Jinjiang Inn - Boracay Station 1 — Hotel in Malay

From the moment we stepped into the lobby of the Jinjiang Inn we were hit with the unmistakable musky odor of mold. I hoped our room didn't smell the same, and thought the aircon in the lobby might just need a cleaning. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Our room smelled much worse. I tried to spend my time on the balcony to avoid the stench, but couldn't endure the heat for too long. By that evening I had gotten a bit used to the smell, only noticing a constant burn as if the room was filled with ammonia.

That morning, from across the room, I noticed the cause: thick, yellow mold was thriving below the sink. My 2-year-old daughter who is sensitive to allergens was already a bit stuffy. I immediately took some photos, packed our bags, and headed to the lobby to check out.

They offered us another room, but seeing as the whole hotel reeked and the design of the bathroom meant that other rooms were likely moldy in the same place, I declined. Within an hour we were booked into a lovely hotel resort down the road, which was on the beach with a very nice pool (for only a slightly higher price).

The staff of the Jinjiang declined to issue a refund, and after the next five months of back and forth with Expedia and our credit card company we were ultimately unable to secure a refund for the stay. Apparently "all sales are final" is really enforced even when you're sold a dangerous room which failed to advertise the mold. I can't say for sure if the cold-like symptoms my toddler and I endured for the rest of the trip were due to this experience, but I wouldn't risk it again.

Some other notes from our one night there: The staff was very nice, no complaints there. They let you turn the aircon down pretty low. The breakfast that we had was tasty. However, note that the included breakfast does not apply to children under 12 for some reason (a details which was not mentioned on the listing). We pushed back on this and they agreed not to charge us for our daughter's meal. The floor in the room was very slippery. My wife is certain that I slipped and fell down that night, but I don't remember that happening. The shower was nice, but multiple parts of the shower fixture were broken and made showering...

Glad to be back in Boracay! Happy to be in Station 1, specially now that this hotel is just a building away from the beautiful beach! In Boracay walking is key👍 so the location was great, in less less than 10 minutes we were at the beach. This portion of the beach is mostly where the take off points for the various activities specially the water sports are. Choose your beach spot either towards Willy’s rock or towards Station 2. The hotel staff was great, and we had the ground floor room, which was good specially for our seniors. There are 10 family rooms in the building, each with its own bathroom, ac, big closets and huge drawers and 2 big beds, just right for our family of 4, though room could use upgrading. The main dining (where you have your free breakfast with coffee👍) reception area and 2 rooms are all on the ground floor, easily accessible to the main road. There is a security guard 24/7. Other hotels also face this new clean main road! No more muddy roads! Another advantage is this hotel is just across a mini-mall that has a bank, spa and food places. Easy access also to the e-tryks to get anywhere in Boracay. Kudos to the helpful hotel staff! And yes there is free wi-fi too. Had fun! Hope to...

The hotel is very closed to the beach, approx 3-5 minutes walk. The rooms are spacious and complete with necessary toiletries or everything that you need like towels, robes, a mini fridge, toiletries, good ACs and a nice bathroom. I booked 3 rooms in total for my family of 7 including a 6yr old kid so we pretty much had the entire 3rd floor to ourselves. I like that the place only accommodates a few rooms on each floor (4 rooms each) so it wasn't very loud and we rarely saw some of the other guests thus it was quite a peaceful stay. The hotel offers breakfast for Php250 each plate per person as well. A typhoon just hit the island when we arrived so we didnt get wifi in the rooms but they do have one in the lobby which was okay. The staff are also very accommodating and helpful most especially Mitch who assisted us and made sure we had a pleasant stay. Since the hotel does not have a restaurant, you can use the tables downstairs to eat take outs during lunch or dinner. There was a power outage during our stay but the hotel has backup generators so it wasn't much...