Villa Del Faro — Hotel in Calatagan

At first I was quite apprehensive to try this place out - no reviews, no feedback, not much social media presence. Made a few calls and made some arrangements. I was even more skeptical as there were a lot of conditions and some of my requests were not really met - however, upon my arrival at the site every little doubt I had was dispelled. i was met on site by the co-owner, Nora, and her husband, John, and everything from that point in was a breeze. The rooms aren't 5-star hotel type rooms, but they are squeaky-clean, wonderful mattress (best one I've seen outside of a Marriott), adequate for almost all amenities except cable (but who needs tv anyways when you're supposed to be out in the sun), and they have food - good food. Not cheap, but reasonably-priced food.||||The staff are extremely helpful, the owner is extremely accommodating, the place is really nice, and the sunset is pretty damn good in Calatagan. The beach isnt really a swimmer's beach, but it's a great place to lounge around at sunset with a beer in hand. If our swimming itch needs a scratching - the infinity pool they have will suffice - and i love the fact that they don't over-chlorinate the pool.||||Also, the design is such that a majority of time the pool will be covered by some sort of shade, from the neighbor's treeline in the morning, and by the building itself in the afternoon. Saves a lot of worry off of the need for sunscreen. :) Also, they have a faux lighthouse tower, open at night for everyone, and offers a great view.||||Next time I go there I hope they have the sign up properly - we had to go back and forth just looking for the entrance to the access road. Otherwise, I loved...

At first I was quite apprehensive to try this place out - no reviews, no feedback, not much social media presence. Made a few calls and made some arrangements. I was even more skeptical as there were a lot of conditions and some of my requests were not really met - however, upon my arrival at the site every little doubt I had was dispelled. i was met on site by the co-owner, Nora, and her husband, John, and everything from that point in was a breeze. The rooms aren't 5-star hotel type rooms, but they are squeaky-clean, wonderful mattress (best one I've seen outside of a Marriott), adequate for almost all amenities except cable (but who needs tv anyways when you're supposed to be out in the sun), and they have food - good food. Not cheap, but reasonably-priced food.||||The staff are extremely helpful, the owner is extremely accommodating, the place is really nice, and the sunset is pretty damn good in Calatagan. The beach isnt really a swimmer's beach, but it's a great place to lounge around at sunset with a beer in hand. If our swimming itch needs a scratching - the infinity pool they have will suffice - and i love the fact that they don't over-chlorinate the pool.||||Also, the design is such that a majority of time the pool will be covered by some sort of shade, from the neighbor's treeline in the morning, and by the building itself in the afternoon. Saves a lot of worry off of the need for sunscreen. :) Also, they have a faux lighthouse tower, open at night for everyone, and offers a great view.||||Next time I go there I hope they have the sign up properly - we had to go back and forth just looking for the entrance to the access road. Otherwise, I loved...

The resort is near the beach, just a 5min walk from the resort. But the beach itself isn't that fine. Don't expect Boracay type beach with fine sand. It was quite rocky with a small patch of sand that goes along for a few km. But what it lacks in swimming it makes up on view and walkability. You should definitely bring water shoes because this beach is a nice place to walk on because the water was usually low and you could see all the sea life in shallow water. Or just play in the sand with the kids. The resort itself is small but the rooms were newly renovated. Everything was clean and the shower had hot water which I always appreciate. Bed was comfy and I slept well. The pool was good and had a deep end which is unique to most pools in the PH. But pool had no heater so it was absolutely freezing. The only thing that I could really complain about was the food. The quality itself was ok, home cooking and taste was decent. But it was around p380 or something for a tapsilog and other usual Pinoy favorites. so imagine a regular hotsilog for p380. Restaurants are far and few so you really have to plan where you want to eat if you stay here. Staff were excellent and the owners where there. They attended to all our needs very promptly and that definitely made up for the food thing. Would recommend but...