NUSTAR Resort & Casino — Hotel in Cebu City

All bookings at Nustar Resort include breakfast and access to the Executive Club Lounge located on the 23rd floor of Fili Hotel.Mini-Bar is complimentary with a selection of 2 local beers, juices, and sodas. Nespresso machine with 4 capsules. TWG tea. Bottled water is unlimited. I appreciate the fridge being very cold. Gerlain Paris branded bathroom amenities, as well as bath salts for the large bath. Afternoon Tea (2:30 pm - 4:30 pm)Light snacks with a limited selection of savory and sweet bites, they need to improve on this.Evening cocktails and canapés (5:30 pm - 7:30 pm)Excellent food buffet. I like the lechon quesadillas, jalapeño cheese poppers, and siomai. I appreciate the bartender crafting cocktails from a menu of drinks.I understand the hotel is still brand new, but they need to do multiple inspections before releasing the room to guest. Vanity mirror was dusty from construction.The Butler service was very attentive, many thanks to Ice (Butler) for making my stay pleasant, he would escort me to the pool, and even breakfast buffet at Fili Hotel bypassing the crowd at the entrance.Breakfast Buffet is at Fili Hotel which is extensive and one of the best in Cebu. The problem is the crowd, while Nustar Butlers will escort Nustar guests to a table, there’s no dedicated tables for Nustar guests, which confuses the restaurant staff with seating assignments. Alternatively, the breakfast buffet at the executive club lounge is quiet but with limited options, they should have an a la carte menu to expand options like other international luxury hotels.The security at the lobby entrance is wildly inconvenient and inconsistent, every time you enter you need to prove you’re a guest of Nustar and not a guest of Fili or a casino player. It’s weird that they are sometimes overly strict and many times just ignore people passing by. Guests have a keycard to use elevators what’s the point of the guards that have a list of people’s names and room numbers, if anything that’s a security risk.The pool service is lacking. Shared between 2 hotels and the upcoming grand summit. The pool area lacks service of a 5-star hotel, towels need to be claimed at a towel hut. My expectation is that there are staff that will setup loungers with towels for guests. And since the pool facility is shared with the muncher large Fili Hotel it can get crowded. Fortunately, Nustar has a private infinity pool which was closed my stay. Nustar Resort has potential to be Cebu’s most luxurious hotel, they have the hard product with their spacious luxurious rooms, but they need to improve their soft product - the service from the butlers are outstanding and personal, but everyone else seems to be lost. For the asking price of 250-300 usd per night there’s a lot to expect.Nustar is primed for excellence but falls just short of achieving refined luxury. I’m hoping Nustar partners with Marriott and rebrand under Luxury Collection. Or even Hyatt with...

4/5 Stars - A Near-Perfect Stay Marred by Thoughtless Smoking Area

I recently had the pleasure of staying at the Nu Star FILI Hotel in Cebu, and I must say, it's an outstanding venue in every aspect but one. The room was incredible, with modern amenities and stunning views. The pools and fitness center were equally impressive, providing a relaxing oasis for guests.

The buffet breakfast was beyond exceptional, offering a diverse spread of local and international cuisine. However, my enthusiasm was dampened by a glaring oversight - the smoking section.

As a cigar smoker, which unfortunately is quite different from a cigarette smoker, as we tend to enjoy smoking our cigars for a lengthy period of time, whereas cigarette smokers simply need to satisfy their nicotine addiction in a short period of time. So cigar smokers maintain different requirements for a smoking section.

I was appalled to find that the designated smoking area was relegated to the ground floor outside, in the front of the hotel, 50 meters away, with no seating or shelter. It's as if smokers are treated as second-class citizens, forced to stand awkwardly outside, exposed to the elements.

This thoughtless design decision is disconcerting and uncomfortable. It's unacceptable for a hotel of this caliber to neglect the needs of its smoking patrons. A designated smoking area with seating and shelter is not only a courtesy but a basic amenity.

Highlights: Luxurious rooms with modern amenities Impressive pools and fitness center Exceptional buffet breakfast Attentive staff

Lowlights: Inadequate smoking area (no seating, shelter, or amenities) Smokers treated as second-class citizens

Verdict: The FILI Hotel's outstanding facilities and services are marred by its lack of consideration for smoking patrons. Until they address this issue, I hesitate to give a perfect score.

Recommendation: To FILI Hotel management: Provide a comfortable, designated smoking area with seating and shelter. It's a basic courtesy to your patrons.

Provide an area near the pool for cigar smokers to relax and enjoy their smoke.

Suggestions for improvement: Designate a covered smoking area with seating Provide ashtrays and smoking-related amenities Consider a smoking lounge or designated area

To fellow smokers, be aware of this oversight before booking. Hopefully, the FILI Hotel will take steps to address this issue and provide a more inclusive experience for all patrons.

Update: I hope the management will take my feedback constructively and make necessary changes to accommodate smokers. Until then, I'll withhold...

Everything was great until we tried to use the sauna. (We stayed at the Nustar hotel) My friend and I were at the pool and decided to try out the sauna before heading back to our room. There were 3 girls already inside the sauna so we decided to wait since it shouldn’t take long. The rules that were plastered right outside the room states that you should only be inside for 15 minutes maximum. Mind you, these girls were already there when we got inside so we timed for 15 mins extra. After the timer went off, those girls were still inside. We kept peeking and moving around to also let them know that there were other people wanting to use it but they never went out. (The sauna room is also really small so you technically can’t join in) Later on, an employee comes in to help the girls inside the sauna since they were having problems and we asked that employee afterwards if everything was fine. She said she just needed to adjust something. We continued waiting and the employee asked if we were gonna keep waiting since those girls were gonna stay for another 30 minutes. This made us upset because each customer is allowed 15 mins maximum. So we decided to leave and talk to the other employee at the front desk of the gym. We tell him what happened and he said he’d talk to the girls. He later comes back saying that the girls would stay 30 mins because they’d finished their 15 mins, go out for a quick second, then go back in again for another 15 which makes a total of 30 mins. He later asks if we’d be willing to wait for them to finish their 30 mins. We declined and told him that the rules should’ve been followed. It would have been nice if he told them to kindly follow the rules or maybe let them finish their 15 mins, let my friend and I go in for ours, then they could go back inside one we were done. It’s really common courtesy. I get that it’s a customer issue but as an employee, you also have a job to instill the rules. It clearly states right there “15 mins maximum.” We suggest maybe a log sheet for the sauna use to avoid situations like these, or maybe even a timer for the employees to keep track. It’s a small dent on your stay but it makes a big impact on your experience especially when you’ve spent...