Las Palmas Villas and Casitas — Hotel in General Luna

This is my first and most memorable visit to Siargao and one particular resort I have in mind is Las Palmas Villas and Casitas. Exquisitely beautiful and a few important details to refer to are the hospitable staff, delicate location, immaculate resort-views and mouthwatering food. We arrived in IAO Siargao Airport in Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte on a later date than planned so I decided not to lock my reservations at Las Palmas and settled elsewhere. Later that evening I decided to spend happy hour at the resort bar in hopes I can finalize my reservations with Kimmy for the following days during my stay on the island. I was welcomed by Kuya Jepie bearing the resort's name along side Spotted Pig and at this point I cannot contain my excitement. Let’s begin with Kimmy one of the front desk supervisor who is absolutely amazing at her job after a well deserved Calamansi Cooler by Ate Chabs. Kimmy kindly offered to show me two rooms, one in particular is the One Bedroom Villa which is a dream but not quite ideal for myself. She also remembered from exchanged emails and DMs via Instagram about the Deluxe Double Room with Balcony —I personally enjoyed this interaction mainly because it is a breath of fresh air to feel the exclusive touch of the resort and that really sold me! I was welcomed with the most authentic smiles by the staff at Las Palmas, “welcome refreshments” upon check-in was gratifying since it was scorching hot. Standard check in time is at 2PM, they held my luggage for a bit until my room was ready, they took care of transferring my belongings while I was out for my land tour. Breakfast was my favorite part to jumpstart my day starting at 7 am to 10 am daily! I’m such a foodie, I love to eat! I mean seriously who doesn’t want to try the most scrumptious Bangus with Garlic Rice and a side of atchara & fresh fruits, paired with coffee and calamansi juice. Also don’t forget happy hour; Calamansi Cooler is a must try with Tequila, extending my gratitude to Chabs, Jeff, Jevie, Rhea, Mylene and Ayein for an exquisite service! I want to extend my gratitude to each and everyone that works at this property; some that truly left a love mark was Kimmy (front desk supervisor) who has a vast experience and very informative and made the experience run smoothly from the time of check-in, check-out and in between, including room transfers and taking care of my needs and setting up a rushed laundry day. Junrey - Kuya Jepie (Security) for always keeping a positive attitude & smiling face despite the busy morning, afternoon and night making us feel it is a safe place, let me not forget the dogs literally made me a happy girl who kept me entertained during breakfast and when I came back from my daily activities, I love them so much! Ate Chabs - Kuya Jevie (Bartenders) for making delicious and refreshing drinks, consistent & suggestive. Jeff - Mylene - Ayein - Rhea (Service Team) for being attentive during breakfast and or happy hour. Thank you to a few more staff at Las Palmas whose names I didn’t mention, I apologize: thank you for making my room as cozy as possible. Most importantly this wouldn’t be possible and situated without great leadership to the owners of this property who speaks professionally and presents with passion. THANK YOU LAS PALMAS VILLAS AND CASITAS in Siargao Island. You truly made my experience remarkable, now I can check this off my bucket list and can hardly wait for...

I came across their ad on Instagram and thought this is a gorgeous new resort in Siargao. True enough, everything was “Instagrammable”. I wasn’t disappointed.

Postive: Amazing ambiance- upon entering the resort, it has that Bali kind of Zen type feeling. Love how the interior was built. The mural paintings and the tiles by the reception/dining area. The scent of Citronella makes you feel calm and relaxed. The high ceiling with huge lamp and fan in the dining area gives you that Cuban-inspired interior. The Room - my sister and I booked the Dorm type since most of the time we will be out of the resort. We are lucky because we are the only one occupying it for our 2 night stay. The interior looks cozy. Mattress is okay. Fluffy pillows m, clean new towels and linens provided. This Dorm type of accommodation can fit 6 people. Separate toilet and shower which is good. The Pool - where will I start? The photo speaks for itself. 4 feet lap pool all by ourselves. For this price, it was worth it. The Food - the complimentary breakfast is pretty huge for one person. Perfect for the full day of activities ahead. The serve fresh blended fruit juice included in the meal. Unfortunately we were not able to try their all day menu which is a great excuse to come back. The People - unfortunately the do not have their nameplates yet but they were all accommodating and helpful with our queries.

Room for improvement: Low Water Pressure - I have stayed in Bravo, Siargao Bleu and it is common to say that the water pressure is really weak. It did not bother me but maybe for some guests. The hot water is not consistent as well. Space in the bed - I love how the bed in the dorm type has individual sockets to plug your device. The thing is there is a space from your bed mattress to the wall. On my first night, my powerbank fell through that space and thought I will just get it in the morning. Then in the middle of the night my phone beside my pillow fell! I was moving the heavy bunk bed at 4am! Imagine if there was someone sleeping at the top bunk. Maybe a small wall organizer to hold your phone or other device will be helpful. Condiments - some condiments such as hot pepper/chili is not available. It would be perfect with my vinegar for breakfast. The consistency of rice can be improved as well. It is to “sticky” for garlic rice. Construction works - I think they are building a resort beside Las Palmas. For light sleepers, this can wake you up at around 8am.

*please note that they recently opened their resort and there are still room for improvement. I can’t wait...

We stayed here for 6 nights and really enjoyed ourselves. It was just up the road from the main part of General Luna so it was out of earshot of the noisy bars but within walking distance. We rented a moped directly from them which was competitively priced and they discounted it as we wanted it the full 6 days. There was a party night across the road at happiness bar that was very loud but this happens once a week so nothing to worry about.

The staff were lovely, all spoke English really well (which shouldn't be expected of course). The room we stayed in was maybe a little tired but absolutely lovely still. Our bathroom was technically outdoors which was cool but if you forgot to close one of the doors or left it ajar you could expect to have a lot of mosquitos in your room by the time you got back. Perhaps a mosquito net for the bed would be a welcome addition. That said we were vigilant and did not wake up with any bites.

So my only gripe would be breakfast. It was a la carte but the choice was extremely limited after 6 days, it had become a bit boring. It was maybe made worse by them sharing the dining area with the restaurant next door so upon occasions you would be eating your same breakfast while others would be eating eggs Benedict and other options.

Having been to many resorts in the area for dinner and lunch and can say this one of the nicest in GLuna and would absolutely...