One Central Hotel — Hotel in Cebu City

CONS Key Card Issue: experienced began on a rocky note when my key card failed to work while I was using the elevator. When I tried to select my room number, the elevator took me to the ground floor instead. I ended up getting stuck inside the elevator for several minutes, which was concerning since it lacked air conditioning. I didn’t immediately press the bell to alert staff, and when the elevator finally opened, I reported the issue to the lobby guard. He explained that this sometimes happens when a neighboring room checks out, causing the key card to deactivate. Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of this possibility, and it was inconvenient to have to return to the information desk to reactivate the key card.

Fridge Not Working, Although I contacted maintenance regarding the non-functional fridge, the issue was not resolved. After the technician supposedly fixed it, the fridge still remained warm, which was disappointing since it was meant to be a key feature of the room.

Jackfruit Charge: We were unexpectedly charged for bringing a small amount of jackfruit (about 1/4 kg) into the room due to its smell. The hotel did not clearly communicate any restrictions on food odors, and I was under the impression that only smoking was prohibited inside the rooms. When I raised the issue with the front desk, they informed me the room would need to be sprayed with air freshener before it could be rented out again, leading to an additional charge. This charge was surprising and inconvenient, their guidelines said only a not allowed for Durian and Dried fish only. I was overwhelmed and has trauma here!!!!😬😬😬

Linens Not Fresh: The pillowcases in our room had a noticeable odor, suggesting they hadn't been properly laundered. This detracted from the overall cleanliness experience, as fresh linens are a fundamental part of hotel stays.

Booking Confusion: I had a confusing experience regarding my booking. I received a message from Agoda informing me that I needed to update my card within two hours to prevent my booking from being canceled. Although my card was new, updated, and valid until 2030, I knew there was insufficient balance. However, my booking was under the "pay at the hotel" option, which made this message puzzling. I confirmed with the hotel, and they assured me that everything was okay and my booking was confirmed. It was an unexpected issue that didn't make sense considering the "pay at the hotel" option, leading to unnecessary confusion and stress before my stay.

PROS

Room and Beds: The room itself was comfortable, and as requested, we were provided with two beds. The room met our expectations for a relaxing stay.

Views and Amenities: We had a city view from our room, which we requested during booking, and it was just as expected. The pool view from the top of the hotel was also pleasant. The gym facilities were okay.

Breakfast: The breakfast was a highlight of our stay. It was a buffet with an okay variety of options not a lot.

Staff Response: While there were some challenges during our stay, the staff did attempt to address the fridge issue, although it remained unresolved.

Last thought:

While there were several challenges during my stay at One Central Hotel, including the key card malfunction, the non-functional fridge, the unexpected charge for the jackfruit, and the confusion regarding my booking, the room itself and the hotel amenities were satisfactory. But I would not recommend the hotel if you are looking for a smooth stay because they charge not valid items. I advise future guests to clarify all policies, especially those regarding food and room conditions, before checking in. This experience has highlighted the importance of being aware of all hotel policies, even if they are not explicitly written out. I believe my reviews can be helpful to all travelers around the world. For sure would not come book here again. The experience is traumatic!!!!!!!!...

I wish someone had advised me not to step in Cebu. If you still wish to come, please read on.

I booked for a total of 14 Nights. The amenities here is at best, 2 stars. Even though this is the best 3 stars hotel, it’s not worth staying for those who want a better experience.

If you have more budget or want to easy access to snorkel at beaches, book a hotel in Mactan area (don’t scrimp & save in this province). If you are looking for healthy or quality food, don’t book the breakfast here. The maintenance, amenities and location isn’t ideal.

📍 Location This high rise ‘Refurbished’ old hotel is built on top of a small dormant mall located from level 9 onwards. The area is a lower class district filled with homeless.. Tasty or healthy food is nearly impossible to find (except kebab rolls)— your only hope is SM Seaside Mall or Ayala Mall.

It is about 15-20 mins walk to the museum and monument area which can easily be completed within a day.

DO NOT eat at the night food market called ‘Carbon’ (Barracks on Google map)— I found baby roaches in all of my food & drink from different stalls. Had diahhrea too.

🦈 Oslob Whale Sharks Visit the reviews on Google map before coming to Cebu— It’s not their natural habitat. Hotels like these here don’t have any arrangement and your price will be exorbitantly high if you go to travel agency (14K-16K Peso). Private taxi charge 5-7K. The next 4 stars hotel I stayed in Mactan, Belmont Hotel, has tourist counter (6K+ for shared van). The receptionist here does not know about heading to Oslob nor its price.

To go there by yourself, Just go to South Terminal Bus nearby. Walk in entrance fees is 500 Peso and last entry is at 11.30am daily.

🕊️HIGHLIGHTS ➊ Small Window View Of Highway & Sea

🙇🏻‍♀️ DOWNSIDE ➊ Bathroom (NO Hot Shower) Stayed in 2 different rooms, both have no hot shower across 14 nights. I asked them to fix it, it only works after that fix after leaving the tap on for more than 15 mins— you get lightly warmed water at best. Next few days, the roof had leakage over the toilet bowl area. Most part of the shower area stays wet entire day due to poor drainage and uneven flooring.

The supplies here are pathetic… Your shower & handwash is a small hard soap. You only get coffee. Please use purified water to boil the water— I can smell rust from the shower pipes and the thing I saw when making tea from their basin water is horrifying. I had sorethroat in my entire stay here. It healed a day after I left this place. (Probably due to aircon or water) ➋ Breakfast All the meat here is hard and 80% of the food here is ‘repeated’ (pretty much reused..). It’s extremely greasy and salty. Even milkfish isn’t nice. It was a dread from the 3rd morning onwards. I ate pretty much just soup and fruits. ➌ Amenities The rooftop pool is a Mini Dipping Pool with nice view but poorly maintained. I feel like a goldfish swimming in murky waters. There is no chlorine in it and no outflows that pushes the water to be cleaned automatically. Pool’s washroom was not scrubbed, I smell pee stains all the time like a dirty public toilet. And I had to ask the staff to top up toilet papers since it run out a number of days. ➍ Mediocre Restaurant Food Beware of tiny pieces of sharp crab shells in the crab soup, it isn’t filter properly. Most food isn’t tasty. ➎ Inflexible Date Change After examining the hotel, I wanted to cut my stay short from 2 weeks to 1 week on the second day. The hotel didn’t allow but said they will arrange internally without telling me that they don’t intend to refund the remaining stay (until I clarify). It was such an unbearable stay, I wasted 2 weeks of my time & money. ❻ Smelly GYM I have to add this. The mini gym equipment have rust and whole abandoned room smells like a collection of 10 years worth of sweats…

🧼 Cleanliness: Acceptable 🤵🏻‍♀️ Hospitality: Excellent 🏨 Architect (International Benchmark): Poor to...

Too many "BUTs" : a bit disappointed and feeling wronged on the bill.

Let's be fair. The premices and the rooms are nice. The food is quite good. BUT there are many wrong points and the service is unfortunately really far from being at the level of a 3 or 4 stars hotel as displayed on the booking platforms.

We initially booked 3 nights online and extended 1 night directly with the hotel : more expensive, but they told us that the breakfast was included. Without any further information, we went downstairs and ordered our breakfast. Someone then came to us asking to pay for the breakfast, telling us that the included breakfast was supposed to be room-serviced and that we ordered at the restaurant. Nice to know that AFTERWARDS ! First, nothing was explained. Second, nothing was delivered to our room at breakfast time. Third, you need to run after the personnel to know where to eat, if you can order... and no one ever asked if we had breakfast included or even informed us of anything. And sadly, the story's not over.

While negociating to avoid paying twice, we saw a sign at the reception explaining that you should get a 20% discount on the bill for each order at the restaurant. We realised that it had never been applied : neither on the dinner bill in the evening, nor on the breakfast one. Nice to discover that they never told that (if you don't see the sign, too bad for you) and that if you do not complain, they do not apply it (when they perfectly know what you paid for at check-in).

To make mistakes is human. But instead of doing a good commercial gesture to repair their poor management, we struggled at the reception to avoid being overcharged. It took almost an hour, waiting for the reception to call their manager several times. They deduced the money that they owed us. But in the end, we had to pay for their mistake, they did not do any discount. What kind of service is that ?

I feel wronged. I did not intend to leave a comment for the service which was not great before that. But considering what happened, let's do it fully.

We had to call several times for problems. Minor ones, but still... We had to change the room at arrival because of an issue with the aircon. The safe was not working and they had to change it. We had to ask several times for the room service menu which was not in the room. The cleanliness is acceptable but far from being great (there is dust on the desk, splashes on the wall of -who know what- and walking barefoot, we noticed that the floor is not so clean). And the responsiveness is not great either so... when you ask for something, better be patient !

In the end, it could be a nice place to stay... the hotel is nice compared to the offer in the neighborhood. But it is also more expensive and you expect something else for this price range. Too bad.

EDIT : even if the manager did not accept to do a commercial discount, the employees really seemed sorry about the situation. They offered us fruits in the room. We appreciated the attention. So I...