Leticia By The Sea — Hotel in Samal

Booked 7 days here in early January in an attempt to have a quiet beach getaway trip in PH. Wonderful location and beautiful resort. But service is definitely lacking, and this is very much a resort for locals where they really don't know what to do with tourists. Language barrier with English is not really the issue, moreso the actual lack of service where you often feel like a random person crashing on the island...Get used to asking for everything from a drink outside of meal servings like water or juice, and even room service isn't automatic unless you ask. Also get used to never once being asked if you need anything or being checked on. If you are lucky enough to be the only ones staying at the resort (can happen considering only 10 villas total) the peace and tranquility is usually great, except for the days where the staff completely ignores your presence and start to chainsaw the landscape, move furniture, and completely ignore/forget that there are guest staying at the resort. All inclusive and great variety of local food served, at least for the first few days and when there are other guests there. Otherwise, get used to much simpler and more repetitive meals, where you often feel like the staff is cooking comfort food for themselves but just serving you first. And lastly... get used to being told that they are out of things... including simple things like toast, and even things like mangoes that were practically falling off every tree on the island. ||||As for internet, it's included but it's very weak at best, when it is actually working. And often times you realize there is no signal at all only to find out that most mornings the staff takes the modem to their work quarters in the back and you have to ask for it to be brought down, or that they decided to turn the modem off for a few hours to save electricity and they will have to call management to make sure it is okay to turn back on.||||Not an island where you can wonder at all or see anywhere else so take this into account when booking your time there and plan on bringing everything little thing you want/need, as you will not be able to get anything here (such as toiletries) aside from toothpaste or a toothbrush which the resort sells for a fee. Also asks yourself how many days you can go with no hot water and no pressure-less cold shower.||||Worth visiting the local beach (Isla Reta) where you will actually see the blue blue water and white sand beach you imagine if you have ventured to this area from afar. However, not much for walking paths on the island and not the safest feeling walk through the almost 1 km of jungle and then the small stretch through the local center at Santa Cruz if you are a tourist. And the resort offers to help at all so you are all on your own; still I'd say it's worth the quick trip and 75 peso a person cost if you are a semi-adventurous traveler. ||||Nice touches throughout that give it a great casual island feel. Water is beautiful but very small sand beachfront and none when the tide comes up, plus better for a snorkeling area, but tough to walk in the water with the reef and rocks. One huge perks is the free massage included the first day when you check in, although no one tells you this in advance and it's somehow a bit hard to coordinate even when they do tell you about it.||||Amazing views throughout the resort, but still definitely worth booking their sea-front villa if you are willing to spend a few more. Also one last tip... make sure you reach out yourself to arrange transport to and from, especially if you are not coming in directly from Davao island or know the area. Not an easy feat and if you don't proactively inquire on this you would never get in and out to the resort on your own. Same as it is getting to and from the regional airport and to the wharf for the island if you haven't made arrangements in advance. I echo everyone's sentiments however on Erwin being extremely helpful and responsive in arranging some of the transportation details, one of the few hassle free experiences in terms of service when booking a vacation here. ||||Overall, if you are a tourist who has one a fair share of traveling and is looking for a vacation in PH but want to avoid the tourist loud bar overpriced packer spot of Boracay, I'd say there are probably much better places/islands in the area for your money. If you are a local, this is probably as...

I've been looking forward to this trip for a long time. Since Leticia by the Sea has rates similar to that of Pearl Farm, we kept our expectations high. Both my husband and I are employees, so times like these are very rare for our family. We arrived at the resort after an hour of riding the resorts ferry. We hoped to be served lunch on time. However due to the late arrival of their cook, our food was also served late at around 1:30 in the afternoon. Food came and I must say that for a resort connected to two restaurants, a hotel and a business inn, their food was disappointing. Dry, lacking of taste and they served limited rice for a room for 3-4 persons. The cutleries used  looked old and still had white stains on it. Our juice was served with 2 free, floating insects.|In the afternoon we walked on the same path several times, the resort is small. At one glance I could already see the entire thing. The place has lots of mosquitoes. There was even a spot were I could see stagnant water which was already a breeding ground, several worms just waiting to become mosquitoes themselves (its on top of the buddha head before the stairs going to the pavillion, as I write this review). The management clearly hasnt made any effort to prevent this problem from occuring. Good thing I brought mosquito repellant or else we would be a walking feast for them! The room was also small, no mini bar, no cable television, no phone/intercom and the lights were too dim.  The resort never stated that they used brackish water for the guests brushing and bathing needs. Well lo and behold, imagine my surprise when I had to brush my teeth and take a bath.|We went to the pavillion a lot because this was the only place with internet access. Considering this, one would think the staff would clean it often. But underneath their mats and rugs,  I saw  thick amounts of dust.  |For their costly rates one would expect good (if not excellent) customer service. Think again. I guess its because they hired locals from the island. But management could have atleast given them customer service seminars or orientation. Especially on our second day (we were the only guests on the island) the staff neglected to dish out our food several hours after we had finished eating. I checked the dishes from our 7:30 pm dinner, those were still outside our room by 12 midnight (not only this meal, it took several hours to dish out EVERY meal). Bottles of san miguel beer  were still present at the pavillion a day after the guests have checked out. Towels used by the previous guest were still on the benches hours after they have checked out as well. I saw atleast 2 male staff walking around the resort with no shirt on, and one shirtless staff even sat down near me for a few hours because he was using the pavillions internet (we were the only guests on the island, also  he greeted me "good afternoon, maam" while clutching his phone, so Im 100% sure he is a staff and not a guest). While passing by,  I also saw one staff  sitting down on the bench and watching tv. However, I do not blame the staff for this. I saw that they had good intentions. They were courteous and tried to cater to our concerns as much as they could. They even gave us buko juice and some white bread when I asked for merienda. I think it is mainly training and orientation on BASIC  customer service that they lack. |Upon waking up, there were lizard droppings on one side of our bed, around 13 pcs accumulated while we slept. This happened on  both nights we were there. On our last day, I saw 2 staff smoking outside the kitchen while waiting for our breakfast to be cooked. | The resort has a great view, though.  I like its bali-inspired theme. I like the other accomodating staff and Irwin, who assisted me through our booking. Thats basically it though.| Now I know what "having a bucket of sand dumped on our heads" feels like. As a previous reviewer stated. Im very disappointed that what should have been  memorable family bonding time turned...

Quite an unforgettable stay at Leticia by the Sea Resort and sad to leave so soon. It has everything we could ask for. The view from our room was spectacular and as avid photographers, my husband and I had a ball taking sunrise-sunset shots off our porch. The service was just impeccable. Help was always prompt. Thank you to Romelyn who made sure we got all what we needed. Mark, had our coffee ready to start us up at 5:30 am., Kenneth, the chef always delivered delicious Filipino cuisine (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and Nonoy (the maintenance guy kept the aircondition on when needed but at certain time, understandably. The amenities were sufficient (Kayak, and refreshing seawater to swim and snorkel, etc.). The boat crew (Ahmed and Jun) brought us safe and back from snorkeling Angel's cove and Coral Garden. Last but not least, Erwin (the booking manager/agent) was always easy to reach and had the right and proper answer to my inquiries. Rocky, the van chauffeur was there to pick us up, bring us to the wharf and back to our hotel, on the dot. I truly have nothing much to say and no complaints as we had the best vacation in this resort. Our gratitude to the staff and management/owners for keeping it as beautiful resort as should be. We shall return. Thank you from all of us who had the unique opportunity to find this...