Harolds Mansion Hostel

Highly recommended 🤌🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼❤️The owner is very approachable and always check on us, the staff is a 5star rated because they are so kind and very friendly also very helpful, I can say that the room is very nice, very net and very comfy, it has a big space and the toilet is nice, grabeee kanice sa service and near the mainroad pajdt and just 5 mins drive padung boulevard❤️❤️❤️

The staff were very accommodating, especially the front desk — super nice and friendly! Our room was okay and comfortable. It seems they are currently doing some renovations, which we totally understand. We weren’t able to connect to the WiFi in our room and couldn’t use the TV, but the staff kindly explained that they’re transitioning to a new internet provider (sort of😀). Thankfully, there's a WiFi spot available at a semi-sala/balcony area where we could still connect. Air-conditioning worked really well — definitely worth the price! The rooftop restaurant was closed due to the renovation, but everything else was good. Thank you, Harold’s Mansion, for accommodating us. Our baby had such a great time! 🥰👶

Harold’s Mansion Hostel and around are a wonderful place. Harold and Sandy made us feel 100% taken care of. They are incredibly hospitable, kind, and always ready to help. The friendly atmosphere makes you want to come back and enjoy their services again. It’s the perfect place for travelers looking for both comfort and adventure. Highly recommended!

The price and location were great, but the room was quite dirty (still livable, but definitely needed better cleaning). The staff and service, however, were excellent.

The hostel location is unbeatable—everything you need is just a short walk away. We stayed here for our diving trips and a quick Siquijor tour, and it was the perfect base. The hostel rooms are clean, comfortable, and super affordable, which was great for our budget. Plus, there are plenty of restaurants and food spots nearby, making it easy to grab a bite after a day of adventure. Highly recommend this spot for anyone looking to explore Dumaguete!

Harold picked us up at the airport and took us all over. Diving. Beach parties. Tours. Great dinners. Harold is cool and fun. Can't wait to come back. Best thing to do is rent scooters. Hotel/Hostel is in a perfect location. Walked all over. Good coffee and food right downstairs or walk down the streets and just pick a place out. Especially around the college. Markets are full of fresh food. Had a blast. Even know the weather did not cooperate, we still had an unexpected fantastic trip to the island because or Harold.

USED TO BE GOOD, BUT NOW RIP OFF TOURISTS. DO NOT USE! I did an Apo island tour with Harold's in 2018 which I thought was very good, so I thought I would do it again in April 2024, but it was awful. Unfortunately this time was not so good. I was quoted p2,100 per person via email, but when I went to the hostel to book, they charged me p3,400 per person for 2. They only accepted cash, but didn't have p200 change after I paid p7000, which is suspicious since it was cash only and they were operating the hostel as well as dive tours. They said they would give it to me when they picked us up the next day, but the guide didn't know anything about this. THEY ALSO DIDN'T GIVE ME A RECEIPT. So the whole thing feels like a SCAM overcharging tourists. The pick up was 40 minutes late picking us up. The tour itself was quite good, food was a packed lunch of rice and chicken in a box, whereas previously and other tours are much better. In addition to the p7000 I paid for the tour, the guide pressured us to tip the boat crew and himself. I am not against tipping good service, but considering I was overcharged by Harold's, I wasn't very happy paying even more. Overall, guide was good, but I would never use Harold's again and would recommend tourists go somewhere else.

you get what you pay for - rooms are really bare: no towels, no complimentary toiletries also. some door handles are rusty (disgusting), and facilities look far from what is advertised (i.e. pool table is broken, rooftop appears unmaintained, hallways smell old and dusty). one good point: staff were very kind and responsive to our requests; almost makes up for the hassle above. would not recommend for first-time goers to DGT. if you do end up staying here, ask for a non-road facing room as the streets are still busy at night.

Harold's Mansion is one of the older accommodations in Dumaguete city and is widely popular with both local and international tourists due to it's affordable rates, cheerful environment and in house arranged adventures (dives, snorkeling, and treks). The place is currently undergoing facelifts in their bathrooms and caters to all sorts of people, from backpackers, to volunteers and adrenaline junkies, offering dorm style accommodations, single, and twin/double rooms.

My wife and I have stayed at Harolds mansion twice, once around 2012 and again in the winter of 2017. The two experiences were very different! In 2012, everything was great and I would have given it 5 stars based on that experience. The double room we had was nice and clean and we had a very pleasant stay. Their dive gear was also relatively new at the time and we enjoyed about 6-8 dives with them at Oslop, Sumilion, Apo, and Dauin. Also, Harold was actually there overseeing everything in 2012. (He was certainly not there during our second stay.) "EXPIRED" DIVE GEAR & BAD POLICIES AND SERVICE When we returned in 2017 everything seemed a bit more drab and worn than it had been. The dive gear was in very bad condition. All of the BCDs and regulators that I saw were ready for retirement. At the beginning of one dive the divemaster, my wife, and I all noticed that one of the buckles on my wife's fin was broken. It was possible to buckle it, but it was not fully secure. They didn't have a spare fin available, so we had no choice but to use the damaged fin. Unfortunately, it wound up coming off during the dive and was lost in a strong current. When we returned to Harold's, rather than apologizing for giving us broken rental gear, Harold's dive shop tried to charge us 3,000 pesos for an old, broken fin that had clearly been used several times a week for years. The divemaster even told the office that the fin was broken BEFORE the dive, but they didn't care. All they cared about was getting 3K pesos. STOLEN MONEY: Two days into our stay we changed rooms, and when we did I accidentally left my wallet in the room we moved out of. When I realized I left it there I found one of the cleaners in the hall and asked her if she would let me into the room to retrieve it. I was surprised that she knew exactly what I was talking about and told me the wallet was at the front desk. When I got to the front desk 2-3 employees who were there also knew about my missing wallet. One of them pulled it out from behind the desk and gave it back to me. When I checked the contents I immediately noticed that quite a bit of money was missing. (At the time I thought they only took 1,000 pesos, but after thinking about it and doing a cash inventory I realized they actually stole 2,000 pesos!). None of the employees could explain to me why they didn't just return the wallet to me instead of keeping it at the front desk. My name was printed on the credit cards in the wallet, and they could easily just look in the guest log to see which room I was in. The only logical explanation is that they were hoping I would check out and leave the wallet and all of the money behind. BOTTOM LINE: Someone from Harold's Mansion stole 2,000 pesos from my wallet, and their dive shop tried to charge us for an old, broken fin that needed to be replaced anyway. Also, the whole place is more worn and drab than it was in the past. I have the distinct impression that whoever is managing that place is a big part of the problem. While Harold lives in L.A., his mansion in Dumaguete is going down the tubes. BETTER OPTION! After leaving Harold's we went to "Insular Hotel," which was excellent. It was nicer AND cheaper than H.M.! The restaurant right next door, called Kri, is pretty good, too. I will update this review if I hear from H.M.