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.
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.