Mandarin Plaza Hotel — Hotel in Cebu City

We booked our stay through Agoda. It was a spontaneous treat for myself because, to be honest, I work 12 hours a day, five days a week—with side hustles on top of that. So whenever I get the chance, I try to reward myself with a break. That day, I just really needed to breathe and reset.||When we entered the hotel, I was immediately impressed by how cold it was in the lobby—super chilly and refreshing! That part, I genuinely loved. It gave a good first impression.||But the check-in process was where things started to go downhill. It took almost 30 minutes before we were finally accommodated. The front desk staff didn’t seem organized. There was no proper queue, and even though I arrived ahead of another guest, they assisted her first just because they saw her before me. I didn’t bother making a scene—I wasn’t in the mood to argue.||There was one guest ahead of me who raised complaints. After the issue was settled, the front desk officer who assisted her went to their office and cried. What turned me off even more was the FO assigned to me—she left me standing there, pretending to do something else, but in reality, she went over to her co-worker and started gossiping about what had happened. It felt unprofessional and disrespectful.||When we finally got to our room, I was disappointed. The air-conditioning in the room wasn’t as cold as in the lobby. I’m used to hotels with cozy, carpeted rooms—but this one gave off a clinical, hospital-like vibe.||The room itself was spacious, yes, but it lacked basic amenities. No toothbrush, no shampoo, no soap, not even slippers. I had to call housekeeping just to get those. Honestly, those essentials should’ve already been in the room upon arrival.||also browsed their room service menu and decided to try the halo-halo. It was reasonably priced, so I gave it a shot—but sadly, it wasn’t good. The ingredients didn’t taste fresh. It felt like I was eating a bunch of canned goods with artificial flavoring. I’m usually not one to waste food, but this time, I couldn’t even finish it.||Because of that, we didn’t bother trying dinner there anymore. We just went out to eat. The next morning, the breakfast was okay—not great, but decent. As for the pool, I personally didn’t find it appealing. It just didn’t look inviting at all.||You might have a different experience, and I respect that. But as for me, it’s...

“Good Potential, But Lacking Flexibility and Personal Touch”

We recently stayed at Mandarin Plaza Hotel in Cebu, and while there were a few positives, there were several issues that significantly impacted our experience.

First, communication was a major challenge. The staff answering the phones and the front desk team seemed disconnected, which led to confusion throughout our stay. Conversations felt like they were being logged rather than actively listened to, and we found ourselves having to repeat the same information multiple times. It was clear that the staff, especially those answering the phone, lacked the personal touch and attentiveness that we expected.

Additionally, the hotel’s policies were somewhat frustrating. For example, we seemingly had to count all towels upon entering the room, and when they were allegedly found incomplete, we were charged without being given the opportunity to explain the situation. The hotel seems to solely base this on the comments from housekeeping rather than listening to the guest’s explanation or hypothesis, and we were simply asked to pay without any further discussion. It felt like the hotel was more focused on following rigid rules rather than listening to and addressing guest concerns. Even small details like the availability of slippers upon request seemed overly rigid.

In addition, the air conditioning in the room also took a long time to reach a comfortable temperature, and while the bacon served at breakfast was crispier than in previous reviews, it was still not quite up to the standard we were expecting.

In conclusion, while the hotel has potential, our experience was not up to par. Given the communication issues and lack of flexibility, we will be exploring other hotels in the area for our next trip. We do hope the hotel can take this feedback into consideration and make improvements in guest service and policies...

*ADVISORY. Stayed 2 nights coz Quest hotel across the street was full. We walked in and found a lobby totally unfurnished, (Red flag). Girl at the desk was charging us 4300/ night + 1000/night for our child over 5 years old. On Agoda we got the same room for 2000 and free for our child. I showed the girl but she got upset and slaped our passports on the counter and say you need to come back coz check in is at 3pm anyway. Very rude person. So we booked with Agoda and came back at 12pm. The guy at the desk processed the check in but charged us 2000 deposit. If you put it on your card, it will take 15 to 30 days to get it back. If you pay cash you get it at check out. (Never ever experienced that anywhere before). Then he proceeded to explain all the rules. No visitors, no outside food in your room, bla bla blah... They do have an actual list in the room of rules to follow, all inforced with fines. The room was ok. Beds are very hard and uncomfortable There was a lingering odor of bleach in the room at all times. The TV was extremely blurry and only very old shows were streaming. The bath tub and sink drain plugs were broken. But lots of very hot water and good water pressure. The pool is very small and the water was too cold for people to swim. There is a corckerage fee if you bring outside food to the pool area starting at 300PHP+ for each items. On the second day we asked the room to be made and went to the mall. On our way back we found our room not done at all. The garbage was still full and we had a hotel courtesy bag with our daily toiletries inside. (Again...never experienced that before). I will never be back and do not...