Stay Malate (Wanderers Guest House)

I booked a fan room and checked in at 2 PM. The staff asked if I wanted to pay extra to upgrade to an air-conditioned room. Only after they showed me the rooms did I understand why. The fan rooms face west and get blasted by the afternoon sun, while the air-conditioned rooms are situated where they don't get direct sunlight. This comparison pretty much forces you to pay for the upgrade, as the fan simply can't compete with that intense heat. It feels like this is their business strategy, a veiled way to charge more, especially since other places offer AC rooms at this price point.

This guesthouse is absolutely dreadful and ridiculously overpriced! I didn't even want to take photos. After enduring one night there (since I'd already booked it), I fled in the morning to another fantastic hotel nearby for almost the same price, just a little more (which I found myself). This guesthouse feels like a prison and a school combined: the corridors are run-down, the faucets in the bathroom were broken, and the room had nothing, even though I paid extra to upgrade to a 'better' one. The hairdryer blew right into my face in the tiny room with just a bed, no closet, no chair, nothing… They didn't provide towels or any toiletries, not even water. I arrived early and tired and paid half the room rate for just a few hours. What's more, they calculated it based on the booking price, not the actual rate for that day (it was empty, everyone had left for Holy Week, and prices had dropped). The location is decent – in Malate, near Ermita. P.S. I've stayed in hostels in various countries, but I've rarely encountered something this awful. I do not recommend it.