Mambaling Pension House

My room had no windows or visible vents, yet there were mosquitoes in the bathroom. It smelled damp and musty, like an old tomb, and black mold was everywhere. There were little black ants, webs above the bed, holes in the sheet, and no outlet by the bed. The Wi-Fi only worked at the front desk, not in the room. The air conditioner never got properly cold, stopping at 27 degrees Celsius, and there was no hot water. The TV didn't work either. The bathroom was so unpleasant-smelling that I tried to avoid it. Its door was loose and hanging off its hinges, and the light wouldn't turn off when I used the switch. Wiring was hanging out of the wall. The toilet water was shut off at the wall. When I turned it on, the handheld bidet leaked with a strong spray backwards. Flushing made the water rise instead of drain, and floating waste stayed there and smelled. There wasn't any toilet paper. Giant roaches were everywhere. One was shoving a spider cocoon about the size of my thumb under the bed. I asked the front desk for roach spray; they said they'd tell housekeeping, so I went to a nearby store myself. Dead and dying roaches were all over, too many to count. Just when I thought I'd dealt with the pests, a huge brown spider came down the wall toward the wriggling, dying roaches. Several times a day, someone knocked on the room across the hall, followed by a woman moaning. The knock changed, but it was the same woman's voice. Dogs kept barking nonstop, every waking moment. Sometimes another dog joined in, yelping as if in pain. They were little yapper dogs caged beside the front desk. At check-in, the desk took a 200 peso key deposit. When I checked out, the girl said it was 100 peso, even though I'd watched her attach 200 pesos to the paper at check-in. At checkout, only 100 pesos was attached. Now my scalp itches as if I've picked up lice.

Don't trust the photos when booking. The rooms are old, and many have stains. The young staff were downright rude and had no manners, except for the old lady. I asked to have the bathroom cleaned, but they wouldn't do it unless I shouted at them. If you're thinking of staying longer, you'll regret it. Honestly, the photos look like they were taken back in 2012.

Our room had no wall outlet, based on the one we were given, and there was no lift, so we had to take the stairs. It's cheap, but the rooms aren't good and feel like somewhere intended for short-time stays, which they also offer. The location is a bit far from the city proper. An overnight stay might be acceptable, but I wouldn't choose it for longer. We lasted less than an hour before looking for somewhere better.

Stay away! My son arrived today with a prepaid reservation through Booking, but they claimed they had no booking and no relationship with Booking. He showed them the reservation and they still didn't care. I contacted Booking and explained everything; they called the hotel, which acknowledged that he'd checked in and said everything was okay. Then the hotel told my son nobody from Booking had contacted them. They made a joke of everyone involved. On top of that, it's an awful place with no towels or toilet paper.