Sunday, November 09, 2008
I wrote this on the Northwest flight from Manila to Tokyo today, hopefully there are not too many spelling errors:
In addition to the Boracay Regency Resort, we stayed at a number of resorts and hotels while in the Philippines. We started and ended our trip at the Mandarin Oriental Manila, which is located in a relatively safe part of the Makati district. The drive to the airport takes only about 15 minutes when there is little traffic, otherwise estimate 20-45 minutes. At the time we visited, Manila did not have any airport hotels of any descent standard, so we ended up choosing the Mandarin Oriental Manila for our accommodation needs.
While staying at the Mandarin Oriental Manila, we tried the breakfast and dinner buffets, and both provide excellent value and quality. The bed is one of the most comfortable beds I have ever had the pleasure of sleeping in, and I also enjoyed a swim in the pool located on the second floor. Perhaps the only thing missing in the Mandarin Oriental Manila is a sky lounge or bar. Also, while the staff at the hotel were all very pleasant and courteous, a small incident made me wonder whether they have an incentive program in place to encourage staff to entice customers to eat at the hotel's restaurants.
On entering the hotel at around 5 PM after a round of shopping in Glorietta, a lady from the reception approached us and asked whether we had any plans for the evening. I casually responded that we were planning to eat at the hotel, and she quickly started introducing the alternatives available. She even followed us to the elevator and held the elevator for us, then got into the elevator with us when it started making beeping sounds, and finally she decided to come all the way up the 8th floor with us. Basically, she refused to leave before we finally agreed to make a booking, although I stated several times that we wanted some time to think about it. Finally we asked her to make a booking at the evening buffet, which turned out to be delicious. However, since she seemed overly enthusiastic about having us make a booking, it would be interesting to know what her motivation was. Perhaps it was just a misguided attempt at being friendly and service oriented, but I still put my money on the incentive program.
On Panglao Island, which is connected to Bohol Island through a couple of bridges, we stayed at the Amarela Resort for three days. I found this place through Tripadvisor, and it turned out to be as good as the reviews had indicated. The resort has only about 20+ rooms, and the owner is a local Filipino engineer. Beautifully located with fantastic views of what I believe is part of the Sulu Sea, Amarela Resort offers numerous surprises in terms of art decorations and architectural ideas. The rooms are comfortable and cosy, and come equipped with both books and a DVD player. While just a small resort, hundreds of DVDs and books are available for free rentals, so there is plenty to do after the sun sets.
My only complaints about the Amarela Resort would be that their beds are too short for someone of my length. Also, their selection of food could be better, and the quality of the dishes was variable. There are no alternative dining options in the area, so it is easy to get tired of the food at Amarela after a couple of days. Also, while the beach is clean and well kept in front of the resort, the situation changes quickly if you walk a few hundreds further up or down the beach. Obviously, the Amarela Resort can not be held responsible for cleaning the entire beach, but it is still sad to see an otherwise splendid beach spoiled by garbage.
After staying three nights at the Amarela Resort, we stayed one night at the Marco Polo in Cebu. While we had breakfast at the Marco Polo and enjoyed a couple of drinks in its sky bar, I can not really provide a review of this hotel. The pool is apparently quite amazing, but we did not have time to check it out.
After a line of successful hotel picks, disaster struck. For our stay in Boracay, I had made a booking at the Boracay Hills. At the time, this was the second most recommended hotel in Boracay according to Tripadvisor, but I am baffled by how this can possibly be accurate. First of all, I do not even understand how the hotel has managed to get 100 reviews, as there seem to be hardly any guests staying there.
While I made a booking at the Boracay Hills due to the positive reviews at Tripadvisor, after having been to Boracay, I can not understand why anyone would want to stay there. The main reason for visiting Boracay is to enjoy its beach, water activities, and possibly also Boracay's nightlife. The Boracay Hills is located away from it all, which is positive if you do not want to see the beach or people. However, in that case, North-Luzon should be your holiday location of choice rather than Boracay. While the Boracay Hills admittedly provide free transportation to the beach, it is a big hassle going back and forth, and there really should be no reason to stay away from the beach when there are so many great alternatives available.
Second, there is almost no food available at the Boracay Hills. They have a very thin lunch menu, and dinner needs to be pre-ordered in the morning if you wish to eat at the resort. When we wanted a fruit shake at lunch, they only had one type available (pineapple), so it is a little like finding yourself on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall.
Finally, the rooms are dark and seem not to have been renovated since the hotel opened several years ago. We took some pictures to prove it. The TV is a tiny little box, and the toilet was leaking in the first room that we entered. While the toilet was quickly fixed, I asked for an upgrade (for a fee), but in the new room we first ran out of hot water, then for a short time we did not even have any water. All the hotels on Boracay how problems with the electricity supply, but I think Boracay Hills is the only resort to have problem with its supply of water.
On a positive note, the staff and owners of the Boracay Hills are very friendly and hospitable. While English is not widely spoken among the staff members, we were always greeted with smiles and kind greetings. Also, when we decided to check out two nights early, the resort "only" charged us for one additional night's stay. This, however, was a small cost to pay for the immense pleasure I felt when I was able to leave the Boracay Hills. The resort's underlying problem is that it no longer is competitive with the numerous new hotels and resorts that have opened by the beachfront. It can not compete on food, location, quality, or service. Stay somewhere else.
In addition to the Boracay Regency Resort, we stayed at a number of resorts and hotels while in the Philippines. We started and ended our trip at the Mandarin Oriental Manila, which is located in a relatively safe part of the Makati district. The drive to the airport takes only about 15 minutes when there is little traffic, otherwise estimate 20-45 minutes. At the time we visited, Manila did not have any airport hotels of any descent standard, so we ended up choosing the Mandarin Oriental Manila for our accommodation needs.
While staying at the Mandarin Oriental Manila, we tried the breakfast and dinner buffets, and both provide excellent value and quality. The bed is one of the most comfortable beds I have ever had the pleasure of sleeping in, and I also enjoyed a swim in the pool located on the second floor. Perhaps the only thing missing in the Mandarin Oriental Manila is a sky lounge or bar. Also, while the staff at the hotel were all very pleasant and courteous, a small incident made me wonder whether they have an incentive program in place to encourage staff to entice customers to eat at the hotel's restaurants. On entering the hotel at around 5 PM after a round of shopping in Glorietta, a lady from the reception approached us and asked whether we had any plans for the evening. I casually responded that we were planning to eat at the hotel, and she quickly started introducing the alternatives available. She even followed us to the elevator and held the elevator for us, then got into the elevator with us when it started making beeping sounds, and finally she decided to come all the way up the 8th floor with us. Basically, she refused to leave before we finally agreed to make a booking, although I stated several times that we wanted some time to think about it. Finally we asked her to make a booking at the evening buffet, which turned out to be delicious. However, since she seemed overly enthusiastic about having us make a booking, it would be interesting to know what her motivation was. Perhaps it was just a misguided attempt at being friendly and service oriented, but I still put my money on the incentive program.
On Panglao Island, which is connected to Bohol Island through a couple of bridges, we stayed at the Amarela Resort for three days. I found this place through Tripadvisor, and it turned out to be as good as the reviews had indicated. The resort has only about 20+ rooms, and the owner is a local Filipino engineer. Beautifully located with fantastic views of what I believe is part of the Sulu Sea, Amarela Resort offers numerous surprises in terms of art decorations and architectural ideas. The rooms are comfortable and cosy, and come equipped with both books and a DVD player. While just a small resort, hundreds of DVDs and books are available for free rentals, so there is plenty to do after the sun sets.My only complaints about the Amarela Resort would be that their beds are too short for someone of my length. Also, their selection of food could be better, and the quality of the dishes was variable. There are no alternative dining options in the area, so it is easy to get tired of the food at Amarela after a couple of days. Also, while the beach is clean and well kept in front of the resort, the situation changes quickly if you walk a few hundreds further up or down the beach. Obviously, the Amarela Resort can not be held responsible for cleaning the entire beach, but it is still sad to see an otherwise splendid beach spoiled by garbage.
After staying three nights at the Amarela Resort, we stayed one night at the Marco Polo in Cebu. While we had breakfast at the Marco Polo and enjoyed a couple of drinks in its sky bar, I can not really provide a review of this hotel. The pool is apparently quite amazing, but we did not have time to check it out.
After a line of successful hotel picks, disaster struck. For our stay in Boracay, I had made a booking at the Boracay Hills. At the time, this was the second most recommended hotel in Boracay according to Tripadvisor, but I am baffled by how this can possibly be accurate. First of all, I do not even understand how the hotel has managed to get 100 reviews, as there seem to be hardly any guests staying there.
While I made a booking at the Boracay Hills due to the positive reviews at Tripadvisor, after having been to Boracay, I can not understand why anyone would want to stay there. The main reason for visiting Boracay is to enjoy its beach, water activities, and possibly also Boracay's nightlife. The Boracay Hills is located away from it all, which is positive if you do not want to see the beach or people. However, in that case, North-Luzon should be your holiday location of choice rather than Boracay. While the Boracay Hills admittedly provide free transportation to the beach, it is a big hassle going back and forth, and there really should be no reason to stay away from the beach when there are so many great alternatives available.
Second, there is almost no food available at the Boracay Hills. They have a very thin lunch menu, and dinner needs to be pre-ordered in the morning if you wish to eat at the resort. When we wanted a fruit shake at lunch, they only had one type available (pineapple), so it is a little like finding yourself on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall.
Finally, the rooms are dark and seem not to have been renovated since the hotel opened several years ago. We took some pictures to prove it. The TV is a tiny little box, and the toilet was leaking in the first room that we entered. While the toilet was quickly fixed, I asked for an upgrade (for a fee), but in the new room we first ran out of hot water, then for a short time we did not even have any water. All the hotels on Boracay how problems with the electricity supply, but I think Boracay Hills is the only resort to have problem with its supply of water.
On a positive note, the staff and owners of the Boracay Hills are very friendly and hospitable. While English is not widely spoken among the staff members, we were always greeted with smiles and kind greetings. Also, when we decided to check out two nights early, the resort "only" charged us for one additional night's stay. This, however, was a small cost to pay for the immense pleasure I felt when I was able to leave the Boracay Hills. The resort's underlying problem is that it no longer is competitive with the numerous new hotels and resorts that have opened by the beachfront. It can not compete on food, location, quality, or service. Stay somewhere else.
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