family - friendly, elegant, and safe place to stay in Subic. Clean and spacious rooms. Has a mini stop and Nataniel's nearby. Only issue is the high chlorine content of the pool. highly recommended if you are in town

In the many travels I’ve been to & hotels I’ve stayed in, the first things I look for when checking in the room are the bed, the bathroom & the view. I was wrong. Now I know that checking the food at the mini bar should come first. Or you would be charged for it on your last day.

First time to encounter a hotel that does not have an extensive & proper housekeeping check before the next guest checks in. To our surprise, the can of Pringles & PicNic at the mini bar were already HALF-EATEN—and we only found out on our last day when we’re checking out!

My brother, who was in the same room as I did, were checking out the food at the mini bar when we were fixing our things on our last day. He told me the can of PicNic was already eaten but it still had its lid on including the paper cover beneath the lid. No one would suspect anything about it. I told him not to go about it and that we might be suspected of eating it.

I was not surprised when the front desk rep informed me about it when we were checking out. “Ma’am, nagalaw daw po yung PicNic at Pringles sa room 210 (Ma’am, the can of PicNic & Pringles was consumed at room 210),” she said. I was confident to tell her what happened–how my brother accidentally knew about it–because we have nothing to hide. Of course, it wasn’t us. I even explained that we bought our own can of Pringles & PicNic the day before. “You can check our trash can, we had consumed cans of Pringles & PicNic, that we bought outside,” I said.

She later called on a housekeeping staff. Without me saying a word, the housekeeping staff began telling how it wasn’t their fault. She told me the housekeeping “checks” every room first and makes sure everything is in place before another guest comes in. I just reiterared what I’ve already explained to the front desk rep—it wasn’t us. Why would we eat the overly priced food items in the mini bar when we had our own? I was just confused at that point.

Before we even dig deeper to what really happened, my father agreed to pay the amount of the “consumed” items just so we could head out already. They were lucky my father was kind enough to intervene & end the conversation but if I had it my way, I would stay as long as it takes to get to the bottom of it. It was not about the money. Heck, it was a measely 270pesos, when I paid for almost 10k for our family’s one-night stay.

What did not sit well with me was how the front desk representative handled the situation. They just let it be, no apology, just a polite “thank you” when she handed me my change from paying the half-eaten mini bar food items. It’s as if they simply do not care. That’s how they made us feel. That left a bad taste on our over-all stay because that was our last interaction with them. We were their guests and no, I don’t agree with the notion that the “customers are always right”. It should be the “customer’s satisfaction should be the top priority.” And they didn’t do anything because of course, we’ve already paid. It’s convenient FOR THEM, not US.

What I’m more concerned now is how often does that happen? Where we the first guests to have experienced being charged with half-eaten food items that we didn’t consume? Or is this a habitual practice, a “modus” of some sort?

It’s a such shame because my family, including my dad who just celebrated his birthday on our weekend stay, enjoyed our over-all experience—until that incident happened. They did not only lose a what would have been a repeat customer, but they’ll also lose potential ones because I’ll make sure to share this story as a warning.

Booked 3 rooms on a weekend stay. One is a suite that they said they upgraded. They have a nice pool , amidst an expansive beachfront marina. Rooms are outdated. Air conditioning comfort poses a challenge . Tv channels just average. Bathroom has a shower in a tub. But they have bidet spray available. Breakfast was buffet , somewhat managed , but dining guests seem to get food not wearing masks or some sort of protection. This 3 story hotel doesn’t have any elevator. Ironically, the neighbouring Lighthouse Marina has one , but it is not working the past 4 months. Apparently, the pandemic has really affected things.
Lastly, upon checkout, little did I realise that we were booked or placed in a floor with guests undergoing mandatory quarantine. I know , they placed white mono block chairs behind each room to place stuff , and with Red Cross notifications. Even confronted front desk , and they hesitantly confirmed it . Business must be indeed good , they used it as a mixed type hotel without notifying leisure guests what really is going on. Sounds selfish , it seems.