Casa Azucena

If you just need somewhere to sleep in the city, this place does the job. The short-stay rooms are on the first floor, while the second floor is used as student dorms. My room was small but fine for that purpose. The pillows and blankets were thin, though, and I got cold at night. You can also hear noise through the walls, including cats fighting outside and students coming in early in the morning. The location is convenient, close to Xavier University, a pharmacy, fast food places, and other businesses. I’d still recommend it for a basic place to stay in the city center.

The staff were wonderful and deserve a raise. Management, though, needs retraining, and their pay should be reduced. There’s some upkeep needed around the hotel too. The bathroom grout needs cleaning, and the A/C should be cleaned and installed properly because the room smelled moldy when it was running. The TV mount was loose enough that the set looked ready to fall, and the bed sheets should be the right size. The breakfast was supposed to be hot, but it was very cold.

We’ve stayed here five times and love the place. The ambience is really nice, there’s enough parking, and the staff are friendly. I was just disappointed to hear that they no longer offer transient stays in Room 2Z, the one we liked.

It was quiet enough that I got the best sleep of my trip, and the aircon was great. We paid 850php. The shower wasn’t perfect, but the place was nice, quiet, and cheap. We arrived without a booking after the receptionist had gone home, and the guard wasn’t sure what to do. He asked us to book first, then said he couldn’t hand over the key without the receptionist. Luckily, he managed to call her, and we were able to check in without booking online.