U Story Resort — Restaurant in San Juan

I want to be abundantly clear that the negative parts of this review have everything to do with my experience that was out of the control of the resort. I'd give the resort more of a 4.5 but Google doesn't allow half stars.

With that said, this resort was lovely! The staff are incredibly friendly and attentive. Whenever there was an issue, they addressed it right away. It is located about 30 minutes from the port but they are right on the coast, with direct access to the ocean. Their shuttle is easy to arrange and pretty reasonably priced. They have their own set of motorcycles and scooters that you can rent, which makes it convenient to get around the island. The resort is also close to a few of the famous waterfalls and tourist attractions but definitely would need a scooter to get to them.

The restaurant is SO good. We got the sea matador, which is a delicious array of seafood cooked in different ways and all just delicious. The ribs too - so juicy, tender, and fall off the bone deliciousness! We regret not trying more from the tapas menu, because we got the calamari one night and it was SO good!!

The views are incredible and had we not gone in low/typhoon season, we probably would've gotten more beautiful sunsets, but still, the water was clear and an amazing 30°C. It's a pretty calm, relaxing and quiet atmosphere around the resort. Sometimes they have live music during dinner, which is just such a nice touch :)

We booked the honeymoon room (end of August), which came with its own private mini pool. When we arrived, it was so cute and we were excited to use it, but 30 minutes later, the pump stopped working. We were informed that because it's low tide, the water can't be pumped up. Then the waters got so crazy rough, the pump never turned on, and eventually, the water in the pool turned brown. We were informed afterwards that they usually don't rent out that unit during low season because of those issues. Not a huge deal, but kind of disappointing we couldn't enjoy it.

We had an outdoor washroom, which we were aware of when we booked, and normally not a problem, but then we didn't have hot water for our shower for days. But because we're in the Philippines, we honestly thought it was normal to have cold water only. And then, one of the nights was pretty cold and having a cold shower sucked, so we told management on our last day there and they told us that we were supposed to have hot water! They called someone to get it fixed right away and we were able to have a hot shower on our last night. It was really our own fault we didn't mention it earlier and they did compensate us for it. But then they left the door open from the washroom to the bedroom and a bunch of mosquitos got in and hid themselves somewhere. I was eaten alive that night 😭

In the room, there is a bug zapper but that really doesn't do anything. They really should have mosquito netting in the room at least for sleeping. As well, they do have pools of standing water, which breeds mosquitos! Not all the rooms are like the one we had, so we'd recommend getting one that does come with mosquito netting, or ask them earlier about it. We just kept forgetting.

So all in all, a positive stay. There are also cats and dogs that live there and are so very cute! Service = 12/10. My experience with the mosquitoes is really what dampened...

We have recording for our experience in this resort. "When you encounter problems during your stay, it shows whether a hotel truly cares about its customers or Not."

If you are considering this hotel, I hope you are lucky enough not to experience any issues during your stay. Please notice that not the positive feedback are real "U Story" , "Our Story" is true and awful customer experience.

U Story: The hotel blames the water pressure to island's environmental issues.

The True is: Other hotels within a 10-minute drive on the island had no water pressure problems and provided comfortable and stable hot water.

U Story:The hotel's poor response attitude blames to the customer: When customers requested a fair and appropriate solution.

The True is: We've encountered a problem with the hot water not functioning properly for the three times within the two days. Each time we need to take a shower, the hot water fails, and it has to be fixed repeatedly during our stay.

I'm also disappointed to share that the owner's response to our complaint was quite rude and disrespectful. This has added to our frustration and has significantly impacted our experience here.

Your Every Moment is Priceless! We bug out from U Story for our safe even we paid and still have 4 night can stay. The resort host is rude and yelled to us.

From 1st and 2nd date (there are 3rd times and every time), the ocean view room no hot water for shower when you required.

We took off the clothes then we felt embarrassed because the water is cold . We need to put on the clothes. it’s happening every time when we stay.

The resort manager asked us have to wait for the house keeping to fix the problem every time when we need a shower.

1st time at the 1st day afternoon, we were sweat like a pig… we wait more than10 mins for they fixed the problem. 2nd time at the 1st day night,cold and rainy night. we wait long time till asked U Story open another room for a shower and let the house keeper fix our room’s shower problem (again..)

The 3rd time no hot water for shower. at the 2nd day night, we were cold after finish a night dive.

We seriously asked to the manager have to provide a functional shower when we stay but she can’t and told us they will fix the problem every time when the shower failed.

We accepted to move to a downgrade garden view with functional shower room but we need the price gap refund.

Then the resort Host coming and seems drunk… he yelling to us.

‘It’s the Philippine’s problem, not resort’s.’ (He rude and yelled)

‘Waiting 5 mins is importance for you??’ (He yelled to us again and moody) He yelled and told to us for solutions below, suck it up Keep stay in a no hot water shower room.(waste your time for fix every time) 2.Downgrade to another room with functional shower but not refund the price gap 3 leave without any refund, the door is open.(host yelled to us)

So we bug out in the 3rd date morning to avoid the potential violence and dangerous situation for us. Though we paid 6 nights.

After few days back for check out our room, we surprised seem there are someone in our room!!! They double sold our room!! We have not check out for 6 night room (we still have the room key) and they sold to others. What a resort it is!

It’s my story when we stay in ‘U Story’ and you...

U Story, under new ownership as of March 2024, demonstrates significant potential paired with notable shortcomings. The inaccuracy of their online booking descriptions, paired with their lack of awareness indicates a lack of experience in hospitality management.

The site itself is gorgeous. The pool area and the garden on the cliffs are clearly the star of the show. The Filipino staff is also very friendly.

However, the effort of the Filipino staff is overshadowed by a lack of warmth or hospitality, particularly noted in the behavior of the French owner who seemingly prioritized interaction with French-speaking guests. On the first night, the French owner went around the restaurant and talked to pretty much all the French guests, except to us. Whether that was because of the language barrier or not, it didn't feel great.

If you choose a guest-centric approach, you should be empathetic and attentive to all of your guests, which the current owners are not. Another point where this becomes blatantly apprante is the large boss table in the restaurant, where the owners constantly hang out with their friends and family.

I get that they probably invited all their loved ones to celebrate their reopening, but it just feels very unprofessional if the guests have to watch that big party of people drinking and smoking all day long. Every time you want to go to the cliffs, you either need to awkwardly squeeze by that large table at the corner of the restaurant, or you take the route over the patio and jump over a wall to get to the garden. Neither feels right.

We also cannot recommend booking their Harmony Bungalow, as it offers zero privacy and the advertised "sea view" is barely mentionable. The decor isn't up to the price you're paying, aside from the gorgeously remodeled outdoor bathroom you'll get furniture and art from the 80s. The most annoying part is that you'll hear the jazz music from the restaurant literally from 8am to 10pm – if the owners aren't throwing a party with their friends, then you'll have to walk up to them and ask them to be quiet. To be fair, they did apologize for this the next morning, but as the owner of a resort you should be aware of your behaviour .

The biggest letdown, however, was the restaurant. We had dinner three times and didn't enjoy any of the food. I don't know who wrote the raving reviews about "the best food on the island", but you can clearly get way better food for less money. The food feels uninspired, most of it just doesn't taste great and the price they're asking for it feels like a slap in the face.

To sum it up, it felt to us like the resort was the owner's private playground. If you are French, you might get a different impression, but we just felt like...