NOW Hotel — Hotel in Cali

My stay was disappointing to say the least. While staff was generally friendly and helpful to the best of their abilities, the cons greatly outweigh their hospitality.

The showers are built so poorly that the bathrooms have visible black mold growth. I stayed for one week and began feeling itchiness in my throat just a couple of days in. Those symptoms quickly escalated to all the telltale signs of black mold exposure: nasal/ sinus congestion and pressure, terrible headaches (bordering on migraines), eye irritation, fatique, etc. When I wasn’t in the hotel during my stay, I felt significantly better. You can see the mold growth in the bathrooms near the shower and underneath the bathroom counter on the wall near the floor. The showers leak water pretty easily and the mold growth makes complete sense. You can also see water damage on the hotel room ceilings (from the rooms above I imagine). Also, the fan in the bathroom is so weak that it doesn’t do anything to help mitigate moisture.

Additionally, the WiFi (both the room specific WiFi and the hotel’s main WiFi) never worked the entire week. Even if it said that your device was connected, nothing ever fully loaded on any application or website.

Also, when I made the reservation online, nowhere was it indicated that the restaurant, pool and bar were not accessible at this time. That is something that should be mentioned online before a customer makes a reservation. Breakfast was included which was nice but there were only two options to choose from.

I forgot to mention that while the bed was very comfy, the sheets and pillowcases were quite pilled and old and seemingly haven’t been updated in a long time. It definitely didn’t feel like a four or five star hotel. It wasn’t the worst place I’ve ever stayed in, but I will not be coming back and I hope my mold exposure symptoms go away soon. That was absolutely the worst part of this experience. Please please please take care of the mold problems this...

This is my second trip to Cali, and my first time in this neighborhood. |The Now is a lovely place, heavy on design. Built around a courtyard, with a terrace on the roof, it is very open.|I asked for a room with a balcony, and I'm glad I did. |I dont speak Spanish, but whenever I encountered staff that didnt speak english, they were always very friendly and accommodating. They helped me get by.|I'm giving 4 stars because the hotel is a great value in a great location, but there are some gaps. |The lighting in the rooms is atrocious. The only lights in the large room were some (pretty) globe lights hanging from the ceiling. It is impossible to read or write with the lighting the way it is.|Next, the air conditioning is a joke. The room has one of those systems where you put your key card in a slot to "power on" the room when you are there, which saves money when you are not; I get it. But the a/C is a wall mounted unit, nowhere close to the bed, that doesnt cool down the room fast enough to be usable. Cali is a very humid, tropical city and while the locals may be used to it, I'm certain that travellers like me are not. |Next; the furniture. It is pretty, but unusable. The couch is basically on the ground; there are no legs. Ditto with the coffee table; it is like a table top resting on the ground. Getting up and down off the couch is tougher than it should be, which means it doesnt get used, which means why even have it there. This isnt an art gallery; it is a hotel. There should be function AND form.||All that said, it was a great value, friendly service and great location. I would recommend this hotel, as long as you dont plan on spending too much time...

The basic room is dark and small. My problem started when I had tried to upgrade. When I made a reservation on this website, I was quoted a price which was 50 dollars per night. I was traveling with a friend, and we asked to have rooms next to each other. We were told that it is possible for a small upgrade fee which was about 5 USD per room. However, when I finally got the bill a few weeks later I was charged double, over 100 dollars for each room. To add insult to injury I had paid in cash for a few rooms service charges we'd accumulated. But when I got the final bill, I was charged for these same charges on my credit card. Do yourself a favor and don't use this place, and if you don't trust anyone and if you still decide to use this dump make sure to collect all...