Harbour Gardens Tourist Inn

I’d give this place zero stars if I could. The sheets were stained and dirty, and the pillow had mold on it. When we asked to have them changed, staff first insisted they were fine. There were ants all over the room, too. We asked for insect spray, but they’d run out and offered air freshener instead, then said they’d buy something else when we declined. After a long day, we came back to find the shower broken, with a bucket left for us to wash with. Breakfast was another surprise: they’d said it was included, but only the Filipino breakfast was free. A regular Americano breakfast had to be paid for. At 7:30 in the morning, they knocked while we were asleep to bring breakfast to our room, without any drinks. When we asked why, they said, “Sorry, we have an exam today!” The list of problems could go on. Worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in.

The stained sheets and unclean room were covered in ants, and the pillows were moldy. The shower didn’t work, so they gave us a disgusting bucket and told us to wash with that. Then at 7:30 AM they woke us by bringing breakfast to the room, with no warning beforehand, because they said they had an exam to go to. “Free breakfast” also meant paying extra for coffee or tea, or for an American breakfast. The whole situation was unbelievably ridiculous and ruined our holiday. Terrible rooms, terrible hotel, and incompetent staff.

We left before the two weeks we’d booked were up and moved to another hotel. We’d hired a car with a driver through the staff to tour Bohol, but the driver kept asking for extra money, which was very disappointing. On arrival, the staff had been welcoming. Our ground-floor room was a letdown, though. We could hear lobby and reception noise and footsteps, and the only window looked straight at a wall. The place was okay otherwise, but I’d choose an upstairs room for a better view and less noise.

The owner’s conduct made for awful customer service. He drove his own vehicle down the driveway to the inn, but told the taxi we’d arranged to take us to the airport that it couldn’t come down and made us load our luggage at the road. We ended up soaked through. There was nowhere to store our bags while we waited, so we spent hours wet at the ferry terminal. The included breakfast offered only four menu choices, none big enough to fill a mouse, let alone a person. The mattress was so thin it felt like sleeping on a rock, and with my surgically reconstructed spine I may need to see my neurologist again. The third-floor cafe was like a sauna with no air conditioning. I’ve never given a hotel one or two stars before, but this deserves minus three. The owner was a jerk, arrogant and egotistical, and the service was classless and terrible.