Kasai Village Dive Resort — Hotel in Cebu

Location: Kasai Village Dive Resort, Cebu-Moalboal, Philippines||After traveling through the Caribbean, I made my way to the Philippines for a solo dive trip to Cebu-Moalboal in February 2025. I stayed at Kasai Village Dive Resort, located south of Cebu International Airport. The resort is a bit of a drive away, approximately 2 to 4 hours, due to traffic from Cebu to Moalboal. That said, the resort offers an excellent service where they can arrange a driver to take you to and from the airport, making your trip relaxed and stress-free.||The resort is nestled north of Moalboal, right next to Panagsama Beach, offering a serene, tropical atmosphere. The location is convenient for exploring the area, with easy access to local attractions. The resort offered a quiet peaceful vibe and I appreciated being just a short tuk-tuk ride from the Panagsama Beach and the restaurants and nightlife.||Vehicles & Transportation||Parking at the resort is free. However, unless you're familiar with driving in the Philippines or Southeast Asia, I personally wouldn’t recommend renting a vehicle. The road size/conditions can be unpredictable, and you’ll need to navigate where to park, tuk-tuks, motorbikes, and even stray dogs. For those who are adventurous, the resort does offer motorbike rentals.||If you prefer to avoid the stress of driving, Kasai Village Dive Resort provides tuk-tuk transportation that can be called 24 hours a day, ready to take you to Panagsama Beach or anywhere else nearby. It’s a excellent option if you want to relax and leave the navigating to someone else.||Resort to Panagsama Beach||The resort is located about a 30-minute walk from Panagsama Beach, or just a 5-minute tuk-tuk ride (200 Peso). However, it's worth noting that the main road to the resort is approximately 1/4 miles, and it’s not lit. The road itself is in moderate to poor condition, so if you’re walking or driving after dark, be prepared for uneven terrain. I personally opted for the tuk-tuk, which was a quick and convenient.||Resort||Kasai Village Dive Resort is a small, intimate property with approximately 15 rooms, many of which offer views overlooking the water. There is NO BEACH, but I did witness at low tide, families walking along the exposed sea bottom looking for shells. The included WIFI was extremely fast and worked across the entire property. ||The resort features a decent-sized pool and attached hot tub, with plenty of seating. While the pool itself could use a bit of maintenance (a fresh coat of paint wouldn’t hurt), it didn’t seem to bother any of the other guests. Everyone seemed to be enjoying it just fine.||There is also a small restaurant and an adjacent hotel bar, both of which overlook the water. I only dined at the restaurant for breakfast, but the menu was reasonably priced and offered a nice variety of options. The quality of the food was good, and it was a convenient way to start my day before heading out for a dive.||The grounds were well-kept, and the overall atmosphere was peaceful and inviting. After dark, there was always a security/maintenance person walking around and available, which added an extra layer of comfort. At no point did I ever feel insecure, and I even felt comfortable enough to leave my door unlocked while I was on the property.||Room: S-3||I stayed in Room S-3, which looked just like the one in the resort’s photographs. The room was spacious, with two beds, a wardrobe closet, a desk, a couch, and other basic furnishings. It was clean and I didn’t notice any signs of unwanted guests (like bedbugs), which is always a big plus for me.||The beds were on the harder side, very stiff—so if you prefer a softer mattress, that might be something to consider. There was no TV in the room, but that didn’t bother me since I was mainly there for diving and could use the included WIFI.||The room also had a stocked refrigerator with basic necessities like water, soft drinks, and fruit juices, available for a nominal fee. For those who prefer to avoid extra charges, there’s a free water dispenser in the resort lobby, where you could refill your personal water bottles.||One thing to note: If you’re craving snacks, I couldn’t find anything like vending machines on the property. I didn’t check the restaurant, so there might be something available there, but you might want to plan ahead. Otherwise, you’d need to head over to the H-Mart at Panagsama Beach for supplies.||The toilet area was clean and had an adjustable instant water heater for the shower, which was nice and convenient. The attached patio had lines for hanging wet clothes, which came in handy after a day of diving, along with two outdoor chairs to relax in.||Overall, the resort was a peaceful and quiet retreat, while still being conveniently located close to Panagsama Beach and all the excitement it offers. By the end of my first day, it felt like all the staff knew my name and made a point of addressing me personally, which really added to the warm, welcoming atmosphere.||Aside from some minor wear-and-tear, like the paint at the bottom of the pool, I was really happy with my stay. I’d definitely return in the future—and I’d bring my wife along.||Bruce -...

Kasai Village exceeded my expectations! We arrived and it started raining and there was barely anyone at the resort (it later filled up, we just happened to catch one low occupancy night) You can see how the resort was hit by the typhoon in 2021. It felt a bit sad at first. But it absolutely grew on us and by the end we didn’t want to leave! The staff are great, the food was delicious and the diving operations were excellent!

Cons: The rooms are spacious but feel quite old. The bed was hard, the water pressure very low (at one point I showered at the diver center) and the bathroom smelled so much like moth balls (I’m not usually sensitive but it was overpowering). Far from the center of town and Pangasama Beach which worried us at first- you need to rent a motorbike or hire a tricyle. We stayed two nights and it was perfect- we thought we would leave some but stayed at the resort the whole time. Any longer and we would have gotten restless.

The pros outweigh the cons:

Rooms- The sea view is beautiful and the outdoor terrace is really nice. Best view! Clothesline to hang our things, bathrobes, bathroom is huge! When there is water pressure, the showers are nice and hot.

Grounds- the grounds are lovely. Lots of places to sit and hang out. The pool is great (yes the paint is worn at the bottom but it is big, clean and surrounded by palm trees and flowers). The Kasai Rock Bar is very cozy and a great place to watch the sunset.

Food- huge, delicious salads! Everything we got was very good. We had planned to eat out one night and we decided to stay in because we enjoyed the food. The mango and banana pancakes for breakfast are so yummy! We also just loved the bar and restaurant staff, they were so friendly and nice to talk to.

Diving- saved the best for last :) Allen our Divemaster was fantastic-l! He pointed out so many things to us. Safety was a priority- briefings were thorough and he was always prepared and attentive. The boat was awesome- there were only three of us divers so we had so much room to ourselves but the boat can accommodate many more people). The boat crew was great. Diving with Kasai was such a good decision for us- even though it costs twice as much as in downtown Moalboal it is was so worth it. Kasai Village also has its own house reef and a Great Wall dive which you can do at night- and the pier is excellent making access so easy. The sardines are a boat dive away but it’s so crowded- diving below the sardines and all the snorkelers was so much better! Highly recommend...

This place is not ready for “prime time”!

They have a serious problem with water pressure. You get no more than a trickle. They buy the water and truck it in into their tank. Therefore, they ration it and control the flow. It was very hard to shower and rinse off soap from our skin. I only washed my hair once in four days of staying there because I’m afraid of not being able to rinse off well. They claim to turn the pressure on twice a day for two hours in the morning and four hours in the evening, but I could not tell the difference between on and off pressure. There’s also unknown debris coming out of the faucet from the pipes.

Once the shower drain was backing up and slow draining, they blamed the use of toilet paper in the toilet and was told not to plush them down anymore, (even soiled ones) and put them in the trash can instead. We thought that was an unreasonable solution to the problem.

Unless you’re a diver, there’s nothing to do in this resort. They have no sand beach, only sharp rocky and muddy shore with murky water. It was far from the nearest town and located remotely. The only restaurant has a very limited menu. Although the breakfast included with the room is good.

On the lighter note, The service is excellent. The staff is thoughtful, considerate, and accommodating.They served us “hand and foot” and strived to please. These employees are commendable for their unwavering service: Jian, McCoy, Anderson, Lolit and Nancy.

Our room at the back of the property is quiet, clean, and spacious. The bed is comfortable. The air conditioner works good but was dripping inside the room.

I would have given it more stars if it weren’t for these...