qema Mancora — Hotel in Máncora

Hi Selina I am Manuel Dos Santos, responding with a new review as I do not have the opportunity to reply to you within the same review. Furthermore, since I have not received a response through other means, I am writing to you here to explain the situation in more detail.

First and foremost, I wish to express my gratitude for your understanding conveyed through this platform. It is with a sense of discomfort that I find myself compelled to address this matter publicly, only to receive responses of a colloquial nature, such as "let us know how we can help." What I sincerely seek is a solution to the problem caused by Selina Mancora. Given the evasive nature of the responses from the Selina South America WhatsApp channel and the subsequent lack of communication from the Customer Care department based in Panama since March 26th, I am compelled to make this public plea for resolution.

Allow me to provide a detailed account of the circumstances: Upon arrival at the hotel, all seemed to be in order. However, on the night of Friday, March 22nd, while occupying Tipi cabin number 01, my companion and I were exposed to an increasingly noxious odor, initially attributed to air conditioning condensation. This disconcerting odor persisted and intensified throughout the night and peaked around midday on Saturday, becoming unbearable, harmful to health, causing significant discomfort and disorientation.

Upon opening the door, we observed a septic tank overflowing, spilling sewage onto the beach and into the cabin where we were staying. It became clear that the source of the odor was a sewage overflow, containing human waste and other toxic residues. The pervasive stench of feces, urine, and other associated waste materials made our accommodation intolerable, harmful to health, and posed an ethical-moral problem of being in a place that discharges untreated waste onto the beach, damaging the local ecosystem.

Upon notifying reception of this grave situation, we allowed a reasonable time for effective resolution. Unfortunately, the proposed solution fell short of addressing the severity of the incident we had experienced. We were offered two complimentary breakfasts and a transfer to an adjacent cabin, dangerously close to the source of the sewage overflow. Such an offer, combined with the dismissal of our concerns as unfounded, was deeply unsatisfactory.

Subsequent efforts to address the matter were met with skepticism and resistance, culminating in unfounded accusations of dishonesty, leaving us feeling falsely accused and labeled as fabricators of a problem. Only upon presenting irrefutable evidence did the gravity of the situation become apparent to hotel management. However, despite assurances of resolution, subsequent actions were inadequate, exposing us to significant discomfort, anxiety, and distress caused by the entire situation described. This prompted our decision to leave the premises on Saturday night.

The hotel's attempt to blame and label us as liars is one of the most vile and fallacious strategies I have encountered from a hospitality service incident. In light of the above, I seek redress for the damages incurred from this entire situation, the discomfort, and the financial burden resulting from Selina's lack of maintenance and structure at the facilities. It is Selina's responsibility to address these issues in a timely and satisfactory manner, thereby restoring confidence in the brand and facilitating a swift resolution. However, 16 days after the incident, I still have not received a response to the needs that you have caused due to deficient crisis management and resolution on your part.

I trust that this correspondence will receive the attention it deserves, and I hope you will contact me with an effective and definitive solution. I await your prompt response.

Yours...

I found my stay at Selina frustrating. Upon arrival we discovered that breakfast was not added to the room. The receptionist could not assist as it was a booking issue with the website. After some investigations I realised that having added the website offer with breakfast to the order, but taking some time to make the decision, Selina consequently sent me an email urging me to make the booking with an extra small discount code. Great I thought. So I made the booking, adding this code. However, not all was what it seemed. The special offer code took away the breakfast, which meant it wasn’t an extra discount at all, it would have cost more after taking breakfast. So the price I paid on check-in was more expensive than was still currently on the website taking breakfast.||No problem I thought, surely customer services would rectify this, due to the fact they had initiated the issue with their email. Obviously a big chain like this would just, at minimum, ask me to pay the 50 PEN different to get the package intended. Wishful thinking on my part. |After a back and forth email exchange, taking nearly a week, due to the replies sometimes taking days, the result was nothing can be done or changed. I was, in the end, offered some free points on the app, that you can use towards a stay at a Selina. Awesome. However, again not all was as it seemed. I tried to take an extra day to extend this trip with the given points, only to be told I couldn’t use it at this Selina for one day. The app mandated a two day stay. Again I asked if customer services could override this, taking into account I’d just paid for 6 days. Answer; no. They suggested I travel 800km to a different Selina I could use it at, that allows one night. Having already advised I was leaving for home to the UK one day later, obviously this suggestion was not viable.||I think the thing that finished me off mentally was after leaving the room on the last day, then handing in the key, having a just a few hours to kill, I headed to the pool (before scheduled to take the bus) with my dirty towel from the room in hand. We were then approached to say we could not use our dirty towel to dry off from the pool, unless we paid for it again and the supervisor asked to take it. Nice one Selina. ||So the end result of a very simple initial problem of not including breakfast, ultimately resulted in us choosing to spend around $500 US on alcohol and meals outside of Selina, as it seemed the only power we had to express our dissatisfaction. The actual cost of the breakfast was not the issue and was negligible, it was the principle of the matter; of a large company who should have customer service at its core, not having any flexibility to guarantee customer satisfaction for a basic issue and in the end cost them quite a lot of lost revenue. ||Just when you think it’s all over, the chaos of Selina customer services strikes again. Having given up on an extra night and just heading home , whilst in the bus station at 17:00, I foolishly checked the app again, and would you believe it it showed I could now choose one night for free at Mancora on the cheep cylinder room. |Obviously they have a policy where they don’t want to sell one Friday night, and they the hold out for bookings taking the entire weekend it seems, but at 17:00 they seem to lift that restriction. So I could have stayed after all, if I waited until 17:00 to book if I had been iformed correctly, as the place was not busy, so this was always going to be the case. Nice one again Selina...

First, let me start by saying this review is more directed toward the management of the hotel and not the staff. The staff were great, friendly and attentive to. If it wasn't for them the hotel will get a lesser rating. Check-in was poor compare to other hotels. After a 4 hour flight delay, missed connection and a long car drive to the hotel, all we wanted is to check in right away and relax. The check in was close to hour long with providing constant information, filling out paperwork and downloading their apps for each family member including for a minor. Need to speed up the check in process. The room was not prepared for a family of four. We had constant problem with door scanner and we were provided with one key card that we could be charged if lost. Even 2 star hotels provide you with 2 key cards. Food and drink were good. Although a ridiculous policy of management is to pay 'right away' after ordering anything small or big. This is problematic for foreign travelers when they have to constantly charge their credit card if they don't have cash on hand for every small transaction (e.g. one drink or a candy bar). I didn't see any ATM machines on site either. How about charging it to our room? Ask for a credit card and/or ID to leave an account open? I get it that Mancora is filled with the young, energetic, and free-spirited backpackers - which means their using up their communion money for their travel expense- but how about catering to other demographics? Like family, older crowds, or business people that can provide more revenue to the hotel. Also not to turn the hotel into a nightclub a majority of the nights. Don't get me wrong I did have a good time one night but then it got tiring. Music is TOO LOUD and no way to get away from it. We had a 5am start next morning, and music didn't die down until 2:30am. Selina management should consider broadcasting on their website that this place turn into a night club on some nights because...