Island Garden Resort in Pangubatan — Hotel in Samal

I read all the revives so I was really looking for to this place. Our problems started when we were trying to reach the place. There was no info saying that it is impossible to get there after 6pm. No tricycle or habal-habal wanted to take us to the place. We tried to solve the situation with the resort but it was really hard. They said that its too late for their own transport and after a while they stopped to answer our calls. We had to take a accommodation from the center. In the morning I called to the resort and ask if they can refund the night. Now they came up a story that actually there was no reservation in our name. They didn’t say that when we first called. We also asked that for the compensation, can they take our bags to the resort. They said that it is not allowed to have bags in the car without the people who owns them. …||||Well then accidently the driver came, because He thought that we are going to use their transport service. We said that we are not coming but you can take our bags. And suddenly it was okey. Soo full on lying before. I have been travelling in the Philippines for five months and there has been these kind of situations before. The lie if they don’t want to say no. ||||Well it was amazing when we arrived there. So peaceful..until..it was a local holiday and well..the noise started at 5 am and ended 12 pm.. And people were walking in the hanging bridge at 6am. The problem with that is that when somebody walks at the hanging bridge, the whole tree house moves. And I mean not a little shake but the whole house literally moves. That was the upper three house. It is a shame, because it was so beautiful place to be. And also the toilet is really far.. but I think you can see it already when you get it..so that’s no surprise. Staff at the resort where super nice and food was delicious. ||||It would be good for them to write “how to get there and before what time”.Lot of remote places do that. And also for the management: If you are in a hospitality business, you have to know how to deal with problem situation. It is not a solution to lie or not to answer or say that the signal is bad (suddenly phone connection worked when there was a pilipina answering). And maybe it would be good to have some kind of silence time, because I think people who go there, seek...

Honestly, at first I thought this place wasn't for me. I'm used to high end, expensive resorts that my family often frequents. But this resort is something else. The place is beautiful, with a nice floating kubo (small house) on the water which you can access by a simple raft. The greatest aspect of this gem is that it is untouched. You can expect a quiet place, unlike a lot of resorts in Samal where the beach is overcrowded and noisy, the beach here is perfectly serene and windy, much like a beach that you would picture in a dream. The atmosphere is completely something else. I never experienced the ocean as great as in here. With cuts all over my body from my recklessness during swimming, I always find a reason to go back because of the unspoiled crystal clear blue waters of the resort. If you're up to it, you can even swim to the aforementioned kubo, which is an exhilarating experience. The staff are accommodating and friendly, the food is okay, not really too bad but it gets you full. But I recommend bringing your own meat like chicken and tuna to grill on their pan to really get a tropical feel. Couple that with some buko juice, and you've got yourself the ideal beach experience. The only problem is that there is a lack of any medics, but you should expect that from the isolation of the place, so always be careful with what you're doing as the hospital is a car ride away. The kubo could also use some reworking, some wooden planks on the floor have snapped already and it needs some cleaning. Aside all that, the rooms were what you would expect. I slept in the family room, and it has a typical resort set up. But once you walk into one of their cottage rooms, you will have a rugged feel, unique from any house I've been to. Clean, serene, and above all, beautiful....

My wife and I were visiting Davao City in late March 2018 from the US (California) and we were really looking forward to this resort. We booked the treehouse #1 right next to the ocean. This could have been a very relaxing getaway however there is no one at the resort to enforce peace and quite after hours. We settled in for a nights rest at 9pm only to be woken up by guests who PARTIED with locals ALL NIGHT from 10pm - 5am. Yelling, screaming, in and out of the ocean, taking pictures in the hammock under our tree house. You name it. LOUD and obnoxious! || ||There are signs posted all around the resort to observe the tranquility of the place. WHAT A JOKE! There is no hotel staff on-site after hours to enforce any policy and the one security guard (with a GUN) had no power to silence the noisy guests! There are no police within in miles of this place either. We ended our 3 night reservation after 1 night with NO SLEEP and the hotel staff tried to make us pay for the remaining 2 nights we had booked. After MUCH argument we finally won over.||||Some other notes. If you have luggage of any size you are stuck with their ONE van to get you in and out of this place. The last 30 minutes being on a dirt road. The only other source of transportation are local motorcycles. ||||The beach in front of the resort is shallow. Not great for swimming or snorkeling.||||The restaurant does not stock many of the items on the menu. Which probably explains the resort NOT enforcing their corkage fees.||||The common bath houses are in need of a good cleaning.||||I would definitely not go back to this place. Once its dark you are trapped with whatever situation you must endure until dawn. Then you need to find your way out if their van is...