Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort — Hotel in Lapu-Lapu

I was pretty disappointed by this hotel.

For the price you pay (just below that of the far far superior Shangri-La hotel a couple of kilometres down from here), you would expect a lot better.

First the positives: the staff are lovely, helpful and offer very typical Filipino hospitality. The pool area looks beautiful from a distance and the beach also looks fairly picturesque - from a distance. It seems to be perfect for selfies.

Now for the reasons for my disappointment: the beach is horrible, built with crushed coral/coarse building site sand which means you can’t walk on it comfortably. They haven’t cleared any of the rocks from the sea so it’s incredibly difficult to go for a dip in what is the coolest water at the hotel, you could say that it’s quite dangerous unless you have a sturdy pair of water shoes. It feels as though Sheraton has done this as cheaply as possible with an eye on distant photos and not the actual guest experience. All pools’ temperature are around/above body temperature which makes swimming or even dipping on the uncomfortable side. This is not helped by the heat-holding concrete material surrounding the pools. Thank goodness for the late afternoon shade! Again, with better empathy for the customer experience this would have been totally avoidable.

Sitting on the lounger, I can hear 3 different competing lots of music. This doesn’t make for a relaxing poolside experience, and means it’s almost impossible to switch off and enjoy what could be quite a nice lie down by the aesthetically pleasing landscaped pools. Is one suitable poolside soundtrack not enough? I love music, but not like this!

The area around the resort is a building site and visually very unappealing. Again, look down the coast at the Shangri-La - a far smaller hotel group with far fewer financial resources at its disposal than the mighty Marriott - to see what could be done better. For a fairly new resort the corridors look a little tatty.

Food and drink prices are pretty inflated too, but you expect that at resort hotels. Whilst the staff were nice and friendly, we sat by the pool for an hour and no one came to ask us if we wanted food or a drink.

There is some recognition of Marriott Bonvoy status: we were offered a free bottle of wine and a one-time snack box voucher. There’s no lounge but you don’t really need this with ample places in the resort to sit down and relax (if you can find a spot to relax without the music).

I think the bottom line here is that the design of the hotel needed to have been thought through more carefully, particularly the outside areas. I also feel that the staff could have been more proactive, despite being friendly and welcoming.

For the price point, the Dusit Thani (cheaper), Movenpick (also cheaper) and Shangri-La (a little more expensive) are way better value when you consider both the hard and soft products.

As lovely as the staff are here, the product seems to be maximising profit over providing a true 5 star resort and guest experience.

There are better options, better value and better experiences to be had in Mactan than at this hotel. I wouldn’t stay here again unless the other 3 hotels are full.

Final note: we checked out on Day 1 and got a full refund. This is despite the fact that the stay would have taken me to lifetime gold status with Marriott. The manager was super professional about this, took the feedback on board and I was impressed by how she handled it. I felt bad as it wasn’t her fault but it’s just not up to standard for the price charged.

Arrived at the Dusit Thani and it was a completely different experience: like a proper 5 star hotel, at a lower cost. Staff are amazing! Sheraton really does need to improve at...

Loved every single one and every single experience during our stay. For a pre-opening hotel that has been open for a little over a month, the friendly yet professional service really shined from check-in to check-out.

Anthony at the Front Desk was amazing. The welcome drinks were a nice touch.

The housekeeping team especially Boyet was quite attentive to our needs and always made sure we had ample water bottles and towels refreshed daily in our room. We hope to meet him in person one day when we visit again.

The life guards were also quite friendly and thoughtful. Thanks for bringing the ice pack for my kid cousin who was being a kid. I noticed the calm and kind approach towards my cousin as they handed the ice pack for his foot and they made sure to inform me what happened right away. It was really my kid cousin being a kid, but their thoughtfulness made me appreciate choosing to stay in a Marriott brand.

And Jun from the bar by the garden (we always saw him in the afternoons and he said he sometimes works at Buhi bar in the evenings) was so friendly towards me and my husband. He always made an effort to say hi and make friendly conversation, especially towards my husband who didn't speak the local language. Jun always spoke to us in English. He was such a delight. My husband had the burger and I had the truffle fries with parmesan cheese. Both dishes were exceptional comfort food.

Baby Jean from 5 Cien and everyone from the reception in 5 Cien team were lovely. The buffet was dee-lish! My husband and family truly enjoyed the food in the buffet. We stayed until we couldn't eat any longer.

And there was one more gentleman who attended our table when we first arrived, I think his name was Ken? Who truly catered to our needs during lunch. Once again friendly yet professional.

The only reason I gave the 4 star for location is because it's too far away from the city. If you want to visit the city make sure to plan your day and set aside a day just for the city and leave early, like at 6am where traffic hasn't quite started yet and make sure to inform the driver to pass by the CCLEX bridge to cut down on traffic. We learned the hard way where we left at around 10AM and would arrive at 5AM because we opted to experience local transportation (bus/jeepney) and that ate up so much of our time.

But on the plus part, the hotel's location is very close to the international Airport, which is always good when you arrive and when you end your stay. It's also close to Mactan Newtown area which is a local area where most tourists can go about shopping for groceries, do their laundry, buy sim cards or calling cards, check-out local festivities and such. The hotel is also very close to local dive shops that are on reasonable prices should you ever want to go scuba diving.

We can't wait to visit again and look forward to the improvements of this wonderful hotel. Truly...

Return visit to the Sheraton, we arrived early (8am) off an internal flight, we had booked a suite so had a complimentary transfer from Cebu airport (about 30 min), despite being so early the room was already available which was great!|We had suite on the 6th floor which was perfect with a view over the sea and a large balcony |The staff were very friendly and called us by name remembering our previous visit (about 6 months previously). |5 Cien is the main resturant for the breakfast buffet which is very extensive and offers made to order items such as eggs, omelettes etc. There are also lots of Filipino options to try|In the evening it offers a la carte or buffet, to be honest the buffet is so good we haven't tried the a la carte menu yet, the lechon in particular is great. |There are several pools, so it doesn't get crowded, we tended to find some loungers on the beach. There is coarse sand and some rock so bring some beach shoes, flotation vests and snorkels are amiable, and the fish life is very abundant and well worth exploring - go early as the sea is calmer as there is a sea breeze later in the day|There are plenty of beach activities to try including paddle board and kayaking for a fee.|Sunset views from the hotel are restricted (just due to its geography) but I would recommend booking a sunset cruise - we did and it was a great experience a private boat and some wine and food |Buhi is a great place for more informal dining we had the calamari and the Filipino street platter (sausage, chicken and belly pork slices) which were both very tasty and large portions |Like most of the hotels in this area the hotel is set in its own grounds and so away from local shops or restaurants. Top tip just get a Grab, very cheap and easy to use (you need a Filipino phone number so get an e sim and sign up) we visited several local restaurants and visited the mall. The trip into central Cebu takes 45-60 depending on traffic just ask the driver for the SM Mall or Ayala ( this would be our choice as there are more luxury/ international brands) Another top tip the malls open at 10am Sunday so plan your trip to arrive just as they open as the traffic is much lighter on a Sunday.|One general comment about Cebu is that its a very long thin island and so if you want to go say swimming with whale sharks (in Osolob) its going to be an early start and a long round trip, so do your homework before you go.|The Sheraton is a great hotel with friendly staff, convenient to the airport and with a calm atmosphere - apart from the pool Zumba every day at 10, but even that...