White Moon Residence

The old building itself wasn't the main issue for me. It was the lack of upkeep and hygiene, and booking five nights here turned into one of the worst decisions I've made. The room next door was noisy until 2:00am, with people eating, boiling water, and making other sounds. I couldn't sleep properly in an uncomfortable room. The first room also smelled strongly of stale sweat. The empty minibar was filthy, with yellow sauce or curry residue that smelled awful, and there was dust all over the headboard. A burning smell from the kitchen corner made me try to call reception, but the phone didn't work. I arrived around 1:00pm and was told check-in was at 2:00pm, so I waited along with other guests. That part was fine. Once I got into the room, though, I went down to reception to report everything and ask for a change. The second room on the same floor was a little better, but still dusty. The A/C remote didn't work, so a technician adjusted the unit by hand with a rope. Then a cockroach came out. Another staff member arrived with insect spray and asked if he should spray it. At 11:00pm, he wanted me to sleep in a closed room after spraying for cockroaches. They should have dealt with pests before guests arrived. I asked to shorten my booking and was refused. In the morning I complained and asked to cancel and get a refund. The receptionist said I had to wait until 2:00pm for the manager. I objected, and he gave me the manager's number. The manager came about 30 minutes later and offered another room, but most of them looked similarly old and poorly maintained, and I no longer wanted to stay. They then wanted to charge the first night plus the full commission they owed Booking. I refused, since that's not my responsibility. They eventually agreed to charge only the first night. I messaged Booking and asked them to waive the commission for the other four nights, but the hotel wanted me to wait for Booking's approval email. That's not how the process works. They should contact Booking themselves and provide proof that I was charged for one night, not five. The receptionist asked me to try changing the booking again. I did, and the displayed total was 180 qar, about 20% above the average nightly rate. I accepted that. Still, the receptionist added the first-night commission to my bill, along with a 2.5% bank fee. I refused the commission again and asked why a bank fee was being added to the cancellation charge when it hadn't been charged earlier and nobody had mentioned an extra Visa fee. The manager didn't try to understand my question. He angrily said, “How would we know you'd cancel, to tell you about the fee?” and threw 20 qar onto the table in front of me. How was I supposed to know I'd pay 150 qar a night to sleep with cockroaches and get such bad service, or that there'd be hidden charges if I cancelled because of it? Nobody told me. Treating a customer that way is shameful. With cockroaches in the room, I could even have complained to get a full refund, but I didn't. I regret that now. I'll never return and wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.