Booking at Zen Rooms

We've been looking at rooms available through BOOKING (dot) COM a number of times but it was our very FIRST TIME to TRY booking at the hotel EMPHASIZING a tag line..."ZEN ROOMS Sleep Well, Pay Less".


THE LOCATION

Since our stay is confirmed on our way on the 3rd of May I called the hotel.
I made a call past 2 in the afternoon, a sleepy receptionist whom I caught YAWNING answered the phone. I even started greeting..."GOOD AFTERNOON IS THIS ZEN ROOMS?"
This was because the HOTEL RECEPTIONIST lack TELEPHONE ETIQUETTE.
I started asking for HOTEL exact location in BONI, I was enlightened about it through certain landmark location mentioning ROBINSONS FORUM.
We locate it and later on found ourselves walking, it was far from the landmark and it requires a number of steps going there.

After paying for the AGREED upon ROOM RATE we also PAID for  a SECURITY DEPOSIT amouting P1000.


ZEN ROOMS ROOM

We were given a CARD not a KEY at 2720. Not so much to EXPECT a BED and a separate CR with TV, MICROWAVE OVEN, REFRIGERATOR, A DINING TABLE but there was no SINGLE SPOON nor MUGS inside. This was a bit AWKWARD for you have to call the hotel to REQUEST for those.

Our tummies were hungry so after dropping all our things...we left for lunch.
In fairness, there was existing FAST FOOD CHAINS and RESTAURANT within the area...a walking distance and to NOTE there's more with a few more WALKS inside the Robinsons Forum.

Then we went back right away to at least feel our stay at the hotel.
I was actually fixing some of my things when suddenly the KIDS SCREAMED.
I said WHY? they said there's a COCKROACH and pointing it to the direction where it was CRAWLING inside the CR.
A few more minutes there's a FEW MORE CRAWLING.

Upon checking my e-mail I was asked if how was so far our stay at ZEN ROOMS.
This gave me the very opportunity to put everything on writing our COMPLAINTS staying at their room.

One of their customer service representative gave us feedback on this...

A few minutes after our SENT e-mail...we HEARD somebody KNOCKING on our ROOM.
They IMMEDIATELY moved us to the NEXT ROOM, room 2721.

Much of my concern is this, did they not CHECK this before they send us there? Because if ZEN ROOMS did...then there's no INCIDENT like this.

In room 2721, It was the same type of ROOM but there was no SINGLE insect there.

Since we never wanted to ruin our stay at the hotel...we moved on because that particular day was my youngest SPECIAL DAY!


ZEN ROOMS AMENITIES

The kids and the family enjoyed SWIMMING. We made a visit on weekday so EXPECT that there's no VOLUME of GUESTS coming in. So were like, in our own SANCTUARY.
I just admired their CR with locker rooms, clean and well-maintained.

I just don't have the chance to personally visit the GYM which was supposedly on my BUCKET LIST due to time constraint. 

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END

The following day we checked-out. 

We TRIED to inquire about our OTHER CONCERN which was how can we get a hold of the MONEY they took us from our VISA CARD.

We were told that they're just only going to PUT ON HOLD that money...but still it WASN'T RETURN to us until the time we checked out at ZEN ROOMS.

There was even a VERBAL DENIAL from the receptionist that it wasn't ZEN ROOMS who hold our money...and that BOOKING (dot) COM was the one CAPABLE OF DOING it.

But TRY TO LOOK AT THIS...

But we CHECKED over and over again until this very day.

I just couldn't put the grab copy of our bank statement (due to some privacy concerns) which proves that we were DEBITED with the same amount of our stay...and that MONEY was still on-hold after we made an inquiry about it.

We are still WAITING for our MONEY to go back. 

For those who are READING this MAKE SURE that before leaving the HOTEL you have your MONEY BACK.

After this experience, I don't know...NEXT TIME we will be booking at HOTELS and SEARCH ENGINES that is TRUE with their SERVICE and PROMISE.

  

The memorable Positano Room 502 visit in Azure

Everybody deserves a vacation break.
Whatever it is usually from work, or you just want to go out, unwind and relax.
But what if some of your expectations in a specific place you've been to haven't met?
Will you say that your vacation were screwed.

THE SEARCH IS OVER

There's this particular hotel finder I always turn to when looking for a specific place to travel and stay...and that is "BOOKING (dot) COM."

The very first time I had visit with its website, I was fascinated that there was something so helpful like this. Imagine, you can easily get access with different apartments and hotels registered here.
And it is in the click of your hand you'll get to choose the best place, and affordable room to stay.

Through this dedicated hotel finder I found..."AZURE!"


WHY AZURE?

Azure was so different from the usual two previous DMCI properties the family checked-in.
It has a pool but this one has a concept of a "BEACH TYPE POOL with SANDS", "WAVE POOL," and probably best "PHOTOGRAPHED ROOMS."
Given all of this, thinking twice booking it for the family monthly vacation was never went my mind.

 The booking was made as early as 5th of February of this year and we never moved or changed the date.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

Booking with AZURE was far from the experience I had with other apartments where owners were getting in-touch with possible tenants week before the agreed upon date...here was literally a day before the said date unfolds.

A certain Danielle called me up...not clear if she's the owner of the apartment or just someone who were asked to managed it.
Our conversation was cut but at the time we were talking about our reservation if were pushing through? But she also indicated in her dialogue that there will be additional fees and that what was written in the agreement posted by BOOKING (dot) COM the "FEE," they were talking about was all just for "ROOM RATE ACCOMMODATION," only.

We were cut...reason why she explained other fees along with the following COMPUTATIONS.

But TRY TO LOOK AND STUDY IT CAREFULLY (what was screen capped) was far from what BOOKING was telling me.

FROM THIS YOU WILL SEE SOME INCONSISTENCIES.

She (Danielle) actually appeased me by saying "I CAN
CANCEL IT FOR FREE."

But getting the very LOGIC of it...we were all MINDSET on this and that my KIDS were two excited about it. CANCELLING it FOR ME at the time was not the best option, I can't afford to see my kids in SADNESS. After all, they had their SWIMWEAR ready, and other SWIMMING ESSENTIALS too.

I allowed my wife to continue conversation with her but at the end we had a MUTUAL agreement on BOOKING on it.


HOW CAN SOMETHING SO GOOD BECAME SO WRONG

AZURE is situated in Paranaque, the family just commuted via different mode of transportation such as...jeep, LRT1, and finally TAXI.

The taxi driver told us to navigate SLEX instead of the service road for it was too traffic...but this option do not just gave us ADDITIONAL P49 fee but also gave us a 30minute TRAFFIC.

From the lobby of POSITANO you'll see many tenants like us lining-up to sign and leave our ID's for security purposes.

But ONE great OBSERVATION I have seen was how small was the space provided for the ELEVATORS (at the time we were all there, it was weekend) so EXPECT VOLUMES of TENANTS booked at every apartments available.

The LOOK of the ELEVATOR "HITACHI," never even get away my sight for it has as INDICATED 10 PEOPLE and about 750KG but at the time my two kids were inside I and my wife along with other tenants whom I think never reaches that total number of its capacity...was too tight for all of us.
And since it serves until 20th floors or more...your "PATIENCE WILL BE TESTED for WAITING."

The room where we stayed was actually "GOOD," but it was more "BETTER," than it was PHOTOGRAPHED in BOOKING.

Except for an OPENED CABINET DRAWER below (see visible pipes and empty pep bottles).
The person who assisted us (WILSEL) kept us informed about it, it was just fixed by her by simply adjusting the pipes and that no utility boys available to put the door back together.

But WAIT there's MORE...my eldest took a bath using a broken shower. See how this thing works for her since Althea, couldn't use it properly because the water that now goes out with it loose its direction, she just open the water faucet and simply placed her head underneath to rinse it thoroughly.
Just imagine, how SIMPLE things get COMPLICATED.

Do they know about this?

And what I DO NOT EXPECT WORST that might not happen but it HAPPENED...POWER OUTAGE.

But what BOTHERS us was were the only apartment on the floor that has been experiencing it at the moment.

I was MAD at this but still CONTROLLED my TEMPER.

I TEXTED Danielle, and SARCASTICALLY reported about it. I do not get REPLY right away so I called her...this time I was really MAD, I told her to fix it.

We bumped in to WILSEL at the grocery store and she narrated that what APARTMENT were renting for a day were installed by a PREPAID ELECTRICITY...OMG!
And we were not told about it.

The POWER went back after 20 to 30minutes...HOW PATHETIC was that?!

At this time, I was then explaining my FAMILY about it...they were ALL DISSAPOINTED as well.


My kids were too excited getting into the water but since it has too many apartments that was for daily rentals...expect volumes of visitors.

We started lining-up around 8:30 in the morning along with those EXCITED tenants wearing their SWIM WEARS...and we reached the payment counter and finished everything around 9:20 am.
And that was 50 MINUTES SPENT literally lining up.

At this time, I was THINKING that we were all lined-up in an MRT3 that malfunctions.

Now, what would be the IMPLICATIONS of this, the BEAUTIFUL IMAGE of MARKETING the AZURE and its property is now eventually at stakes here.

I wouldn't recommend this to any of my friends.

Now, I am also thinking of looking for other hotel/apartment SEARCH ENGINES.

This will be my very last.