Nawa Wellness — Hotel in Calatagan

Nawa Wellness Calatagan: the secret sanctuary of the kindest and most beautiful people

5 stars are underrated, everything was beyond my expectations!

I do not usually write reviews, but the world deserves to know that there are still genuine, kind, and caring hospitable individuals like the people in Nawa. They also deserve recognition of how passionate the people are.

With this, I would humbly love to give back to them through this in my own little way, here is my share:

#1 People - hospitality, accommodation, consideration, friendliness, attentiveness, helpfulness, professionalism - 7 stars (5 stars and they deserve +2)

I did not expect to receive such overwhelming warmth and complement throughout our stay.

The people of Nawa are consistently accommodating, considerate, well-attentive, genuinely friendly to the guests, everyone shows genuine care and gestures to its guests.

From inquiry through Messenger and Viber, finally to the arrival until departure --- the security, front desks Sir AJ, Ma'am Diane, Sir (I was not able to get his name, but the one with glasses (I think) and was wearing white shirt and black hair at the front desk as well), managers Mam Tanya and Mam Levy, our personal wellness butler, Mam Camae, to the restaurant attendants, spa attendants, hiking attendant (Sir and esp to Mam who really focused on attending me the entire hiking round trip), and other attendants.

Even other maintenance also greets me when I get out in my room last 5am in the morning.

(I do not usually remember names and inattentive to look at the nameplates, I also do not usually remember faces I saw for the first time, but they are genuinely too kind and genuine individuals to be forgotten, even I met them for the first time that will surely leave a special in my heart for a lifetime)

(I also do not usually ask photos together with the attendants, but they are unusually kind and very hospitable; thus, I love to keep memories with them)

Everyone are consistent. They are incomparable! They deserve to be role models to the hospitality industry. In other hotels and other establishments within the hospitality industry, others, even on the well-known 5 star hotels and globally known coffee shops in Metro Manila, were inconsistent and depending on the mood, some were only friendly at the arrival or check-in but were snobbed upon departure or check-out. Surprisingly in Nawa, it is actually my first time that everyone is still tirelessly warm until departure. All genuine smiles! Surely, they raised my standards on this. The people raised the bars!

Nawa Wellness Calatagan is a rare hidden gem.

I thought I would only reconnect with nature, but little did I expect I will also be given an opportunity to reconnect to the people with pure and genuine humanity. Yes! They still exist!

Hope you won't change and maintain the pureness and sincerity to serve within your heart!

No regrets and will never get tired and won't mind to travel exactly 146.6 km to comeback and meet them again!

They exemplify, "happy to serve"

The people are exceptional, remarkable, and outstanding!

thread...

What worked:|1. The interiors and ambience, the look and feel |2. The welcome ritual was a promising start |3. The Kawa bath experience was unique and memorable||What could be improved:|1. When we arrived, we were asked for food restrictions and if we were celebrating a special occasion, to which we replied yes to both BUT quite pointless because no action whatsoever. It would be better to strike out the questions if it's just going to be for the sake of asking. Besides our primary reason for booking in this resort was the website's claim that their menu had plant-based dishes but actually had very limited vegetarian options. For a wellness resort, was also pretty surprised that the meat used wasn't organic, the pasta sauce and salad dressing tasted canned and not all-natural.|2. The idea of having a "dedicated" Wellness Butler to "curate" the wellness experience was promising but there was none to curate since upon check in we were informed that all services are fully booked because they are expecting a large group and they have basically reserved the resort. Disappointing because the website had a long list of amenities and services, with focus on their spa and massage.|3. The biggest let down of our stay was since our stay coincided with a large group, we were forced to dine in our room for dinner and breakfast...which was okay since our son fancies room service...BUT this resort was not prepped for it at all. First of all, there was no table nor chair inside the room, so surely they know that the guests would be eating on the bed but the food did not come in a bed tray table at least, worse it came in just one small round tray, so we ended up eating very uncomfortably with the plate on our lap, else risk soiling the mattress with food. But we didn't have a choice because they kept saying they are attending to a large group so the dining halls are full.||All of the above said, I think the resort should consider being more proactive and conscientious next time they accept a large group. They could have reached out and informed us, maybe offered if we wanted to move the dates or gave an option to cancel since they will not be able to provide the services to guests who are not part of that large group. Afterall, we didnt avail any promo and paid full price and deserve the same level of attention and consideration. At the very least, i hope they can invest in proper bed tray tables before they suggest room service and walk the talk and improve the menu to live out the...

Overall experience was decent.

Food selection was quite small, could use some Filipino classics, given they have this theme around the property.

Breakfast was often served cold, had to request to be reheated. The flavors were bland, and the pizza dough was undercooked—disappointing given the hefty price. Poached egg during bfast was also overcooked…but cold

On the positive side, amenities were enjoyable, especially the salt room and sauna.

Take note, we find this place isn’t very PWD-friendly, as moving between rooms and amenities involve hiking, though small rides are available going to and from the reception and restaurant.

Activities, like breathing and stretching sessions, were great.

Wish there was a more hands-on experience for the “food preparation”, as it was more of a demonstration by the staff and was just juice making and not…food…😂

Service and staff were excellent WiFi was reliable, though cellular signal was almost nonexistent.

Not graveyard shift friendly as most of the staff are off and no closed space for you to work at other than in your room. They only offered the outdoor cabanas and a katol that can only be lit up before their end of shift 😅

In the bathroom, shower drain was slow, and the short shower barrier caused water to splash outside. 😔 they let us know that water takes time to heat up, but it sometimes turn cold mid-shower. The mirror and faucet weren’t cleaned properly, and there weren’t enough sockets in the room as well but they provide extension cords. TV has Netflix but you have to login your own account but we weren’t able to do so as TV was just a cheap version and hard to navigate.

We found the massages were overpriced and not marketed well. Staff casually suggested them without explaining why they were worth the price, which felt like they were targeting foreign visitors.

And the teepees dedicated solely for massages felt underutilized—at first, we thought they were unique accommodations or sleeping areas, but they turned out to be just for...