Joan Beach Resort — Hotel in Puerto Galera

STAY AT THIS PLACE IF YOU WANT TO RUIN YOUR VACATION!

We booked a room at Joan Beach Resort through Expedia, where the rooms looked really nice in the photos and were priced around ₱1,300 per night. When we arrived at the location, we were shocked when the staff told us that Joan Beach Resort no longer exists and that it's now under new management with a new name – Dolphin Bay Resort. So basically, Dolphin Bay took over the facility, and we had no choice but to cancel our Expedia booking and make a direct booking instead.

To make things worse, they didn’t offer any ₱1,300 per night rooms. If you book online during peak season like Holy Week, the prices shoot up to around ₱4,000 per night. But if you walk in, they offer ₱2,000 to ₱3,000 rooms. Since we were staying in Puerto Galera for 4 days and budgeting our expenses, we settled for the ₱2,000/night room.

Biggest mistake.

They placed us in one of the caretakers’ rooms. Yes, you read that right. We figured this out because the clothes of the staff were literally hanging outside the rooms on both the first and second floors. The staff kept going in and out of the area, and it was obvious we were placed in their quarters.

The room was absolutely disgusting. For ₱2,000 per night, you get a rusty doorknob, a filthy bathroom with yellow stains, no bidet, no bucket, and zero furniture inside the room except for a bed and an air-conditioner. No table, no chair, no cabinet, no TV – nothing. I’ve stayed in lodges and guesthouses that were way cleaner and way more worth it for a lower price.

And it wasn’t just us. Before we arrived, another group had already been deceived – they booked through Traveloka. Then another couple came after us and experienced the same thing. We weren’t just an isolated case. There were multiple guests being scammed this way.

The management clearly knows this is happening repeatedly, and yet they do nothing about it. Joan Beach Resort, Dolphin Bay Resort, Ara Beach Resort, and YOYO Beach Getaway are just the same resort. They keep changing the name of the resort to mislead people. Once you’re there, you’re kind of stuck because the place is far from White Beach, so guests end up settling for their overpriced and low-quality rooms.

Never again. They ruined our day – especially since it was my birthday. We only stayed one night and immediately moved to another resort that was actually clean, comfortable, and worth it.

Avoid this place...

We booked a room at Joan Beach Resort through Expedia, where the rooms looked really nice in the photos and were priced around ₱1,300 per night. When we arrived at the location, we were shocked when the staff told us that Joan Beach Resort no longer exists and that it's now under new management with a new name – Dolphin Bay Resort. So basically, Dolphin Bay took over the facility, and we had no choice but to cancel our Expedia booking and make a direct booking instead.||To make things worse, they didn’t offer any ₱1,300 per night rooms. If you book online during peak season like Holy Week, the prices shoot up to around ₱4,000 per night. But if you walk in, they offer ₱2,000 to ₱3,000 rooms. Since we were staying in Puerto Galera for 4 days and budgeting our expenses, we settled for the ₱2,000/night room.||Biggest mistake.||They placed us in one of the caretakers’ rooms. Yes, you read that right. We figured this out because the clothes of the staff were literally hanging outside the rooms on both the first and second floors. The staff kept going in and out of the area, and it was obvious we were placed in their quarters.||The room was absolutely disgusting. For ₱2,000 per night, you get a rusty doorknob, a filthy bathroom with yellow stains, no bidet, no bucket, and zero furniture inside the room except for a bed and an air-conditioner. No table, no chair, no cabinet, no TV – nothing. I’ve stayed in lodges and guesthouses that were way cleaner and way more worth it for a lower price.||And it wasn’t just us. Before we arrived, another group had already been deceived – they booked through Traveloka. Then another couple came after us and experienced the same thing. We weren’t just an isolated case. There were multiple guests being scammed this way.||The management clearly knows this is happening repeatedly, and yet they do nothing about it. Joan Beach Resort, Dolphin Bay Resort, Ara Beach Resort, and YOYO Beach Getaway are just the same resort. They keep changing the name of the resort to mislead people. Once you’re there, you’re kind of stuck because the place is far from White Beach, so guests end up settling for their overpriced and low-quality rooms.||Never again. They ruined our day – especially since it was my birthday. We only stayed one night and immediately moved to another resort that was actually clean, comfortable, and worth it.||Avoid this place...

The Beach front was not really like that in the photo of the resort. There is no road to go to resort. Just a stony way going down to resort. It's really a challenging work if you have a person with knee problem or an elderly person. There was no mirror in the bathroom and above all there was no TV in the room. I think no TV in any of the rooms there. We didn't get a payment receipt and neither did I get my balance amount of Php 100.I was told I would get it later but even upon reminding,I never got it.||||In the booking it was mentioned that there was a sharing Kitchen..but during our entire stay (4 Nights 5 days) we couldn't use the kitchen, cause there was a Chinese guy occupying the kitchen and always working working there, We were not sure why he is always there instead of staying in his room, anyways, we never got a chance to use the kitchen, though we wanted to.||||Breakfast was good. If you don't mind walking you can walk to White Beach from Talipanan Beach to White beach and we did that. Talipanan water fall is very near and I think this is the only plus point of...