Casa Escondida Anilao Resort & Dive Center — Hotel in Mabini

I stayed at "Casa" during early pandemic and it was OK. Expensive for the experience. The staff, in typical Filipino fashion, is great. The management, on the other hand, seemed to think that it's a privilege for us to stay there instead of the other way around. Lots of regulations, but it was pandemic, so excusable.||Fast forward to November 2022. I contacted them to reserve for the upcoming weekend to join a group of diver friends already booked. The room rates are now per person. I booked a suite for P16,000 per night. Again, expensive again for what you get, given the alternative resorts nearby, but it does include 2 lunches, breakfast and dinner. So not super outrageous, but not much value for the money. They asked for a 50% deposit. I asked if I could pay it when I got there. They said they would make "an exception" and let me pay when I arrived. So far so good, but I was getting another "it's your privilege to stay with us" vibe. ||Shortly after I booked, I was informed that my wife and I had to get an antigen test within 24 hours of arrival... but if we wanted, we could get tested at the resort for an additional 400 each. Hmmm. No word on getting a deposit or money back if it was a positive test. I informed them that my wife and I have been vaccinated twice in the Philippines and three times in the United States for a total of five times. "Sorry," they said, "it's our requirement for our safety". The day is November 3, 2022. On October 28, even indoor masking became optional in the Philippines. As of yesterday, in order to boost tourism, the national government is allowing all vaccinated individuals (not even boosted) to enter the Philippines WITHOUT testing or quarantine. Unvaccinated individuals can enter if they test. That is reasonable. What's not reasonable is for a small time resort to force requirements that are not the laws of the land on their customers. I of course had a choice to cancel, which I did. I want to feel welcome when I'm paying P16,000 for a room, not given silly rules that I have to follow. It's like being a house guest where they don't really want you. I know another group staying there the same weekend that was informed of the testing requirement AFTER they paid their deposits and had no choice but to pay an extra P4000 for 10 people to get tested. Needless to say, I don't believe that group will be returning to Casa Escondida any time soon. Very strange business plan.||There are many resorts in Anilao that charge much less and show far better hospitality. As consumers, we have choices and can vote with our wallets. I will always choose a resort that makes me feel they appreciate my business and do what they can to make their...

I stayed at "Casa" during early pandemic and it was OK. a bit expensive for the experience. The staff, in typical Filipino fashion, is great. The management, on the other hand, seemed to think that it's a privilege for us to stay there instead of the other way around. Lots of regulations, but it was pandemic, so excusable.

Fast forward to November 2022. I contacted them to reserve for the upcoming weekend to join a group of diver friends already booked. The room rates are now per person. I booked a suite for P16,000 per night. A bit expensive again for what you get, given the alternatives, but it does include 2 lunches, breakfast and dinner. So not super outrageous, but not much value for the money. They asked for a 50% deposit. I asked if I could pay it when I got there. They said they would make "an exception" and let me pay when I arrived. So far so good, but I was getting another "it's your privilege to stay with us" vibe. Shortly after I booked, I was informed that my wife and I had to get an antigen test within 24 hours of arrival... but if we wanted, we could get tested at the resort for an additional 400 each. Hmmm. No word on getting a deposit or money back if it was a positive test. I informed them that my wife and I have been vaccinated twice in the Philippines and three times in the United States for a total of five times. "Sorry," they said, "it's our requirement for our safety". The day is November 3, 2022. On October 28, even indoor masking became optional in the Philippines. As of yesterday, in order to boost tourism, the national government is allowing all vaccinated individuals (not even boosted) to enter the Philippines WITHOUT testing or quarantine. Unvaccinated individuals can enter if they test. That is reasonable. What's not reasonable is for a small time resort to force requirements that are not the laws of the land on their customers. I of course had a choice to cancel, which I did. I want to feel welcome when I'm paying P16,000 for a room, not given silly rules that I have to follow. It's like being a house guest where they don't really want you. I know another group staying there the same weekend that was informed of the testing requirement AFTER they paid their deposits and had no choice but to pay an extra P4000 for 10 people to get tested. Needless to say, I don't believe that group will be returning to Casa Escondida any time soon. Very strange business plan.

There are many resorts in Anilao that charge much less and show far better hospitality. As consumers, we have choices and can vote with our wallets. I will always choose a resort that makes me feel they appreciate my business and do what they can to make their...

My wife and I decided to quit our jobs a few months ago to do a global trip. We did a lot of things during our two and a half months journey: we went to Tomorrowland, toured all over Europe, partied in Ibiza, did a 5 day safari in South Africa, went shark cage diving, and trekked the volcanoes in Java, explored Bali. But our stay at the Casa Escondida Anilao Resort was one of the best thing we did on our trip and the perfect gate-away from the hectic schedule that comes with traveling.

Their facility was top notch, rivaling some of the fancy places we stayed in Europe. The food are authentically delicious and the staff are always happy to help. The view from the deck overlooking the calm ocean showcased the beautiful waters Philippines are known for. And to top it off, my scuba diving experience was one of the coolest thing I did during the global trip. Since it was my first time scuba diving, I spent the 1st hour learning the basics on how to operate the gear. After getting the hang of it, I found out that I will not be able to scuba on one of their better site due to unfavorable weather and instead I had to explore a much calmer area, which is right in front of the resort. At first I was extremely disappointed thinking that I wont be able to encounter many fish or wildlife, but I couldn't be happier to be wrong. One of the owner and their top scuba instructor, Mr. Dong, guided me around to see the thriving reefs and showed me so many different kinds of colorful fishes. Among them; clown fish, lion fish, neon blue stingrays, puffer fish, angel fish, parrot fish, butterfly fish and a lot more that I couldn't identify. After the dive, I asked him why the local reef and fish population seems to be doing extremely well compared to other reefs that we've observed in other parts of the world. It turns out, they regularly held an event for an ocean clean up day! And their efforts shows as the water quality is pristine, much better than most beaches we visited; day and night difference between this resort and anything in Bali. Amazing experiences during our stay and happy to support an environmentally aware resort. Highly recommended and...