Alta Residences Legazpi

Our room was already booked and fully paid through Agoda, but we were only asking if there might be a chance to rebook. The front desk staff member sounded annoyed when I asked about it by phone, then answered defensively and angrily. I was asking politely, and expected a calm response.

The location was superb, just a short distance from the famous Daraga Church. If you want photos of the church, I’d stay at a hotel and make a trip over instead. This was the worst of the seven places I stayed: the room smelled, and it was full of mold and cobwebs. They said the kitchenette was available, but I worried about the fire safety. They also said we could use the balcony, though the chairs seemed unsafe enough that I wouldn’t sit on them without antibiotics and a tetanus shot. There was no WiFi even though they said it would be provided, and good luck with the shower.

The water pressure at the B&B was sometimes weak, but it didn’t bother me. I loved hearing the old-sounding bells from the dambana, since the place is right beside Daraga Church. Mornings brought crows, other birds, and dogs. It may seem noisy if you’re not used to it, but that’s normal provincial life. If you want to lounge around and look at Mayon, this is a nice place for it. In my experience, Daragang Magayon can appear as early as 5am, so get up early.

This was a nightmare for our family, and I still remember it clearly. We spent the whole second night awake, searching for somewhere decent to stay. We’d driven 14 hours from Manila and were visiting Albay after decades away, hoping to enjoy the city and visit our parents’ graves. I don’t usually go into this much detail, but we felt badly wronged, and I hope this doesn’t happen to others. Two years ago, I contacted Catherine "Cathy" Altarejos, owner of Alta Residences, through Airbnb. We were two families: one couple with toddlers aged 3 and 1, and another with children aged 6, 2, and 10 months. I gave her their ages. There were units listed, but she said they weren’t available and thought they might be too small. I later found out they actually were available. She asked us to wait for other units she expected to finish soon. A day or two before our trip, she offered new two-bedroom units, actually two studio-type units that could be joined, around 40 sqm total, for 5,500 pesos a night, plus another studio-type room for 2,300 a night. The units weren’t listed on Airbnb yet, so I asked how to pay. She said at check-in. I was unsure, but time was short and we came from the same place and spoke the same native tongue, so I agreed. Cathy was out of town when we arrived, and her sister Camille accommodated us. The 2,300-a-night room we planned to use had major problems: the air conditioning and electrical sockets didn’t work. Camille offered us part of the two-bedroom setup for the same 2,300 a night. The other family arrived late after a long drive and took the other part. It was clear that their portion was 2,300 a night, which they confirmed and paid. Camille still needed to confirm whether our portion was 2,700 a night, as she understood, or 2,750, half of 5,500. The next night, Cathy phoned to say we should pay 5,500 a night for using the two bedrooms. I found her rude and unprofessional. Instead of apologizing for the mix-up, whether Camille had made a mistake by upgrading our room, Cathy blamed me for following her sister’s offer. She was angry that I hadn’t replied to her Viber messages, though we’d been out meeting friends and family until night and had no internet connection. She accused me of deliberately not replying, saying, "sinasadya mo kaya hindi ka nag rereply!" She started the conversation that way and it only got worse. She talked about how she had pulled together her brand-new units for us, and about how much electricity and water we might use. I asked whether she could raise the rent for the next day, but she arrogantly pressed me over the small difference in price, then said, "Sige kayo na bahala mag dikta kung magkano ang renta, kayo na". To our dismay, she told us to leave her property and find somewhere else in the middle of our holiday, during the early hours. We could have taken the two bedrooms at the asking price from the start, and had peace of mind, but there were already arrangements in place. After the way she berated us, we stood by our position. The 900 peso difference wasn’t worth the headache, and we’d also paid a 1,200 cleaning fee. My guests are lawyers in senior positions, though I honestly don’t want to mention that. We live humbly and would have settled things amicably, but this felt deeply unfair. We’d never been treated like that before. During the argument, Cathy also said the other bedroom should cost 5,500 a night. I was appalled by how she spoke to us, and she even said we should dictate the rent ourselves. We’d already paid the extra cleaning fee of 1,200, and the 900 peso difference simply wasn’t worth this trouble. My guests are lawyers with high-ranking jobs, though I honestly don’t want to bring that up. We’re humble people who would have settled things amicably, but we felt wronged and were treated in a way we’d never experienced before. I hope they don’t do this to anyone else.