We don't have much family outings, this summer we've decided to head to the beach so that our daughter could experience it for the first time. It took us about 3 weeks to decide on our destination and the resort. Top 3 choices were Laiya, Bolinao and Bataan. We decided to go to Laiya due to proximity.
I've browsed a number of beach resorts in Laiya but decided to stay at Blue Coral Beach Resort instead mainly because their kiddie pool looked like something that my daughter could enjoy. A day after I've made a reservation at Blue Coral, the resort was featured at Ensogo at a discounted price, so I went ahead and purchased the vouchers. The Ensogo rate was at P1,699.00 per person (minimum of 4 vouchers needed), this was a deal compared to Blue Coral's standard rate of P5,800 for a Beachside room (good for 4 to 6 persons) + P1,250.00 per head mandatory meal package (breakfast, lunch and dinner). I had to call back to advise that I was paying using the voucher instead of cash.
Booking a room at this resort is sort of a hassle mainly because all their lines are busy. Had to dial the number at least 5 times to get through. Not to mention the lady who took down my reservation got the dates wrong (May 18 instead of May 11), which involved a very long conversation and one irate husband in order to resolve.
I'm giving the resort a rating of 3 out 5.
STAFF: Very accommodating and friendly. Check-in time was at 3PM but we arrived at the resort at 1PM, they offered to let us use the pool right away. The room as available at 2:30PM and they allowed us to occupy right away.
BEACH: great, water is clear (not murky), the shore is coarse semi-white sand. I managed to walk barefoot in the sand.
POOL: big, clean and spacious enough to accommodate a lot of guests. Kiddie pool has a mini slide which my daughter enjoyed.
ROOM: clean, spacious enough to accommodate 4 to 5 but I think 6 persons would be pushing it. There were 2 double beds and an extra mattress.
BATHROOM: no rack or space to hang clothes and/or towels so we resulted to using the door knob to hang our things. The bathroom also had a kind of smell as if it was not cleaned thoroughly, it really made me wish I had brought a disinfectant spray with me. Poor ventilation even though there was an exhaust fan installed.
FOOD: nothing special and to be honest it's not worth the mandatory food package of P1,250 per person charge (good thing I got the vouchers for the trip). The food was served at a buffet setup. Dinner and lunch was tolerable but the food was bland and tasteless and had very few selections. Breakfast on the other hand was a nightmare, they served steamed hotdogs, sauteed canned tuna, chicken tocino, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and onions, rice, bread and bananas. Snacks are not included in the food package unlike other resorts that I've looked at where they serve AM and PM snacks. The resort allows you to bring in snacks without corkage fee, and I really did wish we brought a lot as I don't think we ate well during our stay. I'm not a picky eater but really, the food did not meet my standards.
All in all my family and I enjoyed our stay in Blue Coral, the beach and facilities are great. I will probably come back again if I manage to score another deal in one of the group buying sites but will make sure I bring lots of snacks with me if I do, but if I'm paying full price for the stay I would rather look at other resorts instead.
FOOD: nothing special and to be honest it's not worth the mandatory food package of P1,250 per person charge (good thing I got the vouchers for the trip). The food was served at a buffet setup. Dinner and lunch was tolerable but the food was bland and tasteless and had very few selections. Breakfast on the other hand was a nightmare, they served steamed hotdogs, sauteed canned tuna, chicken tocino, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and onions, rice, bread and bananas. Snacks are not included in the food package unlike other resorts that I've looked at where they serve AM and PM snacks. The resort allows you to bring in snacks without corkage fee, and I really did wish we brought a lot as I don't think we ate well during our stay. I'm not a picky eater but really, the food did not meet my standards.
All in all my family and I enjoyed our stay in Blue Coral, the beach and facilities are great. I will probably come back again if I manage to score another deal in one of the group buying sites but will make sure I bring lots of snacks with me if I do, but if I'm paying full price for the stay I would rather look at other resorts instead.
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