Highland Bali Villas Resort And Spa — Hotel in Pantabangan

Will not go back and I also cannot recommend this place to anyone else, unless the resort drastically changes their policies and improves service, or maybe bring down the rate to what it's actually worth - They check your bags and if they see chips, they will tell you there is a corkage fee. FOR CHIPS. Chips that they don't even sell at the resort. The corkage fee, when we asked, is 2x the price of whatever chips they have at the resort. First time to ever encounter this at any hotel or resort that I've stayed in anywhere in the world. Wifi signal is weak, and they give you 1 stub per person in the room, good for a fixed number of kbs lol. Breakfast also entails stubs - are we in a dorm or what? Pool water looked dirty -- see photo Puddles of water on stairs going to our room (nowhere near any water source), on floors near the pool and the bar. I don't know why they can't keep the floors dry or if they don't have sufficient staff to keep the resort clean and safe. Service leaves a lot to be desired. While staff are nice, they either have poor training or shackled by the management's poor policies. Asking for pool towels take forever, they cannot provide you with an extra key to your room (they can only give 1 according to staff), if you cross paths with them, they will not even let you pass first, it's like they are always rushing. Checking out took forever too, so we decided to have lunch at the pool bar while waiting. Asking for a candle to ward off flies is too tall an order I guess because we were almost done when the candle finally came. Such a simple solution should have been thought of ahead of time, prepared even before they serve food. My husband's cocktail order also never arrived so we just cancelled it. Menu prices are VAT exclusive -- I don't know why the resort management doesn't know that this unscrupulous practice died 20 years ago. Hello to the management - menu prices should include VAT already - don't wait for someone to file a complaint with the DTI. It's fined to charge high for your food (it's actually one of the few good things about your resort), just be upfront about it. Bad cable signal on the TV and they don't have option for Netflix; room phone buttons do not work and they do not have a directory inside the room Live music on Saturdays -- does not really jive with the resort's supposed feel Resort feels cramped - and to the management, please train your staff to explain the layout of the resort upon check in. Or put some maps around the place. I accidentally climbed up the steps of the owner's private residence at night because I thought it was an events area. I asked the staff where the pool was and was pointed to the one near the pool bar, and it turned out there was another pool near the restaurant. Who knew there were 2 pools? No one bothered to explain the grounds at check in. Rooms are okay (smaller than what it looks like on their website), bed and linens okay, but 3 power outages in 1 night is a bit much. Lake where they have their balsa docked and do sports activities was very rocky and difficult to climb down to - they need to advice guests esp those with kids to wear appropriate shoes (we all wore slippers bec we didn't know what to expect), or maybe prepare a clear path. Parking area is not covered or shaded at all, so prepare to get to a boiling car at noon check out.

Only positives of this resort were - 1. resto food was not bad 2. the guy who picked us up from the lake took us to the Pantabangan view deck and it was really nice

All in all - this resort will make you feel like you don't really matter, that all that matters is that they profit from you as much as they can, like they are almost afraid that you might get more than your money's worth. The room we got cost 20k++ per night, and with the service we got, it's safe to say they succeeded in their goal of ripping people off and making sure they never...

On December 28, 2024, we made a lunch buffet reservation for 12 noon. We drove over 3 hours to get to the place, got there few minutes before our reservation and I was impressed already with the service outside. Those staff in the front were nice enough to greet us with umbrellas because it was raining. There were 25 of us and took sometime to bring us to where we should eat. On the way to the restaurant, there were still Xmas decorations and most staff were wearing Xmas costume which added to the resorts theme of the month. The place is beautiful, the pool and all the designs were well thought of. We were in front of the restaurant and the place was full, so we have to wait outside. After 30 minutes they brought us to a Cafe where we thought will be offered at least complimentary water or juice. Some of them.bought cup souvenirs, bag of cheetos for 135 pesos and some Pringles for i don't know how much. We waited another 30 minutes before our party got called at the restaurant hoping the tables are set and food were replenish. To our surprised they're still setting the tables and we were divided into 2 groups. The place was still packed. And so we went to the buffet area because it was already past 1 pm and we were hungry. We were all disappointed because all there food trays, bowls were empty. Their batchoy with no noodles, and almost empty ingredients, pretty much all food trays and bowls were empty. We patiently waited for them to replenish them and everytime they don't fill it to the top and they were using very small bowls for every items on the buffet line. So after 3 or 4 people, they're empty again. Their displays and buffet area is too small and very limited food entrees. Salad bar with only one choice if dressing. Dessert area with only one choice each time. 2 choices of drinks and monst of the time no glasses and when I finally got them, glasses were dirty and have food residue. All of their guests have reservations so they could have anticipated and prepared for it. But it seems like they were instructed to just refill it every 30 minutes. My niece went back 3 times to get desserts but kept it empty. The worst thing is our party heard that a staff wearing a black polo shirt told the staff not to refill because guests will keep on eating. Really??? Isn't that's the idea of a buffet, to eat till you're full? So they were actually not refilling the food and it's only past 2pm. We were there for only more or less an hour and no more food. VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE FOOD ENTREES AND FOOD CHOICES AND SERVICE and very much everything in that place. I went to the restrooms, everything is wet from the toilet seat to the floor and no napkins or tissues. Also, there's a group celebrating bday and started playing games in the middle of the room. Very noisy and annoying. A big group like that must be seated along the side or in an event/function room. We left hungry and disappointed. To add to that, no go cart to drive us back in the front. Seems like the service ends there. Most of us walk back except for the 3 of our group. The place is very nice but with the hours of driving to get there and with the price of buffet for 1,400 each, the food that I ate was not even cost 400. It was a an experience, but will not going back and will not recommend, until maybe the...

Pros: The resort is beautiful and picturesque. Every spot is IG-worthy. I loved how it is surrounded by nature. The staff is polite and friendly. Yummy hot cocoa and Spanish bread!! so-so cookies. Some of their foods were good while some were not. Massage was good accdg to my parents. Okay yung pools and jacuzzi.

Cons: The most annoying and consistent was there were no proper endorsements between their staff. A) We requested for a crib and they acknowledged it, only to be informed later on that there were no more available cribs. B) Due to El Niño and low tide, we weren't able to make use of their water rides. Balsa and kayak use were included in the freebies. When we asked if these can be changed to atv, use it as credit for food or massage (and we'll pay for the remaining balance), they didn't allow it. After discussing with a higher up, they informed us that we can use the kayak and balsa (floating cottage) the next morning. Come the next day, we were informed that kayak and balsa were not available nanaman 🙄 it feels like sinabi nalang nila na pwede para lang umokay na kami. C) On our 2nd night, there was an event and their function room was above our room. It was past 11pm and they were making a lot of noise pushing the chairs against the floor. My mom went to inform them of the disturbance. But they still continued on with it. My dad then called the front desk para magreklamo, so we thought magiging okay na. But after a few mins, maingay nanaman. This really angered him kaya umakyat ulit sya para pagsabihan yung staff. Saka lang sila tumigil. 🤦🏽‍♀️ We found 2 small cockroaches in the room. 1 in the coffee maker (sa may patungan ng baso), 1 fell down while I was entering the bathroom. They didn't disseminate information that for dinner, ala carte menu is not available since they will only be serving buffet. Imagine our surprise that we can't order anything but be forced sa buffet. Hindi naman lahat ng tao gusto magbuffet, esp the senior citizens. Kung hindi pa kami magrereklamo, hindi kami makakaorder ng ala carte. This may be a little issue for some (or even not), but we stayed there for 2 nights, and because their extra head costs almost 4k, umabot ng almost 32k/night. Tapos pipilitin ka pang mag buffet?? 🫠 We were 6 in the room. When we requested for water bottles, 5 lang daw ang complimentary nila. They were not flexible sa requests. Bedroom floors and even the shower area were slippery! Ilang beses nadulas yung toddler ko sa room kahit naka-paa na sya. We requested for non-slip shower mat, but it seemed like they have none. So safety hazard to for everyone esp the seniors. Waterpark na need pa ng additional payment before you can use it. It's just a lazy river with additional pools 🫠

I wanted so much to love this place but sadly, the cons severely outweigh the pros 😔 It's disappointing that issues from years ago were still not resolved until now. Management needs to improve. And the staff (although courteous), must be taught on how to handle issues. It would have been better to have more amenities or activities given the cost of your stay. Not satisfied with the service we received with the price that we paid for...