Four Points by Sheraton Boracay — Hotel in Malay

Loved my stay at the Four Points Boracay! Marriott recently took over and renovated this property and it just reopened on December 30th. It’s one minute to a pristine, white-sand beach, has excellent location (more on this later), beautiful rooms and tremendous staff. Easily one of the best hotels on the island!

As a Bonvoy Titanium member, it’s safe to say that I spend too much time on the road. Even so, I can’t remember the last time that a hotel made me feel this welcomed!

The hotel made getting here a breeze by arranging an airport pickup from the Caticlan airport. The pickup includes a short five-minute ride to the port, a speedboat to the island of Boracay, and then van transport to the hotel (perhaps 15-20 minutes). It’s currently done by a third party operator that manages almost all transfers out of the airport. Less than 40 minutes from airport to hotel.

One point that I was uncertain about before booking was the location. I was honestly looking for a beachfront property and had a vision of lounge chairs in my head. The truth that I discovered is that there are very few beachfront properties on the island, and you actually want to be slightly removed. The hotels on the beach are packed and you’d be better served checking out the beautiful cafes, restaurants, and bars on the beach that offer umbrellas, blankets, and pillows to lie on and watch the day go by. The key here is to hop around a bit rather than stay at one place.

Again, the location here is perfect – it’s a one minute walk down a tree-lined street to the best stretch of White Beach. Turn right at the beach for a short path down to secluded Dinwid beach (5-10 mins away). I visited both multiple times a day from the hotel.

The property is also two minute walk from a small mall that features a Robinsons department store, Speedo, Haviannas, cozy café, and a good massage studio. Perfect in case you need to pick up anything that you might have left at home. Plus, that’s right on the main road which makes it easy to grab a taxi to some of the other must-visit beaches on the island (Puka, etc…). Prefer to stay indoors? The pool is beautiful and be sure to order from their poolside bar. I personally went to the beach, but this would be a great options for families or those looking to tan. There are also a few rooms located next to a separate lap pool at a lower level.

The staff here are excellent as they all greet you by name, take interest in conversing with you, and do excellent work. Reception knows all the best places to visit on the island, maid service was terrific, and the restaurant and bar staff really went above and beyond to give me a good time. It’d be impossible to thank everyone by name as literally everyone made an impact during my five-day stay.

The breakfast buffet featured tons of healthy options, vegetarian options, local meat dishes, cereals and desserts. Their made-to-order egg station was excellent and they had a balanced variety of Asian and Western dishes. The gym is open 24 hours and features all new equipment as well. Great mix of cardio and free weights, and it was empty the entire time I was there. Looking to party? Again – it’s easy to get to any of the main bars and reception can even get you into a new speakeasy.

As far as downsides, there aren’t many. Internet was good enough for me work remotely but you can expect a few power cuts throughout the day as is common on the island. The hotel’s generator quickly kicks in and the wifi was never out for more than a minute or two. This is important given that some travelers I met that stayed at nearby hotels had to suffer through no A/C and warm beer. Again, Marriott does it right! Internet speed was good enough for zoom calls and is faster than some of the five-star properties in Manila, though truthfully it is slow throughout the country.

I will absolutely return. Loved this hotel, already miss the staff, and would highly recommend to solo travelers, couples, groups and families. Stay here if you’re looking to...

We traveled as a family with two young children and spent six nights in Boracay. At first, we were torn between booking a beachfront hotel, but since we are Marriott Bonvoy members, we decided to try Four Points for the first three nights. In the end, we loved it so much that we extended our stay for another three nights here instead of moving.

What really stood out was the outstanding hospitality of the staff. They are well-trained, always greet guests with a smile, and are especially kind to children. They genuinely try to respond to requests and make you feel welcome. All of the staff were wonderful, but Edwin deserves special mention—he was always cheerful and pleasant, and even when he happened to see us coming back on a tricycle, he would wave and greet us warmly from the roadside. That level of attentiveness left a strong impression.

Since the beginning of this year, we’ve stayed at various Marriott properties in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand with our kids, but this Four Points really stood out for its heartfelt service. It was our first time staying at a Four Points, and thanks to this experience, we now have a very positive impression of the brand. Even though it isn’t beachfront, the excellent service more than makes up for that.

Another highlight was the room service—an absolute lifesaver when traveling with small kids who often go to bed early or don’t feel like going out. The food was delicious, portions were generous, and prices were very reasonable compared to other hotels. We ordered room service every night, either in the room or by the poolside, and it allowed us to enjoy relaxing, satisfying dinners even with little ones in tow. We tried Filipino specialties like adobo, sinigang, and halo-halo, all of which were excellent. The signature Four Points Burger was also a hit—juicy and hearty, loved by both adults and kids.

As for Boracay itself, it goes without saying that the island is a paradise of crystal-blue waters and powdery white sand. Station 1, where Four Points is located, is less crowded than other areas, so you can enjoy the beach in peace and relax. Except during high tide, the shallow waters are safe for kids, and you can even walk along the shoreline all the way to Station 2, making it fun for a “sea walk.” We also took a tricycle to Puka Beach, which had a calmer atmosphere compared to White Beach. It was wonderful to watch the sunset there while the kids played in the sand.

There are countless activities on the island. We privately chartered a boat to go snorkeling and fishing, and the guides and crew made sure everything was safe and enjoyable for our kids. We even tried helmet diving—our six-year-old was nervous at first, but with the diver’s support, he ended up loving it. Fishing was another highlight: the crew prepared and grilled the fish we caught right on the boat, and it was absolutely delicious. Even with just a simple rod, hook, and bait, we were surprised at how much we could catch.

Transportation was also easy, with tricycles everywhere, so getting around was never a problem. Overall, the island feels very well-set up for tourists. Between the hotel’s excellent service and the natural beauty of the sea, both kids and adults came away with wonderful memories. This is definitely a place we’d love to...

Everyone was nice and friendly, breakfast options were diverse and changed every morning, staff tried their best to be helpful and were very polite. The property itself could use updating. We were told that this was a pretty new hotel but the wallpaper was peeling in places, some hallways and areas smelled of sewage and mildew, the shower water pressure was weak, and part of our shower door was falling off.

Check-out was highly inefficient. I had approved payment and signed for the room upon check-in as well as authorized a hold on my credit card for incidentals. We ordered a bottle of wine to the room and asked to charge it to the room the evening (around 7pm) before we checked out. I authorized payment and signed a receipt at that time.

We used mobile checkout the next day around 11:45am and it turns out that the wine had not yet been added to the final bill even though I approved and signed for it the day before. I had to authorize/sign a separate payment and transaction at the front desk after checking out on the app. Annoying but if this was the only hiccup, then fine.

Then after we left, I received a message on the chat in the Marriott app saying that we had to come back and stop by the desk to check out because mobile checkout was not working. If that's the case, why not address it while I was already at the front desk and paying for the wine? Why did they only charge me for the wine and not the room as well? Why wasn't the whole bill taken care of at one time if mobile checkout wasn't working? Also, I had signed for the room upon check-in. Didn't they take payment at that time? If I signed then authorizing payment for 3 nights, why do I have to go through another transaction at checkout? Why bother offering mobile checkout if you're going to make me go through payment transactions at the front desk anyway? The whole point is to save time and make it a seamless experience.

The checkout experience was irritating. But on top of that, they also tried to tell our driver he had to wait for them to tell him he could leave so they could first check to see if we had remembered to take everything out of the room. First of all, that is not his call, it is ours. They should have asked us if we minded waiting a few minutes rather than telling the driver that I had directly hired what to do. Secondly, we might have been in a hurry and needed to go. If we left something behind, that's our fault and we will figure it out. Don't tell the driver to delay our departure without our agreement. Ask US if we can wait a few minutes.

It's unfortunate because we were willing to overlook the state of the property because the staff were so polite and wanting to be helpful. But the checkout experience was stressful, confusing, annoying, and the opposite of relaxing. We probably would not have stayed here again only because it is not beachfront, but I would have recommended it to others prior to today. Not sure now.

(Note: the location is very close to the beach so no problem there - like a 3 min walk. I just figured out while I was staying here that I personally prefer to be able to see the beach...