Mella Hotel — Hotel in 1st District

To all travelers to Manila, Philippines... Warning...stay away from the Brittany South Hotel (formerly (Melli Hotel) in Las Pinas. Even if they have a special and the room is free...do not stay there. Here is what happened to me one my stay there in September of 2024. I was going to check in late on the night of my stay. Since they were going to charge me a late fee for late arrival, i arranged to have my fiancé check in before me during the regular check in times. I corresponded with their reservation desk four 4) times to confirm there would be no delays, no confusion, no problems with her checking in before me. However,... (I guess you could see what was coming next) they kept her waiting for 3 hours. Explaining that they needed an additional 3,000 pesos before check in. I called the hotel which this was transpiring (and my fiancé was crying) and told them that in four (4) conversations, no one at the hotel ever told me there would be any additional charges since the room was fully paid for well in advance. My poor, confused fiancé had to sit in their lobby for 3 hours until they squeezed another 3,000 pesos out of me so she could access the room. Next, on day One, I ordered a Club Sandwich. Ham, cheese, tomato, onion, lettuce. Took 15 minutes. What came out was a “bacon club sandwich.” But (and a guess you can see this coming) ...it was only bacon. Since I was starving, I had to eat it when they told me it would be another 15 minutes for the new sandwich. I told this to the management. Their response? (I guess you can see this coming) ..."Sorry, nothing we can do.” I went to their so-called breakfast buffet. The ABSOLUTE WORST BREAKFAST BUFFET I EVER ATTENDED. So, of course orange juice comes with the bullet. Well, not at this hotel. Orange juice is $3. (150 pesos). Want a refill? Another 150 pesos. Want ice tea? 150 pesos. Want a refill? 150 pesos. How about the room. Towels. Well, that’s rather easy to take care of. Well, not at this hotel. Two people get one large towel. That's it. One large towel, no small towels. Want more? Yes, but you must ask for them...then wait until they are delivered. How about Internet? O course they have internet! (I guess you can see this coming). It only works about 10-20% of the time, TV. Of course they have TV. Cable TV! However (I guess you can see what's coming) you can only get 8 channels – all Filipino channels. You want movies? HBO, Disney, Showtime, etc. You pay for those. You think that’s all? No, I’m not done yet. I hadn't been sick for 30 years. Had a meal at the hotel and one hour later I was shitting in my pants. The hotel’s response? (Well, I’m sure you know what's coming). They charged me for cleaning the sheets. (I had to wash my own pants and underwear.). When I returned to the U.S. I immediately went to the doctor. “The worst case of food poisoning he ever saw!” I think there was more, but my mind refuses to recall any more. Oh, I did remember something (actually a few other) things. The hotel does not take dollars. 99.9999% of hotels in Manila change dollars into pesos. At this hotel, you need to take a taxi to the mall and wait in line for an hour to change your money. And... when you go out at night, what do you do? Well, you walk outside the lobby and have the hotel flag a cab for you. (I guess you can see what’s coming). Not at this hotel. Outgoing cabs are not allowed to enter the hotel. So, what do you do? Rain or shine (mostly rain in Manila) you walk down to the curb and try to flag a cab. Of course, it is a through highway with cars and motor bikes spewing fumes going 60 miles per hour while you suck those fumes and pray those motor bikes that make a point of coming as close to the curb as possible, don’t run you down. Raining? Well, borrow an umbrella to the hotel, of course. (Well, I guess you can see what’s coming). Not...

CAUTION - NOISY LOCATION. The Mella Hotel Global South/Nr Las Pinãs is an aged hotel - mutton dressed as lamb. It may have been a "grand old dame" hotel a long time ago but times have changed and the Mella Hotel has not adapted. Having stayed there recently 1-4 May 2023 I can confirm that we changed rooms about 5 times in 3 days/nights. Apart from price, guests do not return to hotels for 5 reasons - NOISE; ATTITUDE; MAINTENANCE; SMELL: MESS. We endured all 5 in excess. The front desk staff were rude and condescending on arrival and made us wait enduringly to check in (although we were a bit early and waited patiently), we felt they were deliberately making us wait to the last minute to check in. There were no guests left to service at reception eventually and after being ignored I went to the front desk and discovered our check in was ready - they were just not prepared to help (name -Z), no welcome drink or briefing on the facilities and management was conspicuous by their absence throughout our stay. The first room (205) was ok but so noisy, HOTEL IS ON A VERY BUSY MAIN ROAD AND ALL WINDOWS IN THE HOTEL ARE SINGLE GLAZED, but no hot water. At 3 am in the morning cleaners were cleaning the rooms above and next door banging and scraping furniture on the floor until asked to stop by a dreary guest in PJ's. Rowdy super loud speakers kicked off ZUMBA AT 06h30 am DAILY WHICH BLARES STRAIGHT INTO THE ROOMS FACING OR CLOSE TO THE MALL PARKING LOT WHERE IT IS DONE RIGHT NEXT DOOR IN THE OPEN. The next day we had 4 repair men in replacing the entire hot water system and we had to use the room next door to wash and go to the toilet. Asking to speak to mngmt yielded ZERO response. After insisting on a room change we got shown to a room facing the traffic - even worse TRAFFIC NOISE WAS LOUDER THAN THE TV AT TIMES. Changed rooms several times - some noisy again, some smelly, some run down completely and some covered in drain flies. The hotel won't provide spray so we ended up buying Baygon and then donating it. Some staff were really good, Head of Maintenance (R) Security (J), driver (R), Restaurant head (C), (J) and A - ojt. The rest of the staff we encountered were apathetic, management failed to communicate with guests throughout. Booked...

It was the Easter Season and I was invited by a friend of mine for a "merienda session" a few drinks and a lot of catchup since we hadn't met for quite a while. I didn't know what to expect except that I was pretty sure that I would enjoy the food, as I always do in the Philippines. After all, I had already had my lunch. So what did I find at 'Britany' of Mr Villar? The surroundings are the ideal for me, who find Manila a 'bit' overcrowded. Here is like we feel in the countryside with the luxuries of de city. The service area is relaxing, the decor is for the local taste and friendly, as friendly and capable are the staff who attended to us. The food, was 100% Pinoy, including "Nanay's" favorite, "Arroz Caldo". Bagoong, didn't let us down either. Of course, among a great number of other local dishes. Then was time for my favourite; "Coffee". They already call me "The Monkey Coffee", but that's OK. I asked for an "Expresso", It came with the appearance that it do have. (See Photo). And how did it rate? Body: 5\5. Transparency: I like it with a bit more transparency. but I give it a 4. Aroma: For some reason, I have noticed that many coffee suppliers are supplying probably the "wrong" coffee, I find that there is too much emphasis on acidity (not in this case) but the aroma is neglected. That is probably why, in this case, my coffee could have done with some coffee aroma. 3/5 Acidity: In this case, the acidity was almost perfect; 4/5. Taste: Since the acidity as good it made a good drinking. Though it didn't "dance" long in the palate. It left a taste if wood in the end, but sipped "properly" it still made it a pleasant experience. In conclusion: It was a good experience and the beer (always S.Mig) wasa nice and cold. The Manager, also had the courtesy to have come and be always at hand, (Well Done) and even volunteered to shoot us...take a photo, that was... I...