Dickem's Transient House

The room was so bad that I left as soon as they showed it to me. It smelled like a sewer, was filthy and moldy, and had exposed wiring. The most disgusting hotel I've ever experienced.

Before arriving, I tried booking online with redDoorz, but couldn't because the location had apparently been gone for two years. I went to three redDoorz places. The second was actually called Express Inn, and the third wouldn't take me because they were fully booked. The staff member I spoke with was finishing their shift and left without explaining the situation to the incoming staff. I found Dickem's staff far superior to Horizons 101. Horizons 101 had rented me a room with my life-saving medication still inside and did nothing to retrieve it, saying it was against policy. They even called the police because I called them a hotel instead of a condominium. I told them that if they were a hotel, they should have better manners about guests and their belongings, especially life-saving medication. Their staff insultingly asked if I spoke Tagalog, while Dickem's staff were polite and well mannered, even speaking English, the universal language. I'd rather stay at a mom-and-pop B&B than a ghetto wannabe condominium like Horizons 101, which wanted to charge 100p per hour before the 2 pm check-in. Horizons seemed determined to drain your wallet. At Dickem's, also known as "Cebu Backpackers," my money was well spent on high-class treatment from well-trained staff. That's worth 10 stars to me. Some backpackers don't seem to have much regard for reality. Other guests leave messes, not the staff, and I was told staff do clean up when informed. The bad sewer smell in the Philippines is everywhere because of poor drainage, which is being upgraded and unclogged due to poor city government upkeep. That's not Dickem's fault. Even in restaurants I've used toilets with a bad urine or poop smell left by whoever was there before. I'm not a backpacker at heart, but I know camping means roughing it, wherever you are: going behind a tree or tall grass with no door, AC, or mattress. Renting a room is a big upgrade. People who can't handle roughing it need a reality check and should stop backpacking. My 10-star rating still stands. ❤️

😩

The room was incredibly cramped, barely suitable for sleeping. I brought a king-sized bastard. There's a bastard hiding under the bed. I'm afraid it'll be full. I came because of an emergency. Don't regret it. Pay a little more and go after seeing the pictures. The shared bathroom was inconvenient, so I didn't go. There was no shower, though I could wash up. The soundproofing was poor: a baby in the next room cried all night, and the mother sang. Staying here felt chaotic.