Yvonne's Hotel

We booked a twin room online through Airbnb for all nine nights, but after arriving we were told there was only one double room left because we were a couple and the hotel was full. That wasn't what we'd booked. Instead of a refund or even an apology, they gave us a 5 cm foam mattress to put on the floor as a second bed. When we asked reception for two sheets to use as covers, Jason said, “we don’t do that here.” A very kind cleaning lady eventually got us the sheets. After the first night, we barely slept. The floor was awful, and noise from the corridor and street kept us awake. We were badly short on sleep by the second night. We asked Jason to move us, and the next room, supposedly a twin, had one single bed and another mattress, this one 20 cm thick, still on the floor. Jason seemed to be in charge at reception, but when we complained he never apologized or acknowledged that we hadn't received the room we booked. He even hung up while I was explaining again that if there wasn't a twin room, he shouldn't have accepted our Airbnb booking. We left after two of the nine nights and moved hotels to save our sanity and our holiday. I was sleep deprived for three days, and staying there would have ruined our time in Pohnpei. The twin room at the next hotel felt like a five star place after the two nights at Yvonne’s. Every other hotel room we'd seen had the usual twin double bed setup. Yvonne’s didn't. The rooms and service were horrible. The place needs refurbishing and is dirty, dated, and falling apart, more like an old apartment block or prison than a hotel. Most people we met in Pohnpei were really kind, so Jason stood out for being rude, greedy, and unhelpful. I hope nobody else goes through this. Stay somewhere else. The other hotels in Kolonia have nice rooms.

Airbnb cancelled my reservation after Jason had a spat with them, removed the place from its platform, and refunded me straight away. Then Jason contacted me directly to offer the same room for double what I'd paid on Airbnb. This place is a joke, and dealing with Jason felt stupid and scammy. Be careful.

The location worked really well for me, with supermarkets within walking distance, and I liked the rental cars. It's an OK budget hotel with the basics, but a couple of things were broken. My single deluxe room was listed as having a balcony, yet I was put on the ground floor in the carport, with renovations going on right outside the window. They gave me passwords for three wifi networks and said the carport rooms had their own modem, but no wifi reached my room while I was there. I thought the shower only had cold water until the fourth night, when it turned warm for a few minutes and I realized it was meant to be hot. There was no hand towel or shower mat, either. A few major mix-ups seemed to come from limited English. When I asked about a boat tour, they told a taxi to drop me on the causeway, and although I requested the free airport transfer, it never arrived.

The staff are friendly and helpful, and the hotel has free wifi for guests. It also has a good restaurant with food and drinks at affordable prices. Yvonne's Hotel is conveniently located within walking distance of town, the Telecommunication Centre, the Baseball Ground, and an ATM, making it a good place to book when traveling to Pohnpei.