On March 29, 2018, we went to Lorelei Beach Resort. My boyfriend decided that we’d celebrate his birthday there. Or actually “I” chose that place as I saw a lot of good reviews on there. Pictures of the place look great as well. So we booked a room 1 month prior to his birthday.
On the day of the booking, I texted the resort that we’ll be coming a little bit late. I didn’t get any replies but I assumed they got my message.
When we got there, their manager (I’m not sure, but I think she is) greeted us. Asked about my name and if we were the one who texted and booked via Agoda. I was ready to give her the booking details I saved from Agoda but she directed us to our room immediately instead.
We were given the Ariel room. The room was big and okay. But when I checked my booking details again, we were supposed to get the Standard Double Room with a Balcony. The Ariel Room clearly doesn’t have a balcony. So I went downstairs again to ask about it. She then asked about my booking details and saw that she had given us another room. She then reasoned out that she can’t check her Agoda account as she can’t log in for some reason. The questions are, why did she give us the Ariel Room if she wasn’t able to check her account? Don’t they have like a record book for reservations? Do they assume what room to give to customers without looking at their record book?
Another reason she gave us was that an old man who is a guest of the owner of the resort didn’t want to move rooms as he preferred that one instead of the other ones. She said the old man was German so it’s difficult to argue with him. She also said that the room we originally booked doesn’t have a view. She said it’s facing a building so it’s not that “worth it”. Well, she didn’t really said those words exactly, but the point is that’s what she’s saying.
Oh, and before those reasons, she asked if we opted to pay on the property. Meaning, we have not paid our booking via credit card yet. I’m not sure if that changes anything or not though.
I’m not really sure if she’s telling the truth (but I’m not saying she’s lying either) but I just told her that I’ll confirm with my boyfriend first as I was thinking it’s his special day BUT I REALLY wanted the one with a balcony so we can enjoy the sunrise next day. I told him everything she told me and he just said we’ll just take the room we were given in to avoid arguments blah blah blah.
Long story short (If I haven’t been rambling the past few minutes! Lol), we accepted the new room instead. The manager gave us a discount for our room as an apology, although the price wasn’t an issue at all for us. She was kind the whole time we were there so I’m a bit confused on what to feel. Lol
Before we roamed around the resort, I asked the manager if we’ll get a free breakfast still as that’s included in the original booked room and she said yes. (She better be! Lol)
Anyway, I just want to tell our experience first before reviewing the resort itself. 🙂
How to get there:
1. From Sasa wharf, we got on the barge and paid P10 each.
Travel Time: around 20 minutes
2. From the Samal barge, you will either ride a tricycle or the so called “habal habal” to get to the resort. We opted for the “habal habal” and paid the driver P75 each. You can try to haggle them though, but it’s too hot that time, so we just agreed with the price. Lol
Travel Time: around 15 minutes
PLACE
I’m not going to lie, their entrance needs some revamp as it looks like it hasn’t been taken care of for some time. It has good potential for IG photos though. :p
BUT the place itself is REALLY nice! They have a bar area, which is currently empty at the moment, a volleyball area, a pool, a beach (their beach doesn’t have a shoreline or it’s probably because it was already high tide that time), chairs near the beach, chairs near the pool (some chairs were pretty old and there are trees in front of the pool so it’s not like the ones on the picture anymore), a shower area, a dining area and a Pavilion.
By the way they also have a store in the reception area. So if ever you forgot to bring some essentials like toothbrush, toothpaste, sunblock and such, then you can buy from them (they do have a free soap and a shampoo in the room). They also offer bathing suits too.
In regards to transportation, I saw a van in the resort so probably if you’ve emailed or messaged them beforehand, you can ask them to fetch you from the Samal barge. I’m not sure if they’ll convey you back to Samal barge though, as they didn’t offer us that when we checked out. There are no “habal habal” drivers waiting outside the resort all the time, so it’s either you’ll negotiate with the driver to fetch you the next day or you can ask the staff to call one for you. They’re pretty helpful.
ROOM
The room we stayed in was spacious. It has a table, chairs, cabinet, a desk, cable television (it doesn’t have a lot of channels though), your own comfort room, shower, and a WiFi (although a staff told us at first that we don’t have a WiFi, but we actually have one! Lol).
Some parts of the wall need some paint job and the wall mounted soap holder (or whatever you call that! Lol) had a little bit of rusts too.
I don’t like the lighting as it’s inconsistent. Some parts have warm lights and some have the white ones. I much prefer the white ones though.
And our room doesn’t have a telephone too. So if you want to order food, you need to go downstairs EVERYTIME. Lol
They also offer laundry services in case you’re wondering.
STAFF
They’re very nice! One greeted us at the gate when we arrived and directed us at the reception area. But when we ordered food, some staff kept on mixing our orders with the other guests’ orders but it’s really not a big deal.
We asked one of them if we can borrow a lighter (to light the candles for my boyfriend’s cake) and they handed us that.
FOOD
Their food was pretty good! Prices are just right as well. They also have big servings which we were pretty happy about. They don’t have a restaurant yet which I was confused at first as they noted on Agoda that they have one. But they do have some tables and chairs outside where you can eat and enjoy the view.
Overall, we still enjoyed our stay there, especially because all the staff were nice and I’d rate it 4 out of 5 just because I’m still pretty bummed about our room! Lol.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed all the pictures I added here. hehe
xo,
Ela
Lorelai Beach Resort
Address:
Brgy. Catagman, Penaplata, Island Garden City of Samal, Samal District – Samal Island, Davao City, Philippines
Contact No.
09064409250
https://www.facebook.com/lorelei.resort/