City of Springs Hotel

The staff were friendly and approachable, and the service was good. But if you’re a student planning an outing, budget extra before checking in, since the cottage and entrance are quite expensive. There are just two pools, and when we arrived they had leaves in them, like they hadn’t been cleaned yet. The water had no chlorine, which was good. One other thing, arriving late and checking in after 7 pm meant paying another 500 pesos, which felt a bit unethical. Thanks for the good service.

We ended up having a good stay, and yes, I’d recommend coming back to see for yourself. We were there for two nights and three days because I had an errand nearby, and the location worked well. The lake view was nice, the town market and lots of stores and restaurants were close, and getting around was easy because the tricycle terminal was nearby. The resort allows day or night swimming for guests, and we almost had the place to ourselves until some guests arrived on the second day. We heard a concert from a nearby resort until 10 pm. It isn’t a smoking resort, though there are a few hidden spots where people can smoke. We arrived around midnight to find reception open but the lights off, perhaps to save energy. A guard and receptionist were on duty. Before we traveled, my sister called to book, but the representative suggested a walk-in because a reservation needed a 50% deposit and might take time to process through a third party. A standard room was 2,000 per night, while the third-party website showed 1,700+. Staff were accommodating, though customer service was poor. We requested the free breakfast by room service for 7:00 am, had to follow up, then ate in the restaurant area when it arrived at 7:30. The food was delicious. We had to ask twice for the WiFi password, and it still didn’t reach our room. The connection only became stable around midnight on our last day. The water was warm, too warm for me since I prefer a cold bath, including in the pool during our night swim. We thought it might be natural underground spring water, and I didn’t smell chlorine. The shower didn’t work, so we had to bathe with a bucket and dipper. The standard room was okay but seemed to be missing some things: no mini fridge, an old-style but working AC, and an old TV whose picture kept flickering until it went black, so it became a radio. We got two towels, two sets of soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste, but no complimentary water, coffee, or tea. There was a water heater, pitcher, glasses, and mugs. I gave it three stars because I didn’t get the comfort I expected, especially complimentary water and WiFi. The warm water seems to come from a natural spring, so I understand they can’t help its temperature. We weren’t too picky, and still had a good stay.

The location is good, and the staff were accommodating, but the room quality and service were poor. They didn’t tell guests about the room’s condition beforehand. We checked into a lakeside room, which seemed promising, but the TV, air conditioning, and refrigerator weren’t working properly. The TV had no black box. At first we thought we didn’t know how to turn it on and asked the information office for help. They said to wait and that someone would check, but nobody came. When I asked again, they said the TV had no black box to operate it, even though they hadn’t checked the room. The air conditioner was so old that we felt we needed a fan to feel cool air. The socket behind the refrigerator was broken and unusable. The water supply to the shower stopped sometime after nine in the evening and took a while to return. The curtain brace was broken and taped, and the towels they offered guests never arrived in our room. It was a bad place to stay.

For what we paid, the place felt like a real steal. We picked a lakeside room with an indoor pool supplied with hot spring water, and all the pools use warm spring water. We took the bus from Manila and had an easy 50-meter walk from the highway to the gate. It’s suited to families and groups, and there are meeting rooms as well. The staff were smiley and service was fine. The restaurant was the drawback, though there is a food option within walking distance of the gate.