Crown Regency Hotel & Towers — Hotel in Cebu City

My family and I decided to celebrate New Year's Eve outside our home for a change.||We chose to book at Crown Regency Fuente, planning to watch the fireworks and attend Mass at Sto. Niño.||Feedback:|Check-in Experience:|• The first check-in counter staff we encountered seemed unmotivated and not proactive. They didn't inform us about ongoing promotions, like the Smart Plan promotion offering a 20% discount. I only discovered it too late when I saw a posting in the elevator.|• Upon check-in, we were told that breakfast was not included for the kids, and additional adults would need to pay ₱500. However, at breakfast, the staff informed us the charge was ₱750 per adult. (It was posted in the elevator as ₱750 per adult, but I heard the front desk mention ₱500 for check-in guests.)|Breakfast:|• The breakfast was cold and tasted like food from a roadside eatery.|Swimming Pool Experience:|• The swimming pool staff (17th Floor, January 1 PM shift) were strict and not approachable, behaving more like employees in a government office. While they enforced rules, their attitude lacked the warmth and hospitality one expects in a hotel setting.|Room Cleanliness:|• The room floor was dirty. My son removed his shoes and walked around barefoot, and his feet turned black like charcoal. I had to call housekeeping to mop the floor.|Bathroom Issues:|• There was no hot and cold water in the shower.|• The shampoo and soap provided were rusted, making them unusable.||Windows and View:|• The building’s glass windows were filthy. While the room offered a nice view, it was completely ruined by the dust and dirt on the glass.|New Year's Eve Countdown:|• We paid ₱1,588 per person for the New Year’s Eve countdown. The dinner schedule was from 6-10 PM, so we arrived at 5:30 PM to secure a good seat and view for the fireworks. Dinner started at 6:30 PM, and we finished eating by 7:30 PM. This left us waiting for three hours with nothing to do until the live band began at 10:30 PM. We couldn’t leave and return because they wouldn’t reserve our seats, leaving the kids bored and restless.||• While the band was talented, their song choices were unsuitable for New Year's Eve. It felt like we were at a funeral or a bar for the heartbroken. Many guests were visibly bored and disappointed. New Year's Eve is supposed to be lively and celebratory, but the sad music ruined the atmosphere.|||• Other events my friends attended had vibrant countdowns with activities like video booths and dancing. In contrast, this event felt dull and uninspired.||• There was a projector, but it wasn’t used for the countdown. I had to inform the host, who then improvised a countdown using a microphone. What was the projector for if not for such moments?|||• The poster mentioned a giveaway, but we didn’t receive anything. Were the party horns the giveaways?||Many guests were visibly unhappy, and I could hear complaints all around. It was a disappointing way to start the New Year.||Positives:|• The front desk lady accommodated our request for a room with the best view, which we appreciated.||• The staff were polite and respectful overall, but they appeared unmotivated, as if they were working without any real enthusiasm.|||• We experienced issues in our room, such as a non-functioning fridge and a toilet that wouldn’t flush, but the staff addressed and fixed these problems promptly.||• ...

My family and I decided to celebrate New Year's Eve outside our home for a change.||We chose to book at Crown Regency Fuente, planning to watch the fireworks and attend Mass at Sto. Niño.||Feedback:|Check-in Experience:|• The first check-in counter staff we encountered seemed unmotivated and not proactive. They didn't inform us about ongoing promotions, like the Smart Plan promotion offering a 20% discount. I only discovered it too late when I saw a posting in the elevator.|• Upon check-in, we were told that breakfast was not included for the kids, and additional adults would need to pay ₱500. However, at breakfast, the staff informed us the charge was ₱750 per adult. (It was posted in the elevator as ₱750 per adult, but I heard the front desk mention ₱500 for check-in guests.)|Breakfast:|• The breakfast was cold and tasted like food from a roadside eatery.|Swimming Pool Experience:|• The swimming pool staff (17th Floor, January 1 PM shift) were strict and not approachable, behaving more like employees in a government office. While they enforced rules, their attitude lacked the warmth and hospitality one expects in a hotel setting.|Room Cleanliness:|• The room floor was dirty. My son removed his shoes and walked around barefoot, and his feet turned black like charcoal. I had to call housekeeping to mop the floor.|Bathroom Issues:|• There was no hot and cold water in the shower.|• The shampoo and soap provided were rusted, making them unusable.||Windows and View:|• The building’s glass windows were filthy. While the room offered a nice view, it was completely ruined by the dust and dirt on the glass.|New Year's Eve Countdown:|• We paid ₱1,588 per person for the New Year’s Eve countdown. The dinner schedule was from 6-10 PM, so we arrived at 5:30 PM to secure a good seat and view for the fireworks. Dinner started at 6:30 PM, and we finished eating by 7:30 PM. This left us waiting for three hours with nothing to do until the live band began at 10:30 PM. We couldn’t leave and return because they wouldn’t reserve our seats, leaving the kids bored and restless.||• While the band was talented, their song choices were unsuitable for New Year's Eve. It felt like we were at a funeral or a bar for the heartbroken. Many guests were visibly bored and disappointed. New Year's Eve is supposed to be lively and celebratory, but the sad music ruined the atmosphere.|||• Other events my friends attended had vibrant countdowns with activities like video booths and dancing. In contrast, this event felt dull and uninspired.||• There was a projector, but it wasn’t used for the countdown. I had to inform the host, who then improvised a countdown using a microphone. What was the projector for if not for such moments?|||• The poster mentioned a giveaway, but we didn’t receive anything. Were the party horns the giveaways?||Many guests were visibly unhappy, and I could hear complaints all around. It was a disappointing way to start the New Year.||Positives:|• The front desk lady accommodated our request for a room with the best view, which we appreciated.||• The staff were polite and respectful overall, but they appeared unmotivated, as if they were working without any real enthusiasm.|||• We experienced issues in our room, such as a non-functioning fridge and a toilet that wouldn’t flush, but the staff addressed and fixed these problems promptly.||•...

I stayed at the Crown Regency in Cebu City, Philippines, Sept 12 - 20, 2014. The hotel appealed to me for several reasons. It is located approximately 9.3 Km from the Machtan-Cebu International Airport, a convenience that is particularly appreciated after a long, international flight. Also, I've traveled around Asia during the rainy season and I've learned to find hotels that can provide food, a pool and a glass of wine if the weather turns nasty. According to the website, the Crown Regency had enough entertainment to keep an entire family busy in a rain storm.

I was told by a staff person that the hotel is about ten years old. As you navigate through the three towers you can see hints of the original vision for a high-end, prestigious hotel with airport access. Unfortunately, poor management, lack of maintenance and high traffic keeps the Crown Regency from reaching that vision.

Let's start with poor customer service before the visit. After making my reservation through my timeshare exchange I spent two months attempting to reach staff at the hotel in order to confirm my reservation and ask a few questions. I started with the telephone. The person that I needed to speak with was always unavailable. I tried leaving three messages and never received a return call. I then switched to a generic email that I found on the website. Still no reply. As a last resort I wrote a letter using my company's letterhead and addressed it to the general manager. About 6 weeks later I received a response to my first email message. I tied to take advantage of this communication breakthrough. No response again.

Once I arrived at the hotel and was shown to my two bedroom suite I was speechless. The floor clearly had not been cleaned in weeks. The kitchen had no stove, microwave, plates, glasses, or eating utensils. A broken cabinet door hung off of it's hinges. Later, I discovered that there were more surprises. The toilet seat was broken. The shower head sprayed water across the bathroom on to the floor. I quickly learned that alerting the hotel staff to these "inconveniences" was just an exercise. The staff were always polite and friendly. They listened intently and always promised to contact maintenance. Once maintenance actually came to the room, adjusted the broken toilet seat to look as though it had been repaired. They also propped the cabinet door up to look like it was repaired as well. I could only laugh when I saw it.

By far, the biggest challenge at the Crown Regency was the infestation of roaches. The were primarily in the kitchen and one of the bathrooms. Once the lights were turned off, they routinely took over these spaces. I've managed conference throughout the U.S. and abroad for 20 years. These are not staff issues. These are...