Srdjan T.
Google
Review – Nustar Hotel Cebu
We deliberately chose this hotel as it is advertised as a 5-star resort. Unfortunately, our overall experience was very disappointing and did not meet this standard in any way.
I would like to explicitly highlight the very friendly and genuinely helpful staff, as well as the modern and visually appealing room. Sadly, this is where the positive aspects end.
The breakfast was poor in both quality and selection and felt more like that of an average city hotel rather than a 5-star resort. What was particularly disappointing was that there was not even enough fresh juice available in the morning — despite only three to four tables being occupied at the time. This is absolutely unacceptable for a hotel in this price category.
Food and beverage prices throughout the hotel are extremely overpriced — two to three times higher than comparable restaurants just a few minutes outside the hotel — without offering any corresponding quality or added value.
Housekeeping was unreliable. Despite activating the room cleaning indicator, our room was not cleaned for several hours, and we had to follow up ourselves.
We were also very disappointed with how a room upgrade request to a sea-view room was handled. On-site, we were repeatedly told that no rooms were available, even though multiple suitable rooms were simultaneously available on Booking.com. Even after clearly stating that we were willing to pay an upgrade fee, we were only given a vague “maybe tomorrow,” with no follow-up whatsoever.
For smokers, this hotel is completely unsuitable. Every time you want to smoke, you must leave the hotel entirely and walk to the entrance area. There are no seating options and no designated, comfortable smoking area. This is extremely disappointing and poorly managed for a hotel claiming to be a 5-star resort.
Additionally, a large number of external visitors are constantly present throughout the hotel and lobby, significantly diminishing both the sense of security and the resort atmosphere. In the evenings, people were even sleeping in the lobby, which is absolutely unacceptable for a hotel in this price range.
Without the casino and the completely overpriced mall (even by Philippine standards), this hotel would, in my opinion, be no more than a 2- to 3-star property.
Conclusion:
Despite the friendly staff, we cannot recommend this hotel and would not stay here again. It was the most expensive yet by far the worst hotel we experienced during our five-week trip through the Philippines. The value for money is very poor — there are significantly better alternatives in Cebu for the same price.