Ikhaya Budget Accommodation

Budget accommodation in General Luna with a lot of cafes and restaurants nearby. Really friendly neighbours including a cute dog

We stayed during a power outage (which happens, this one just lasted for a long time - not hosts fault) so our stay wasn’t exactly ideal, but it would have been nice to know beforehand a power outage was scheduled for the following day - seemed like every local knew, so we could have filled the water bucket and charged our devices. WiFi password is not available in room, so we had to contact host to get it, which is difficult without having data. This also made the check-in a bit difficult as we didn’t see the message with check-in information prior to arrival as we didn’t have any data. No bathroom door, which led to a very foul smell in the entire room from the pipes. Bathroom is really dark even with light and the toilet is low. It’s a budget accommodation, in the middle of GL, we would just not book here again as we felt we could get more value for money in a lot of nearby places.

The location was perfect

In the beginning, we really liked the place and felt very comfortable, so we even extended our stay for a few more nights. The housekeepers seemed to care about making us feel well during our time at the accommodation. When the entire island experienced a power outage for several days/weeks, they promised us a working generator the next morning at 9 am and gave us two big buckets of water, which we appreciated. During the one month we spent in the Philippines, we only had outstanding experiences with hospitality—until this case, which left us a bit frustrated and disappointed. The issue was that the hosts promised to support us as much as possible during this difficult situation, but they failed to follow through on their promises. On December 1st, we received a message stating that the generator for basic fasciitis would be activated the next morning at 9 am by December 5th, however, nothing had happened. There was still no electricity, no running water (we had to shower with bottled water from the supermarket, which is manageable for a few days but eventually became frustrating), and no way to charge our devices except by visiting restaurants or cafés. At night, we had to leave the door open and sleep with the mosquitoes in our room because the room became unbearably hot and started to smell unpleasant—likely due to sweat and the inability to flush the toilet properly. We understand that in this situation is difficult especially when the shut down is lasting for more days but they promised us the generator 4 days before we were planing to check out. Instead of being honest they kept telling us excuses and that things are going to work in a few hours etc. Nothing changed. Again, the issue wasn’t that they couldn’t help us at all, but that they made promises about changes that never came to fruition. We felt like there is a lack of communication and that made us feel uncomfortable and angry.

If you're not expecting 4-5* hotel, it's almost perfect! Cozy room, the best location, friendly hosts. And also incredible old chairs and cutiest dog! There were some unpleasant moments but the hosts sorted them out.

Only one negative is the very uncomfortable toilet. It won't work for fat or tall people

Good location, close to main road with bars and restaurants!

Dogs barking throughout the night which kept us awake. Asked owner for more toilet paper as we extended our stay and he would not give us any.

The location of the property was the best things for us.

The toilet might be difficult for larger individuals