Hotel Venezia — Hotel in Legazpi

I called Hotel Venezia to reserve a room for my arrival on May 8, 2019 in the morning. The receptionist asked for my flight details, I gave my flight details and told her that i will arrive around 6AM in the morning, the receptionist said that she will have the hotel service on stand by at the airport. and since i am a regular customer she will also give me a discount for my room. I said great! two thumbs up!. ||||I have checked-in to this hotel 3 to 4 times. ||||I arrived May 8, 2019 - 6:24AM, No hotel service, that's ok...since my flight was delayed maybe it served other customers to bring to the hotel or vice versa. So I just hailed a tricycle since the hotel is relatively close to the airport, no problem.||||i arrived at the hotel, 6:40AM, Went to the front desk, the receptionist (L.A.) is behind the desk. I know for a fact that it is too early for check-in, that they charge an early check-in fee. The receptionist (LA) said the exact same spiel. I said ok I understand, then I asked what is the earliest possible time I can check-in without the fee? L.A said 10AM, ok I will just have breakfast and waited at the dinning area. ||||Here is the reason why I wrote this review. This happened around 7AM or 7:30AM. The Hotel service arrived with a customer from the airport. the customer went directly to the front desk, was welcomed was given a paper to write his/her details and was given a key to the room. To my surprise, I said to myself maybe it is ok to check-in. I approached L.A. and I said can I check-in? he said "no". I asked why? I just saw you checked-in a customer? L.A said "that customer's room is already ready". then I said, you already know as well that I will arrive, this time and date and you even offered to pick me up at the airport... so ergo my room should be ready as well correct?" then L.A. said that customer paid an early check-in fee. I felt my blood pressure rise to my head but I calmed down and said to L.A. you did not even had a conversation with the customer? you just simply handed the key to the customer. L.A just looked at me, and insisted that the customer paid for the early check-in fee. ||||To my disappointment I just shook my head and went back to my table and started writing this review, just about the same time i received an email from TripAdvisor to make a review.||||Nutshell, Rooms are nice, food is nice, place is nice, the kitchen staff are nice, rooms are nice, food is nice, but customer service at the reception area is not...

My experience at Hotel Venezia

Reservation/Booking: Booking was straightforward. After emailing the hotel, the reservations department made contact.

After discussing dietary requirements, the hotel also made me aware that the pool was closed and that there was a possibility that hot water might not be available during the stay (pool and hot water under maintenance).

Arrival: Upon arrival, first impressions were good. The hotel is located off the main road, so there is less traffic noise. The reception team was welcoming and took a refundable deposit. They made my partner and me feel welcome. They informed us of breakfast and dinner times and where to go.

Room: The room was nice. Overall, the room was clean and tidy (although some shelves had a lot of dust, and the fridge door seal was not clean). There were toiletries available, and there were two bottles of water upon arrival.

The room had a kettle, and there was some complimentary tea and coffee. The room had a safe and a fridge. The air conditioning was working, and the room was pleasant.

The decor was good. The bathroom had a modern walk-in shower, which was nice. The room also had a blackout blind, which was good for stopping the morning sunshine from waking us up early.

There was some issue with the room next to ours; the door seemed not to shut, and for the three nights we were there, there was occasional banging of the door. I am not sure why it took maintenance so long to fix the issue.

Restaurant: The restaurant was clean and tidy. The staff were mostly attentive, although some of them were lacking smiles.

The food was of good quality and fresh.

The buffet breakfast was nice and had a good selection of food.

The dinner (set menu) was good; however, it was let down by the timing of the food. The starter would be brought to the table, yet only a few minutes after that, the main course would arrive. This caused the main course to be warm rather than hot by the time you finished your starter. It was a very strange setup, and it was the only restaurant I've been to that does that. One of the evening meals was cold once it was brought to the table. I did point this out to reception. The food was good; however, the delivery and timing of each course, in my opinion, need some attention.

Overall: We really enjoyed our stay at the hotel. The staff were friendly and polite. The room was good, and the quality of food...

Stayed Dec 29 - Dec 30 (1 Night)||Great value for your money when staying in Legazpi City.||It is our second time to stay here and we got our rooms (2 Junior Suite and 1 Standard Room) at a very competitive price. The room comes with a buffet breakfast for two.||Reception was fast and efficient. Contrary to other people's reviews, the receptionists there were friendly and welcoming. Welcome drinks were offered and it was refreshing.||Rooms were very spacious. AC was working fine. Complete toiletries were provided. I did not use the TV but from the looks of it, it is still not a Smart TV. Everything is working fine and we have no complaints.||Location is great for making this hotel your base camp when going to numerous attractions in Legazpi. It does not have the cramped downtown feel and it would be a breeze going in and out with your car. SM City Legazpi is less than a 10-minute drive from here. Other attractions such as Cagsawa Ruins or Daraga Church are less than 20-minute drive from here.||We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant. The food serving was generous. I was expecting the Bicol Express to be spicy but the spiciness was toned down. We did not wait that much for our food to arrive. Choices for the buffet breakfast were good. There was even an egg station where you could request how you wanted your egg to be cooked. ||Hot water for the shower was not available during our stay but this was discussed during check-in. The pool is also under renovation but this was discussed prior to booking. I would always choose to stay here for a night or two...