Bohol: Alona Tropical Resort
www.alonatropicalbeachresort.com
info@alonatropicalbeachresort.com
+63 38 5024106-07
Barangay Tawala, Panglao Island, 6340 Bohol Philippines
This review is long overdue, I've been to Bohol every year since 2008, and each time I stayed at the same resort, the Alona tropical Beach Resort. One of the most affordable beach front resort along Alona Beach in Panglao.
I booked the reservation via e-mail, and as always, their response time was reasonably fast. I also appreciated the fact that we were able to reserve a room without the 50% policy required deposit, most likely possible because it's low season. Staying during the low season, which is from June 1 to October 31, also gives you a 10% discount on their room rates.
Upon arriving, the staff at the front desk greeted us warmly as expected, the frontdesk staff who checked us in though was a bit out of place with his unsmiling face. He had no problem smiling for foreign visitors though.
His cold demeanor was easily forgotten as we were led to our room by one of the kuyas who was very friendly and accommodating.
The Room
Rooms were fairly clean, the comfort room looked clean but smelled a bit odd. Their solar powered water heater was centralized.
The breeze flows freely through the room's large windows.
Note: Mosquito repellant is a must.
Rooms were cleaned and towels were changed everyday.
The Resort
We had no itinerary for the day, so after taking our lunch and resting for a few hours, we decided to go to the pool area and take a dip. It was almost 10pm at the time so we checked the pool guide for the pool hours, but it was not indicated. Anyhow, I remembered swimming late on my previous visits so i'm thinking it would not be a problem. When we got to the pool though, the pool guy was already putting chlorine powder in the water, he nonchalantly advised us that pool hours is only until 10pm. We were disappointed as we were already in our bathing suits and all, but it was fine. We also decided against swimming in the beach so we just settled and chatted in the pool area.
What suprised me was that the pool guy turned off the lights on the area where we were lounging. When we asked him why he turned off the lights, the pool guy, I think his name was Rami, rudely answered, "Weren't you informed at the frontdesk we would be closing the lights at 10PM?". As if he wasn't rude enough! Don't get me wrong, we have no problem with the 10PM lights off rule, but since we were not really informed, he could have apologized for turning off the lights while we were still there, or better yet, he could have approached us then informed us about the policy before he turned off the lights.
The pool guy just walked away and did not make any attempt to cover his rudeness. And since we can't stay in the dark, we dropped by the frontdesk to request for a mosquito coil for our room. While there, we mentioned the rude behavior of the pool guy. The front desk on shift apologized for the guy's behavior-which would have been good, had the front desk staff who checked us in that morning been not in there frowning behind our backs while we were relaying the pool guy's rude behavior.
After the frontdesk handed us the coil, we went to the bar area to get 3 cups of hot water, the lady at the bar was nice enough and she accommodated our request.
However two of the resort's staff working on their laptops were there, eyeing us. They then questioned the bar lady what she was giving us for free. We almost laughed and just gave our room number so they can charge the cups of hot water if needed.
Our first day was extremely bad, that though my friend had an unfortunate experience at the resort on our stay the previous year (but that story's not mine to tell), I still thought that this stay would definitely get the award for worst service in my Alona Tropical Experience.
Day 2
The following morning though, I was greeted with the usual friendly staff on my way to the restaurant and we were served by kuya Cliff and the rest of the restaurant staff, who embodied the service that I was familiar with and I loved in Alona Tropical for the last 3 years.
Babaylon, the resort's restaurant can still improve the quality of food though considering it's price.
After breakfast, I took some pictures on the beachfront. Walking barefoot, I noticed that the sand was not as fine as before. They used to comb the beachfront sand in the morning---not anymore. I even remembered my friends goofing around with the sand rake the last time we were there.
We then headed up to our room to freshen up. Our tour picked us up at exactly 9AM for our countryside Itinerary (Contact Kuya Al Moreno 09193531884)
---
Arriving from our whole day tour, we went straight to the beach hoping that the usual group of men offering the Dolphin Watching-Balicasag Island itinerary would be roaming around and we would have a number of bidders for our tour. That's when we noticed that no one was offering any tour nor souvenir, in the area. We were then informed that they were no longer allowed on the resort's beachfront, which is actually a good thing if you don't want to be disturbed by uncalled for souvenir and tour offers.
At the time though, they would have been a welcoming site, as not having the local boatmen around would force us to have our island hopping arranged by the resort, which would cost us 60% more than the amount we are used to paying for the said tour. It was good that we have old contacts from our previous visit. Though we weren't able to bargain as much, the local boatmen's rate were still way more affordable than the resort's rate. (1300 for 6 PAX-Boat Only)
Day 3
We woke up early for our Dolphin Watching with Balicasag and Virgin Island Hopping. See complete details on Bohol: Dolphin Watching and Balicasag Island. (Contact Roel Bernalde 09059768346 or Dimitri Nini 09099493082)
After which, we again contacted Kuya Al Moreno (You may also travel via tricycle which is more affordable-Contact Kuya Willy 09079078897) so he can drive us to Bohol Bee Farm. After just a year, I was surprised with the number of changes and improvements on the farm.
The rest of our stay went smoothly, and I can say that most of the staff are still as friendly as ever, except for, sadly, a select few.
Overall, the resort offers good value for your money, especially with it's location.
Note for the night Owls...
Pool Closes at 10PM
The Restaurant closes at 12MN
The Bar closes at 2AM
Cost
1320.00Php-10% Discount
1188.00Php/night
(Room good for 2 pax)
