Alona by Jpark Island Resort — Hotel in Panglao

Prime Location on Alona Beach, But Locals Might Notice the Service Disparity

​We stayed here for 3 days and 2 nights (3D/2N) as local travelers, bringing my family (including my senior mom and 11-year-old niece).

The resort's location and facilities are genuinely excellent, but the check-in process and room assignment were a letdown.

​The Good: ✅️​Location: It's right in front of Alona Beach—truly the best spot. ✅️​Rooms: Nice, clean, and stocked with everything: towels, dental kits, soap & shampoo, and vanity kits. Checked! ✅️​Facilities: The pool is clean (though it closes at 7 PM). Plus, parking space is available. ✅️​Food: The food is good, though expect standard beach resort pricing. ✅️​Staff: A big shoutout to the majority of the staff—the security guards, Abalone restaurant staff, and housekeepers were all very kind and accommodating. The Front Desk was also helpful once we finally got settled.

🤭​The Issue: The Not-So-Great Check-in Story We walked in around 11 AM for a standard 3 PM check-in and waited patiently for hours while the room was being prepped. (We finally checked in around 2:30 PM).

It was very warm in the waiting area, but we were ready to deal with it.

​What bothered me was the clear difference in treatment. We saw other foreign guests get checked in much earlier than the 3 PM standard (same number of guests). Then, when another batch of foreign guests arrived and sat in the waiting area, a portable air cooler was immediately placed right in front of them. We had been sitting there in the heat for hours, and it was a pretty blatant display of prioritizing non-local travelers. 🤣😭

​To top it off, the room they gave us was the farthest one, right beside the public street, and on the second floor with no elevator. We didn't mind the street noise, but the distance and lack of elevator was inconvenient for my senior mother. Since it was clearly off-season and we noticed other similar, vacant rooms were available much closer to the amenities, I really have to wonder why they put us at the farthest corner, especially when traveling with a senior and a child.

​Recommendation: The place itself is beautiful, and the location is perfect. My family and I truly hope that management reviews its protocols and ensures equal treatment for all guests, especially locals. Despite this hassle, we still love the location and facilities—we'll likely be coming back, maybe next month! 😝 We'll see if the treatment is the same on our return trip.

​4.5/5 Stars (The location and rooms are 5/5, but the service inconsistency during check-in is...

This used to be Villa Tomasa Alona Kew resort until August 2024. The new owners renamed it to JPark Island Resort Alona. Walking around it, I cannot see any signs of major renovation. Perhaps they have improved the rooms inside. I have looked at the breakfast offering and yes, it is better than before. Coffee looks brewed instead of instant but still no milk or cream to go with it, just powdered creamer. JPark website says that they are "Philippines’ premier 5-star resort brand." It is possible that JPark is five star BRAND but this particular property is probably less than five. The location is excellent.||We stayed at Villa Tomasa on January 31, 2024. I booked there the room to stay through Agoda. With early booking 10% discount I paid $72.59 for an ocean view room, non-refundable. Now new owners about doubled the price.|------------|I have an update to the above review.||I have been able to look inside two unoccupied rooms and talk to the housekeepers who cleaned them. They have confirmed that the new owners from Cebu remodeled all of the rooms. Specifically, I have looked at the upstairs room 214 and downstairs 114. Both look nice showing huge improvement from Villa Tomasa days. These two beachfront rooms probably have the best location in the whole resort. The name of the building is Loboc which has both sea view and pool view rooms.||If you book JPark stay, try to get a room there, assuming that you are not a light sleeper and not bothered by loud beach music late at night. If you are a light sleeper ask for a building away from the beach, where the hotel reception is. But if we come to Panglao for the third time, we will pick a room in Loboc building.||If you prefer a significantly cheaper option, a little further from the beach, we have looked at two rooms in the Mayfair Resort. The building is new and nice. Ground floor rooms are more expensive that the upper floors. This would be our backup place to stay in Alona if we could not get a room at JPark. Mayfair posted prices as of December 31, 2024 are:||Premier Room for two (ground floor): 4,600 php|Deluxe Room for two (higher than ground): 3,200 php|Superior Family Room for four (location unknown): 6,400 php||I have forgotten to ask if they include breakfast or not. The place is somewhat difficult to find without Google maps but offers the beach access through Best Western Plus The Ivywall...

Friendly and efficient staff here especially pool attendant Jay who looked after us most days. |We had a lovely check in by Joy and Marjorie. Originally got room 114 right on the beach but it was a little dated and lacking in privacy. We were moved to a beach front room upstairs which was so much better with a great balcony. |Breakfast is good with plenty options but mostly Asian dishes and the western type food runs out quickly- bread, pancakes, cereal etc. They are slow to fill it up. |Buffet dinner is fine but is much the same each night and quickly becomes a bit boring, it also feels like a cafe as opposed to a restaurant and can be crazy when a tour group comes in. Singer on each night which was good, noisy for the balconies upstairs but the singer finishes at 9.30.|Bar was good and happy hour ok, server John Rich was friendly. |Both pools are lovely, one is next to the restaurant and is completely in the shade. The other pool is a garden pool with fountains. When the fountains are on the pool filter isn’t so the water was dirty. This only happened once during our stay and we said to the pool guy who was constantly trying to clean it. The other days when the pool filter was on the pool was clean and lovely. This pool is a bit dated compared to the other one but is still good. Lots of ants there though which become annoying. |Big negative was pool guy Jerik who reprimanded us in no uncertain terms for putting our parasol down- said we were not allowed! Thankfully pool guy Jay was there most days for us. |Location of this hotel is fantastic- you can walk out to all the bars and restaurants. Our beach view balcony was stunning. |They started doing some work on the beach as we left which was a pity but Im sure it wont last long. |Despite a few negatives I would definitely stay here again, just choose your room carefully and perhaps...