The Beach Calatagan Mediterraneo powered by Cocotel — Hotel in Calatagan

Disappointing stay at a beautiful Location; needs major improvements

Our family recently spent a short vacation at Beach Medditeraneo, and while the place itself is undeniably beautiful with its Santorini-inspired aesthetic, the overall experience was unfortunately disappointing due to several major issues.

Poor Booking Coordination We had confirmed our reservation days prior through a family member, only to arrive and be told that we were not included in their master list. This caused unnecessary stress right at the start of our supposed vacation.

Unannounced Film Shooting The biggest issue of all was the unannounced film shoot. A Cinemalaya film titled “Open Endings” was being filmed the entire day of our stay. We were only informed at check-in — far too late to adjust or make alternative plans. The film crew took over the resort (which is a "public" resort) and repeatedly asked us to move our belongings, stay out of camera view, keep noise levels down, and even told us not to gather in small groups. One of our family members was woken up and asked to lower his legs because they were visible in a shot. The presence and behavior of the production staff made us feel like intruders, despite being paying guests. A manager later apologized and admitted they were unaware the shoot would be that disruptive — which reinforced how poorly the situation was handled.

Facilities and Cleanliness

Beach: Painful to walk on due to stones and corals, barely any sand, and the low tide made it uninviting for swimming.

Pool: Visually appealing in photos, but the adult pool was very narrow and surprisingly smaller than the kiddie pool. The water was murky, moss-lined, and clearly not well-maintained.

Restrooms: Smelly and unclean. Clearly lacking proper upkeep. The smell was so unpleasant that we found ourselves holding our breath just to get through it.

Food and Café Service Food service was incredibly slow. Some dishes were okay, but others fell flat. The orange juice tasted like cheap powdered drink (Tang), and many items on the menu were unavailable. That said, prices were fair. The café had a good ambiance, but only one staff member was running the place, which resulted in long wait times. The mango shake tasted artificial, but the coffee was good.

Billing Confusion To top it off, we were overcharged due to a numbering error on the guest list which we, as guests, were expected to manually fill out. A printed or pre-numbered sheet should have been provided by the staff to avoid such mistakes. The issue was only resolved after back-and-forth discussions, when it could’ve been handled more professionally and efficiently.

In summary, the location is undeniably picturesque and full of Instagram-worthy spots. That’s the one redeeming factor of this place. However, beautiful scenery cannot compensate for poor management, and unprofessional handling of guest experience especially during something as disruptive as a full-day film shoot.

We can live with the beach, food, and pool concerns as a one-time bad experience. But being treated like second-class citizens in a place we paid to stay at, due to the film production, was unacceptable. It ruined the entire stay for our family.

We will not be returning, and we hope the management seriously reconsiders how they communicate with and prioritize their guests...

We recently visited The Beach Calatagan Mediterraneo. We travelled around 6 hours to arrive to the resort and we were greeted by such a great sight. The view, the sea and the ambiance were truly inviting.

Unfortunately, this was quickly replaced by disappointment. We went to their restaurant and a lot of time has passed before we could order as there was no employee inside. When someone finally came, some of the menu items are unavailable so we had to reorder again, contributing to longer waiting time.

After lunch, we went to our room to relax from the heat and exhaustion from the long travel. The room was okay but the bed seems too small for two people. Mosquitos are everywhere and even the flush was not working. But what bothered us the most was that there was no internet connection. One of our conditions in choosing a place to stay was connectivity because we wanted to be able to work on the go and because my husband has clients to talk to. It was clearly advertised that the room has wifi access and it was truly disappointing that it was not working. We went to the front desk to ask for a possible resolution and we were even willing to change rooms. But they just mentioned that they are fully booked and we won't have any choice other than to wait for the maintenance to fix it. I asked to speak to the manager but they mentioned the manager is not in the premises. It was around 4pm when we decided to give up as there was nothing left for us to do. I didn't feel that they were apologetic and didn't even hear them saying sorry for the inconvenience we were subject to. I wish the front desk was able to handle this more smoothly and appease clients' complaints.

We were able to connect to the wifi around 6 in the evening but it was still intermittent. We decided to relieve the stress by taking pictures of the place and scheduled for a 1 hour karaoke which was included in the package paid for. We were scheduled at around 8pm and there was no one to assist us. We went to the front desk multiple times and we were just told to wait. We opted to just open the equipment ourselves but the mic was missing. Someone finally came and we were able to start after 40 mins of waiting. Indeed a lot of wasted time.

The next morning, we noticed we cannot connect to the internet and had to go to the front desk again. I think we spent more time in the front desk than the beach.

Anyway, we had our breakfast in one of the cabanas. Coffee was good but food was so-so and cold. We also noticed that the guy who assisted us yesterday was the same one today. We can see how tired he looked and asked if he has anyone to support him. He said that the resort was fully booked and thus their personnel are not enough.

I was really hoping to have a great time in this resort but it's a pity to say that it was not a good experience and unfortunately also not worth the price. This place has such a massive potential but if the customer service is not improved, I'm afraid it will only be a one-off visit and no clients will come back. I hope this feedback will help the beach calatagan to refine their facilities, resort management and develop their people especially on customer service and satisfaction. Hopefully in the future once things improve, we can come back and finally recommend your place to our friends and...

We feel completely let down by our experience at this resort. As paying guests, we expected at least basic standards of service and hygiene — but what we received was absolutely unacceptable.

To begin with, we stayed in a room at the Beach Hut for the first night. The Beach Hut is next to the main resort, but it is still part of The Beach Calatagan Mediterraneo. Anyway, the toilet in our room didn’t flush. After reporting it, someone came to “fix” it — it worked for one flush and then broke again. We were forced to use the public resort toilets, which had no toilet paper, and worse, the cubicle doors couldn’t even be closed properly. You had to leave the door open while using the toilet — a complete breach of privacy. My wife, on multiple occasions, was left with no choice but to hold it in for hours — including before an important online client meeting — because of the dysfunctional room toilet and the unusable public ones.

We were promised free WiFi, but the login details didn’t work. It took several complaints before they begrudgingly gave us alternative credentials. On top of that, we were told our room would be ready by 2pm — instead, we waited until almost 3pm to check in, cutting it incredibly close for my wife’s meeting.

The bathroom itself was a disgrace. I didn’t even bother using the shower — it was too close to the toilet, and the floor was covered in loose rocks that shifted when you stepped on them, making it unsafe and hazardous.

Every request to the staff — no matter how basic — was met with either excuses or empty promises. You have to chase them up multiple times before anything gets done, if at all. Even on the day we checked out of our room at the Beach Hut, when we asked again for toilet paper in the public toilets, they said yes — but did absolutely nothing. My wife was again left holding it in until we could check into our next room at the main part of the resort.

This resort constantly fails to deliver on its promises, gives misleading information, and treats guests with a shocking lack of respect. We feel like we were taken for a ride. Avoid this place — it's not worth the stress, the frustration,...