt.

6.  Only one person on the front desk during peak check-out times meaning it took us 90 mins to check out on a Sunday morning; unusual for The Philippines where you normally have a surplus of staff on hand in service industries.

7.  Only a minor point but only one lift working with waits of up to 10 mins which usually resulted in Bro and I having to carry Momma up the stairs to her room.

Like so many hotels in PH it's a place in decline and in drastic need of a good do-over, I can cope with that because it's normally more than made up for by the staff but unfortunately even they were lacking in this case.  

Perhaps we struck them on a bad week?

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, BrettGC said:

5.  Booked a room for SAO's mother, brother and daughter to stay for the weekend.  Booked it as 3 adults on Agoda and on the site it said the room was good for 3 people.  They slugged us 500PHP a night for an extra bed regardless even though mother and daughter were happy to sleep in the same king sized bed and they charged us for an extra "free" breakfast each morning even though the room had been booked for 3.  This after me showing them the booking receipt.

I had the same problem with Microtel MOA.  On their website when booking it says the room is good for 4 adults and two children, so I thought the price I paid had us covered.  However, in the fine print it says the rate is for two adults and 2 free children.  After a bit of arguing at the desk, I had to pay an extra p750 a night for my 13 yo "adult" daughter, including her breakfast.

[MikeB]

2 hours ago, BrettGC said:

Like so many hotels in PH it's a place in decline and in drastic need of a good do-over

Could be, it's been 2 years or so since my last visit.

I am (very thankfully) a former hotel restaurant manager so I don't expect much from a hotel restaurant. I did eat the included breakfast and it was adequate. The hotel website  lists the p500 for extra bed, maybe Agoda was misinformed. The extra charge for additional occupants is something they all seem to do, having more to do with the Filipino culture of stuffing as many as they possibly can into the smallest possible space. Both lifts were working during my visits and I stayed on the 8th fl so that's something I would have noticed. Absolutely no excuse for having 1 person on the desk during peak time. Unacceptable but sometimes emergencies happen.

The strangest thing about the rooms is that there is a glass partition in the shower facing into the room so anyone in the room can see you taking a shower and vice versa. It's visible even if the door is closed as I recall. Although there are coatings on the glass at strategic heights that block the view for "privacy". Never seen anything like that in any hotel room. My first thought was that if you were ...uh less than well-acquainted with your guest, you would have a view of what they were doing at all times. Didn't apply in my case but that's the only reason I can see.  

Thanks to whomever moved this into it's own topic.

Mod Note:  That would be me, I meant to make a note on the thread but forgot so, You're Welcome.

Edited November 14, 2017 by Dave Hounddriver

[BrettGC]

I noticed that in the pictures on Agoda, the glass that is.  The room we stayed in and the room the family was in had frosted glass though.  

We were on the 3rd floor so it was an inconvenience more than anything else.  Momma can navigate down no problems but up is out of the question.

As for the confusion with the number of people that should be for Agoda and the hotel to sort out.  I've worked in service industries for a number of years in the past and in cases like this I would've let it go and taken it up with Agoda rather than have the customer write reviews like this.  

 

[MikeB]

1 hour ago, BrettGC said:

I noticed that in the pictures on Agoda, the glass that is.  The room we stayed in and the room the family was in had frosted glass though.

You shouldn't have been charged the extra p500 since the 3 person occupancy had been paid in full to Agoda. I didn't mean to say otherwise. That's a screw-up by the front desk.

Reading some of the recent TripAdvisor reviews the clear shower glass has been made frosted in all, I presume. Guess they got tired of reading comments about how odd it was.

Appears that things have gone downhill since I was last there. Thanks for the u/d.

[RBM]

Also stayed there a few years ago and said never again. Not able recall exactly what problems were how ever were numerous. Very over rated and staff during our time were not very friendly.

If one is after a average hotel in Dumaguete I would recommend, Nova hotel (next Lee Plaza) Check in (around corner) and Tip Top close to Robinson's.  All under a thousand and have the basics as hot water, flat TV and air con. Of course expect to chase them up for soap, and or remote, and or towels.....The all use OJTS so one rarely if ever finds a room complete.

[Dave Hounddriver]

8 minutes ago, RBM said:

Nova hotel

Yes, I like that one but it has the aura of a short time hotel so some guys would not like it.  Of course that may be a plus for others 

[RBM]

6 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Yes, I like that one but it has the aura of a short time hotel so some guys would not like it.  Of course that may be a plus for others 

Not sure Dave, have seen no evidence of this at all. Big factor here is parking, safe and secure, out of site.

Just wish could find a hotel where the shower water would actually run down the drain without the aid of my foot.....Now that is a big Ask!

[Dave Hounddriver]

55 minutes ago, RBM said:

Not sure Dave, have seen no evidence of this at all

They may have gone upscale since I stayed there 5 years ago (time flies).

At that time they were quoting a rate for a 3 hour stay on a rate chart near the check in desk.  That gave me my first clue.  Then not being able to book and reserve online in case all the rooms were occupied at the time was my second clue that it was a short time hotel.  Add in the fact that I had to pay for my room in 24 hour increments and it all added up to "short time"  but that is not necessarily bad.  I  stayed there as just a tourist for days at a time and the girls going to the other rooms could easily have been staying there by themselves .