Name: Squares Cafe and Apartments
Address: Small Tabinay, Puerto Galera, Puerto Galera, Puerto Galera, 5203, Philippines
Rating: 8

Smoking areas

Garden

Terrace

Outdoor furniture

Reception desk

General

Laundry

Services and amenities

Restaurant

Snack bar

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Library

Barbecue grill(s)

Billiards

Picnic area

Barbeque

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Pets allowed (free)

Pets

Extra decontamination measures

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the apartment

Squares Cafe and Apartments

Puerto Galera

After 5 years of not visiting Puerto Galera, I think I will need another 5 years to recover just because my whole family's experience in Squares was truly terrible.

We arrived in Squares only to find out that the "booking manager" made a big mistake in our reservation. We were informed that she booked us for 2024 instead of 2023. Receptionist then had to find us rooms as it was a Friday and weekend approaching means most rooms will be occupied. We booked for 40pax so you can only imagine our frustration and worry after hearing that the booking manager made error in the system.

First - they gave us 2 rooms (7 of us were there for the Friday night and the rest will be arriving on Saturday night). The "deluxe" room was horrible, it was meant to be for 2 pax. No problem with the size of it, but it was really dirty! It's obvious the room was not prepped at all for guests. The other room was in another building - it looks clean, no problem with this one.

But we are here for a family reunion and it's just weird to be so far apart. So we asked the receptionist again if they can offer something else. She mentioned the "bungalow". We checked it out and asked them to clean it. There's still the question of what will happen to the rest of our relatives who will be arriving the next day.

I eventually called the person who managed our booking, her name is "Trisha" and asked her what will then happen. She said they can book the rest of the party to their other establishment. I said that this is not good because this is a family reunion, and the error was not from our side so it will be unacceptable. The other building is far from the beach, it is near the main road so I really do not understand how this is a proper solution.

Eventually they offered this family room and that we will pay the same amount agreed in the booking, but that they will not charge us for the bed foams that are supposedly extras seeing as they've already caused inconvenience and hassle to us. We just really want to go through with the planned reunion as it has been five years since we last saw each other.

The next day (Saturday), the rest of the party started to arrive. Suddenly, the receptionist approached me as I was hanging out by the pool to watch over my nieces and nephews who were swimming. The receptionist said that the "owner" Rose wants to talk to me. I asked her why, and she said it's because of the payment for the bed foams and that the owner insists on paying for it.

I really didn't want to be bothered by any of this anymore and to be honest I just couldn't wait to leave this place so I asked her to wait for my mother to come back as she arranged this whole trip for us and I don't want any more stress.

The receptionist went back to the "hut" which serves as their front desk I guess...and there I saw another lady who I assume is the owner Rose. I truly can't understand why she can't just approach me then and why she needs to send someone else when she's just close by? Maybe it's protocol, lol, who knows, but it didn't give good CS from my perspective. My friend and cousins were with me in the table and even them found it weird.

Anyways, my mother then discussed with them and they gave her a computation on how much the total bill will be. It turns out the total bill is 3,000pesos less than the initial agreed amount so I guess for this, thank you? To be honest, my mother (and I agree with this) just wanted to pay whatever was agreed initially! But this owner Rose seems to want other things, so thanks to her, the total amount is less.

I do not appreciate the tone though, and how they approached this. We wouldn't need those bed foams if not for their incompetence with the booking management.

That night, my teenager nieces decided to take a dip in the pool. Some drunken men were bothering them to the point that one of my nieces had to put on a shirt over her swimming attire because the drunken men has been harassing her! There seem to be no security whatsoever near the pool area who is in-charge of managing. Good thing, my cousins were there and shooed them away. This could've been prevented if the management of Squares has some security measures around.

The beds were also filthy! To be honest the whole bungalow was, so I don't recommend you book this. The water in the shower takes forever. My family was itching the whole time because of the beds! It's as if they do not change the covers or do any routine cleaning.

It's really unfortunate that because of this place, our family reunion which was 5 years in the making didn't get the best customer service experience it deserves.

My cousin tried to post a review in their Facebook page, and got the reply from the screenshot I've attached here. This just shows the quality of customer service you will get if you book this place. Maybe our experience was unique, maybe others will not experience this, but I do not recommend you to try this especially if you're a big group because the inconvenience will just be too much.

Ruined our family reunion, zero customer service, terrible management

This was the WORST PLACE EVER! If you want to experience NIGHTMARE, this is it! No customer service, no nothing! The owner is there but she doesn't care. I think she doesn't know the meaning of "customer service".
We were greeted with a room that has fishy smell and a dirty toilet bowl. CR sink drain is broken. Ref is full of rust. Kitchen sink clogged. And just when you thought nothing could be worse, at around 4am the AC stopped working! My husband went to the mini hut "reception" to see if we can get them to send someone to come and fix it and there was no one. I tried calling the contact person. First call got through but she didn't pick up. I called again and the phone has been switched off. I called the other phone posted on their FB page and it's switched off too.
It was only at 8am when they started accepting calls again. I demanded for a room change but they said they are full and that I have to wait til 11am.
The room that they will transfer us to is facing the pool and I saw there were a lot of people there when we came and I can already imagine how noisy it will be. Plus, I've chosen this place as I particularly like what they posted on Agoda which is a twin room (they call it quadruple room) facing the beach. Owner said there's no available room with beach view.
So we decided to just check out at 8am and asked them to refund our payment. The owner refused. She said, no matter what happened we will still be charged because we stayed there already. Even we were awaken at 4am and was no longer able to get back to sleep due to the faulty AC. Yes, she's aware, but NO, she doesn't care!
By the way, they sent a technician and he claimed AC was set to fan. Now they even have the nerve to twist the story. If it's set to fan then it would have been hot from the moment we get into the room! My 15 y.o. son checked it before we sleep because we wanted to make sure it was already set to the max 10 and high cool and my son has confirmed this. So there's no way that what the technician has claimed is true.
My advice when booking for a place to stay, check all available reviews online. If you see even 1 single negative review, don't ignore, unless you want to be the next one to get to experience how horrible this place is. We booked this place early and I only checked the reviews on Agoda. The most recent 1-star review on Google, it wasn't there yet when we booked this place, but we practically experienced the same thing.

WORST PLACE EVER!

Squares is an awesome place for family and friends. The staff is great and the food is delicious. Place has great amenities with good energy. Resort has Best service in Puerto Galera. It has a Strategic location if you want to go around Puerto Galera.

Enjoy the beauty of the amazing Puerto Galera

Awesome Squares

How can the place be so expensive,  market itself as upper class but yet the mirror in the bathroom is so moldy I cannot see my reflection in it?  The bathroom floor is so dirty one can get a foot fungus.  They do NO HOUSEKEEPING.  They provide NO SOAP or SHAMPOO.  There is NO WIFI in the rooms.  The KITCHEN APPLIANCES ARE OUTDATED and BROKEN.  The management staff is SO RUDE and UNFRIENDLY.  You have to PAY EXTRA to play POOL in their "common room. "
The staff is unprofessional,  and lazy.  
This place almost ruined our expedience of Puerto Galero. Don't book this hotel if u want to have a peace of mind,  and value of money.

FILTHY ROOMS

The hotel is a complete rip off. The bathroom has mold and toilet is leaking. No WiFi in the rooms. The bedding is just one flat sheet. The management staff is SO rude, unfriendly and their very unwelcoming. The breakfast was so bad. Waste of money. Don't book with this hotel. 

HORRIBLE MISTAKE

That we booked 3 nights here and left after 2 tells u all u need to know 
There were so many things wrong with this place it made the experience totally unenjoyable. 
Let me list the issues :
Rooms very very basic. Shower hose had 5 nozzles working and water barely registered as anything other than cold 
Old wall mounted box type AC struggling to churn out any cool air and sounded like a wounded old 727 struggling to get airborne 
Bed had a horrible old foam mattress which was only slightly more comfortable than lying on the floor. The bed cover was a single sheet that was thin and rather pointless and looked more at home lining a dog basket. 
Kettle provided but no tea available and it should be remembered not everyone likes powdered coffee to drink.
Breakfast was the worst disaster of all, very limited choice , tea not available at all , nasty cold congealed scrambled egg resembling a joke egg you find on a key ring with all the taste and flavor of same ! The bread is that horrible white bread that tastes like pressed dust with all the texture and flavor of errr pressed dust . Horrible! 
A request for a poached egg was met with a blank stare. The solution was to head for next door for something resembling edible . 
The issues were compounded by thoughtless noisy fellow guests who every night created a huge noise and absolutely trashed the place leaving empty bottles, discarded plates , peeled fruit, etc etc and just walked away from this mess without a single thought for the staff or fellow guests ! 
I would not recommend this place , too many issues and the place was far away from any night life whatsoever. The staff were pleasant willing and charming but when it’s actually came to fixing issues , nothing happened . We finally ran out of patience and left early , never to return !!! Avoid at all costs , the nice location and view do not make up for the abysmal service and facilities . 

We booked for 3 nights and left after 2 !

We had a blast when we visited this place. If you love a place closer to where the parties are, this is not a place for you. 

The staffs are very welcoming and accommodating. They are very attentive to our needs. I love that the place is away from the bustling noise in the white beach. We get to chill out in the beachfront. It’s like we had our own place. 

Cons: I booked for De Luxe Room via Agoda but I was given a Standard Room. Maybe because they have a lot of guest at that time and I haven’t called in advance to let them know. 

Overall, I love the place! 😍

Peaceful place in Puerto Galera

This hotel, being away from the busy Puerto Galera mainstream is a great place to quietly relax and unwind.

Upside:  Its beach is good --clean and not crowded.  Great view and have good seats to enjoy the sun. Staff are friendly and helpful.

Downside: rooms are dated, amenities very basic. Limited food choices. No brewed coffe. 

Staff are friendly and accommodating. Amenities and food c

Place to unwind

Located in Puerto Galera, about 5-10 minutes from Muelle Port in the opposite direction of White Beach. This private resort showcases a Greek style facade with a garden in front of a brown sand beach.

The place is accessible via tricycles coming from the port though the rates vary from 60-80 pesos depending on the driver. Upon entering the premises, visitors will see murals and a pool table which has to be rented to be used.

The rooms we got didn't have all the posted items for the kitchen. The rice cookers (3x) were either partially or completely broken. We ordered water and we had to bring them up to the second floor on our own. The airconditioner would be about just 0.5 hp which is not enough for the whole unit we had especially since the windows had to be forced open or closed.

The grounds were kept clean and the staff were all easy to talk to and very friendly. They even had dogs roaming at night and both were friendly. The white dog was named Whitey while the brown one, Brownie.

Don't expect to get any strong signal here. All the networks had intermittent problems at any given time of the day. The resort has WIFI but they don't have any repeater to accommodate the whole resort, thus making the guests go to the front desk to connect.

Overall, the rating that this place has (8.2) is too high. I would not recommend this place to anyone unless they really want to disconnect from the world and live a simple life.

Not for business

Price performance fits perfectly here. Clean studios with large bathroom and air con in the separate bedroom. We cooked in the kitchen and in the garden = a hard-grown grill of fresh fish and ate on the balcony at sunset. Studio 18 was = my secret tip. At night sitting on the balcony and sea noise. You rent a scooter better and I would never want to live in SABANG. Very good newly opened ital. Restaurant Pizza Stop. Would check in again anytime. Can only warmly recommend the hotel.

Squares Cafe and Apartments

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