Best Western Plus The Ivywall Resort-Panglao — Hotel in Panglao

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Summary: Room Request Ignored: Despite requesting a higher floor during booking and upon arrival, I was assigned a low-floor room without explanation. Unprofessional Staff: Front desk staff laughed and exchanged looks in an unprofessional manner, making us feel mocked and disrespected. Inconvenient Electricity: The hotel only supports 110V outlets, which is inconvenient and unusual for the region. Checkout Pressure: We were repeatedly called and rushed to check out, adding unnecessary stress to our stay.

Avoid this hotel if you value respect, professionalism, and a seamless experience.

Details: I had high hopes for this hotel, but my experience here has been nothing short of a disaster. I was assigned a room on the 2nd floor of a 6-story building, despite specifically requesting a room on a higher floor during booking. I even reiterated my request upon arrival, but it was completely ignored. The room itself felt underwhelming, and I couldn’t help but feel that my preferences were disregarded without any valid explanation.

I chose this hotel because of my wonderful experience with the same brand in Australia. That stay left such a positive impression that I trusted this brand would provide the same quality of service, no matter the location. Unfortunately, this hotel in Bohol has completely shattered that trust. It’s a far cry from the standard I expected, and I deeply regret booking here.

What made the situation even worse was the attitude of the front desk staff. After we checked in and walked away, they exchanged looks and laughed among themselves while speaking in a language we didn’t understand. It came across as unprofessional and incredibly disrespectful. It felt as if we were being mocked right in front of our faces, which left me and my companion feeling humiliated and unwelcome.

On top of that, the electrical system in this hotel only supports 110V, which is highly inconvenient and unusual for this region. Furthermore, on the day of checkout, we were constantly called and pressured to leave the room. This made the experience even more stressful and left us with a negative final impression of the property.

I’ve traveled extensively across the Philippines and have stayed at various accommodations, ranging from budget-friendly to luxury options. This is, without a doubt, the worst experience I’ve ever had. The lack of professionalism, the disregard for guest requests, and the overall atmosphere of disrespect were appalling.

If you’re considering this hotel based on the reputation of its brand, like I did, I strongly urge you to think twice. There are far better options in Bohol that will treat you with the respect and hospitality you deserve. This was an enormous disappointment, and I will never return to this...

We stayed as a family of three—two adults and a toddler—for five days in Best Western Ivy Wall in Panglao, Bohol. We were initially billeted on their Superior Room, before transferring to their Deluxe Room the next day as it became available.

The Superior Room seemed more spacious, it has a receiving area and a larger toilet and bath, but it doesn’t have a balcony. The Deluxe Room, nevertheless, has enough space for the three of us and has balcony overlooking the beach. I also like the fact that it is located on the sixth floor, the topmost floor of the resort, giving us the best view of Alona Beach and its surroundings.

Both rooms have comfy beds, workstations, coffee and tea making appurtenances, mini-fridge, electronic safe, closet, and beach bags and sandals that you can use on the beach. The en suite toilet and bath has a bidet, rain-type showerhead, and hot and cold water. I like how the Deluxe Room has a drying rack in the balcony for our sea-soaked clothes.

Much of our time at the resort were spent at the swimming pool and Alon, the buffet restaurant.

Our son adores the kiddie pool, which has tons of fun kid stuff—spray cannons, rainbow spray tunnel, and a water bucket that fills with water and splash down as it fills up. I also like how spacious the kiddie pool is, it doesn’t feel like an afterthought. The adult pool was also quite nice, it overlooks Alona Beach, making it seem like an infinity pool of sorts, and a pool bar. Its length is also suitable for doing laps—it was just unfortunate that I forgot to bring my goggles as the water was too stingy to the eyes without it.

The complimentary buffet was also quite good. I love their regular fare of bacon, danggit, dilis, and eggs benedict. They have a soup station—which I was happily surprised to be serving Vietnamese pho and Malaysian bak kut teh on the days we were there. The main dishes vary from Asian fares like Korean fried chicken to Filipino favorites like Cebu longganisa, menudo, and soy braised beef which is almost pares-like in its goodness. The food was quite good, so we’re always so full when we leave that we usually forego lunch and simply have an early dinner.

If I were to nitpick, my only complaint during our stay was the unpaved road from Panglao’s main road to the resort’s lobby. It’s quite difficult to navigate it with our suitcases and it also gets quite muddy when it rains.

But all in all, we had such a great time at Best Western Panglao—I also commend all the staff, who were all gracious and kind—that we decided to forego the usual Bohol tours and simply enjoyed our time on the resort...

The hotel is exactly what you would expect to see when you stay at four Star resort, however, the staff is what truly sets this hotel apart from any others. They went above and beyond to make you feel like you are not just staying with them as a guest but staying with them because they invited you over and want to host you. Please continue down if you'd like to see my full review.

My family and I stayed at the Best Western Plus The Ivywall Resort-Panglao for an entire week. I have stayed in many hotels and resorts (MGM Skyloft Las Vegas Nevada and many other hotels) that were more prestigious than this one but, many of them did not leave an impression like this one. For all the Americans out there, do not look at this as a Best Western but look at this as a true resort. The rooms are what you would expect for a four-star resort which is very kid friendly. All the furniture is very up-to-date and in great shape, however, like I said kid friendly, which means all the furniture has some nicks and dings and scuff marks from the previous children and guests that stayed. Actually makes you feel like you don't need to walk on eggshells when staying here lol. The maid staff goes above and beyond to clean your room even after your children have destroyed it with a bunch of sand from the beach. If you have items on your bed such as a shirt or pants they will still make the bed fold your clothing and place it nicely on the bed in the way that makes you feel like they really do care. The buffet breakfast is much more on par with what you would expect to see in a Las Vegas hotel buffet just on a much smaller scale. You are never served the same food twice every morning it is something different. When it comes to the hotel itself and its staff I have to say that is what impressed me the most. The hotel was once again what you would expect from a four-star resort which is very kid friendly but the staff went above and beyond all expectations. The staff on all levels from room service to the custodians all make you feel like you are not just staying with them but you are part of their family and want to do everything they can to make you stay more enjoyable. The staff is what sets this hotel apart from all others. "I highly highly recommend this hotel and resort for your next stay if you do or do not have children." P.S. The nightlife is also extremely enjoyable if you are here without children or have somebody that can watch them while you and your loved one...