Altabriza Resort Boracay — Hotel in Malay

It’s our third time in Boracay but our first time in Altabriza. I had high hopes given the good reviews I’ve read online. To be fair, I will list down the pros and cons of our 6D5N stay.

Pros: Location- The hotel is along the main road of Station2 which makes it very accessible. You are only a 2-minute walk away from Dmall, right across Jollibee and an emergency and diagnostic clinic. It’s beside Watsons which is very convenient for guests.

Main pool- You can swim in the pool even at 1pm because the hotel building shades it from direct sunlight. Although it’s not heated, the temperature is bearable.

Restaurant- We tried their carbonara, bolognese and smoky bbq wings and everything was delicious. The pasta also has large servings.

Staff- I would have to commend the lifeguard and the security because both of them never failed to greet us with warm smiles.

Room- Comfy complete with complimentary tea and coffee. With TV cable and WiFi is fast.

Cons:

Staff - They should be more welcoming and should smile often when greeting guests. Most of them seemed shy and seemed like pretending to be preoccupied so they won’t see you eye to eye.

Housekeeping- 2 out of 5 days, I needed to call the front desk just to remind them to clean up our room, to think it was already around 3-4 in the afternoon.

Plunge pool - We stayed in the deluxe room with plunge pool and I needed to call again the front desk for our pool to be cleaned/vacuumed. They have a schedule of cleaning/treatment between 10pm to 9am , but they only cleaned it after I called, which is around 12-12:30pm. That’s only twice for our whole stay.

Room - I messaged them beforehand for a king-bed or a twin bed put together , but when we arrived, two separate twin beds were prepared.

Reservation/ Frontdesk - They asked me thru email if there are any celebrations for our stay. I said that the vacation is for my husband’s ( exactly on our stay) and my daughter’s birthday (post celebration) . I was expecting something since they asked for it but only a printed happy birthday postcard was there upon arrival. Why bother asking for it? I suggest to have at least a slice of cake for guests especially when you ask them the reason of their stay. This simple gesture would be greatly appreciated.

I planned to book directly from them but when I asked about their payment option thru credit card, they have no payment link and the only way was to send them a scan of your ID with CVV. I get it that you need to sign an LOA for security but suggest they can provide a payment link aside from bank transfer option. Because of this, I had to book our stay thru a third-party.

Breakfast buffet - This is my main concern. Limited food selection and variety during our whole stay. No pancakes , no hot chocolate , no fresh fruit slices , only fruit cocktail for the whole 5 days. Only plain rice was there , which you can only eat with scrambled egg ( no option for sunny side up , omelette) and 1 choice of the usual breakfast meal. (these are the selection from Sunday to Friday - sausage, hotdog, chicken strips, sautéed chicken and longganisa). There was daily soup meal and pasta/noddles, slices of bread and koko crunch. There was very limited option for guests.

Some guest reviews I’ve seen had omelette and fresh fruit slices and even pancakes. Maybe they only offer it during summer. I hope they would be consistent even during low...

This will be a very specific review.

I stayed in Altabriza for a total of 4 days, first 2 days were booked through Agoda and the next 2 days were booked directly because it is an extension.

About the first 2 days, they gave a very good room (you can see it in the pics). I was amazed with the accommodation and the facility of that room. I am working most of the day so I really felt comfortable in staying in that room (403). Their wifi connection is spotty but I can connect through my data connection so I did not bother. Everything on that room was great so I decided to extend my stay.

Now here’s the exciting part, the night before the planned checkout I already notified the FO that I will be extending and would like to get the same room for another 2 days or more. The FO that night immediately denied my request saying the room is no longer available and no other similar accommodation is available. She told me that she will find a way and will call me the next day. I decided to check Agoda to see if there is no available rooms with the same accommodation. To my disappointment, Agoda approved my reservation, the same room I booked for the first 2 days.

They called me around 9am the next day telling me that I have to transfer to another room and they found “similar” room type. Thinking that it’s the same comfort, I was okay with it. Unfortunately, they moved me to room 329 which is located in a very isolated corner of their second building near their emergency exit. Upon getting in, I already felt uncomfortable, I checked the linens and their are stains! I requested to have it changed, it took almost an hour for a housekeeper to check and she just told me that its normal for their “old” linens because it is not changed with the new ones. She said not to worry because the linens were washed already. You can see the pictures of the stains.

I felt the exact opposite of the comfort I felt at room 403! Linens are somewhat soiled, their TV is not working! Their wifi signal is very spotty and the data signal in this room is worst! The exhaust is not working, the drainage in the bathroom is busted! Since the room is located near the emergency exit, I had a chance to see how they maintain their emergency exit, and unfortunately, there’s so many materials there, see the picture.

I felt very uncomfortable in my last 2 days! I don’t understand the reason why they did that!

Breakfast buffet is fine, limited choice but acceptable. Staff in the restaurant are accommodating. Very accessible...

Currently staying at Altabriza and here are my observation Check-in is just Ok as the front desk girl ignore me (no one was at the reception area); only I greed her than she got off the chair and checked me in During the check-in processed; she took a call and started to hail the bell person and literarily ignored me for almost 5-10 minutes while they talk to each other (how unprofessional) This, I am not sure if it’s an Island policy or hotel policy, as they requires $3,000 peso CASH deposit, while I do understand that a deposit is important to ensure that hotel is covered with any incidental issues but asking for $3,000 cash is the issue. AS when I check out and leave Boracay, I will be leaving the country therefore what am I going to do with the extra peso? What happen with using a credit card as deposit? Note hotel make sure you know charges will happen if one stain towels and linens are found in the room (she told me 3 times and the last time was show me on the printed sheet). Wow that’s pretty saids it all, I will most likely have to take a picture daily (I read that towels and linens are possible Boracay issue as I did not receive this treatment when staying in Manila) Issue with the room o Room is dark and should use brighter bulbs, as you can’t really open the curtains as rooms from other building is directly across the balcony o Hot water? You will need to run the shower for almost 10 minutes for lukewarm water o They give you one bottle of free water and that’s it. As I did not received refill after the first day o The makeup room light does not work, when requesting for a fix, I was told to just dail 0 and they will ensure room is clean (note they will not clean the room if the light is not turn on, per information sheets) therefore this might be a huge inconvenience for me on a daily basis as I do wish my room to be clean daily The good o Room is modern and very clean and tidy, thanks o Location is good as it’s just a few minutes to D Mall o Transportation is easily accessible o You can walk to almost anywhere without issue Overall, hotel is strong 4 stars (Asia standard) and 3 stars (America standard); it is not perfect. However, as I will be here for a few more weeks, therefore will look for different hotel as hoping it might be just a bit better (at least having hot water anytime of the day when you need them) This review is not to discourage anyone in staying at this hotel but just know it is not perfect, enjoy your...