4k's Pension House by Cocotel

We had a balcony where we could sit, eat, and enjoy the view. The room was roomy, with a big bed and aircon that worked well. There was hot water and enough water for our stay despite the shortage throughout Cebu. They also supplied towels and small toiletries like tissue, soap, and shampoo. The location is handy for the plaza, pantalan, and shops. A few things let it down: the sink was clogged, the TV didn't work, and wifi was almost unusable, especially upstairs. I had to go outside to get online. There's no dispenser or vendo for drinking water, so we bought it at a nearby store since the penshion house's water was pricey.

We paid through gcash for a one-night stay while visiting relatives, but neither room worked out. The standard room cost 800 pesos and smelled terrible, apparently from the cr. There was something floating in the toilet, and it wouldn't flush. We hurried out, completely disgusted. They offered a second room upstairs for 1,300 pesos, but that one also smelled bad, either from the CR or the sink. After two failed attempts at finding a decent room, we canceled and asked for our money back. We won't return or recommend the place.

The upstairs rooms have especially slow signal, and even downstairs it's still not great. I ended up using the lobby or going outside near the door to get a better connection. There's also a nearby karaoke spot that's pretty loud, though I can't really blame the hotel for that, and the water comes out slowly. On the good side, the rooms are clean and nice, the aircon works perfectly, and the pillows and katre are really soft and comfy. They give you clean towels and disposable toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap bars, shampoo, and other basics. They may run low on shampoo, but there's a tindahan nearby, and staff will bring extra pillows, toothbrushes, toothpaste, or other items if you ask. There's a restaurant close by, foot and body massage, and free wifi. I came back for a second stay in 2022 and would rate it 8/10.

The room was clean and the TV and WiFi worked fine, so the place seemed fair for the price. But the way the cashier handled a missing 500-peso bill ruined our stay. When we checked in, she said she had no coins, returned the 500-peso bill, and we paid the exact amount. Later, while we were out for a late lunch, she called to say she'd accidentally given us 1,000 instead of 500. We were certain we'd received only one yellow 500-peso bill, and our cash then was all fresh 500s from an ATM with serial numbers still in sequence. She said we were the only guests, so she couldn't have given it to anyone else, then ended the call with, "tan-awn lang nato sa CCTV" (let's just check the CCTV). A little later she texted that she'd found the missing bill on her table, where she'd covered it with something. Her aggressive accusation made us feel threatened and left lunch very uncomfortable. We were disappointed she accused us before checking the cameras or looking properly at her table.