Hale Manna Coastal Gardens — Hotel in Cebu

Here’s my unbiased review of Hale Manna during our stay on Sept 2-4, 2023:

Pros: Beautiful gardens - they have a variety of trees, flowers and cacti within the resort, the landscaping is good, with hammocks and beach huts along the cliff side. Sea water in pool - I guess they’re trying to compensate for the lack of beachfront, the saltwater pool looks clean and there’s always a lifeguard. Spacious rooms - I can only comment on the Ohana rooms since I haven’t stayed on the other ones. There’s no tv and wardrobe (this must be a thing in moalboal coz the other resorts don’t have television as well. No wardrobe, just bedside long table for the luggages - more practical i guess in terms of those just staying overnight).

Cons: Not PWD-friendly. I’ve informed the staff beforehand that there are 3 seniors in our group and one of them is PWD. The resort does not have permanent ramps (they do have portable wooden ramps which they only installed AFTER we’ve reminded them repeatedly), the pavements don’t have smooth access for wheelchairs. We ended up carrying our lola’s wheelchair to go through small steps even going to their dining area.

No beach sand area. This is perhaps a deal breaker. Understandable that their resort is on a cliff, so if you’re expecting to walk along a sandy shore, this isn’t the best place to visit.

“Buffet” breakfast - We’ve been told they serve from 7-10am, we joined the dining area at 8am and they have already ran out of food (particularly the puto, sikwate, and tocino). Not enough plates and cutleries were ready, and guests were asked to wait. I seriously think they need a floor manager (I don’t think they have one, or atleast I haven’t seen one), to facilitate even a simple breakfast buffet.

Poor service - This is perhaps the first resort I’ve been to that doesn’t have any warm welcome to their guests on arrival. When we arrived and parked our van after following their signs toward their reception, no one was there to usher us where we need to go, where to check in, and needed prompting to help us with our luggages. Overall, their staff/service is unfortunately slow.

Restaurant food is abysmal. Sadly the serving size, quality and taste is atrocious. I’ve been looking forward to their filipino foods but sadly it was a disappointment. I can understand that the prices can be abit higher coz I would assume they take into account the transport costs, but atleast they should cook their meals right.

Overall, despite some of the good reviews I’ve read online, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be visiting this resort again. I’ve been told good reviews years ago from my MD friends in Cebu but perhaps the management has changed and everything went downhill. We stayed at both Ohana 2 & 3 for a quieter location, but in general I think the overall cost that we’ve spent for a couple of nights is definitely not worth it. Good service outweighs everything, and they’re definitely substandard. Due to low tides during the day, we ended up visiting Ravenala resort (which is only 1.5km away) on our 2nd day to use their beachfront, and surprisingly their service is way much better + food is affordable and tasty!

Nevertheless, thank you Hale Manna for the experience. We hope your management and service will improve next...

We lucked upon this lovely resort while searching for a place by the beach to spend with the kids on what was to be our first and last summer beach outing for the year (busy with work so this was the only time we had). We searched all over a few different booking apps and did not find a single place that would allow three teens to share a room or five people family style.

When we were nearing the end of our rope and were contemplating going elsewhere instead (Aloguinsan and Alcoy was on our list of alternatives), we decided to check via google maps if there were other resorts that were not on these booking apps. I clicked on the northernmost one that was not on any of these apps and found that it had a site.

I loved the pictures on the site and definitely loved how the place had rooms big enough to fit a family. We were able to talk with the owner, Miss Becky, over Facebook Messenger and we were told that they had a room good for 5 but it was only available on Friday and they were fully booked on Saturday. We booked the room and asked to be on wait list for another room should someone cancel on Saturday. The very next morning, Miss Becky messaged back and told us we had the room on Saturday as well since someone did cancel. Yey!

The resort is the perfect place to go to when you want to have a fun and relaxing time with family. I love how the place makes you feel, like it can just wipe all your worries away. The staff are so friendly and very accommodating and even allowed us to use the facilities while we waited for our room to be ready. There is also free coffee (bottomless, if you can handle it), iced-tea and cookies upon arrival at the reception area.

The room we were given was very spacious and it had a shared veranda with another room. We spent both our nights before bedtime hanging out on that veranda and looking at the well-tended gardens all around us. The room also has a massive bathroom that everybody loved!

Staying here was like staying in a homestay-style accommodation but with hotel amenities and service. Top notch and I would definitely recommend it to those looking for a place where they can relax (love the seaside cabanas with beds), enjoy nature, eat good food, and be around good people.

The owner, Miss Becky, and her niece, Miss Michelle, were amazing hosts as well. They tended to the needs of their guests with huge smiles and warmth that it felt like you were part of the family while you were there. They also go out of their way to make people feel welcome and to extend every courtesy possible, making allowances where needed for the comfort and enjoyment of their guests.

We are planning on coming back to the place for my birthday. This was one lucky...

My goodness, these people are amazing hosts. The best I've experienced! Very friendly and helpful, caring and generous. My poor husband got very sick on the day we were meant to be leaving, and they did all they could to help - ma'am Becky the owner and her daughters were soooooo kind and helpful. They provided medicines (they have first aid kits there because it's a ways to the nearest hospital). After checkout time, the owner even offered her own accommodation for him to rest (as they were fully booked), and when he got worse they made him ginger tea and other remedies including a free body massage, which did help temporarily. We finally decided to visit the doctor, and their driver took us there with a member of staff, who both waited with us until we'd been seen (I think they had a word with the Dr to see us urgently), and we got the meds we needed. They wouldn't even take the tip I offered. Sadly, we had to transfer to another hotel because they were fully booked, but we'd have loved to stay longer. Their driver also took us to the new place - and all this for free! They didn't charge ... They even offered for the driver to drive us back to Cebu if needed, but thankfully that wasn't necessary. This is by far the best customer service I've ever received in the Philippines (possibly anywhere, actually). Regarding the rest of the hotel .... Well it's more of a grand house or Mannor house, with Hawaii style open doors and windows and lovely stylish decor / decorative arts and furniture. At night the garden is all lit up, very beautiful. We asked if it was possible to have breakfast served by the sea, in one of the little huts overlooking the sea, and it was beautiful. I wasn't initially impressed with the beach because of the sea grass and plants growing there, but they explained that it was for the fish, which is great for snorkeling, and it's true, there were lots of little fish right by the beach. We went swimming at high tide and that was very nice. There are glass /clear kayaks which was my personal highlight, being able to see all the fish and coral under the boat. They have a little floating point for snorkeling further out and there were lots of fish (though I'd recommend a long sleeve rash guard). Salt water pool, apparently it's more healthy. Kids loved every minute there! We can't wait...