Incredible resort, just needs to iron out the kinks to be a full 5-Star experience.

As most people have said in other reviews, the resort itself and the friendliness of the staff is absolutely amazing, and I’d say you’d be hard-pressed to find a more idyllic and beautiful resort in the Philippines. The only real problem is that there a few kinks that need to be ironed out for this to be considered a true 5-star resort — and that includes minor issues with room wear and tear and some more frustrating issues such as delays in serving food.

First off, getting there. If you are flying from Manila or Cebu, then you generally want to fly into the small, but quite new El Nido airport with AirSWIFT. We flew from Manila Terminal 4 (Domestic terminal) on a 7 am flight, which saved us from battling traffic in Metro Manila and flight time being 55 minutes. If you are going to fly into Palawan proper on one of the larger airlines such as PAL or Cebu Pacific, then you will need to take a 4-hour bus journey to get to the resort. Now unfortunately for us, there was a storm in El Nido and the Coast Guard had banned all sea travel. This meant that we were stranded on the mainland and were unable to make it over to Cauayan for our first night. This was where I felt the lack of polish on this 5-star experience as we were mostly left to fend for ourselves with the driver dropping us off at a 3-star resort in town with communication on what was supposed to be happening next severely lacking. We managed to sort out our own accommodation at a nicer resort, and after a few back and forth calls, we were able to get on a boat the next morning to Cauayan.

The boat ride from the El Nido port takes about 15 minutes and is pleasant enough. In times of rough seas, you’ll dock at the back of the island. It is a little unnerving getting out of the boat onto the concrete steps, but pretty much the norm if you have visited almost any other island resort in the Philippines.

The island itself is exquisite. It truly is amazingly beautiful and one of the most incredible views I have seen. Walking from the back of the island to the main area at the front will have you travel through the new mountain villas they are building and across the lagoon onto the beach.

Check-in was fairly quick and we were greeted by the resort manager, Ronin, a Frenchman who really does go out of his way to ensure that you feel welcomed and special. In fact, on Christmas Eve after the dinner, Ronin was in the bar with the rest of the guests handing out free champagne and chatting away, a personal touch that I think goes very far.

We stayed in the water villa, which was fairly spacious but had some odd design decisions. The bathroom, for instance, has an incredibly shallow sink, which means that if you try and use it before going out, then you are going to get water all over your midsection. There was also a little wear and tear, with the false wall behind the toilet peeling away and the pressure from the shower left a lot to be desired. However, plus sides are that the bed was nice and comfortable, and the private balcony over the sea has a beautiful view, with it being especially nice to sit there at night and hear the waves.

My main issue with the resort comes from the restaurant and the slow service that went with it. I didn’t personally think that the food was that great overall. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t anything special. It also didn’t help that, on occasion, breakfast was served cold, staff needed to be reminded multiple times about bringing extra water, or the bill, or toothpicks or what have you. Minor points — but with the heavy premium that you are paying to stay on an island like this, then you expect things to be well oiled.

Others have mentioned the internet connection. It’s not that it is just bad — it is consistently terrible and barely usable for the most part. This is made even more irksome by constantly having to put in the same password time and time again on the “registration page”. They really just need to have a WPA2 password on the Wi-Fi connection itself, instead of it being open and having to fill in a form 25-30 times per day once you are connected. There is also no Globe cell reception unless you go close to the Spa, but Smart gives you 2 bars, which are about enough to make a call. Speaking with Ronin, he says that they have plans to mount a repeater on the cliffs of the island, which should hopefully boost the Globe cell signal from the mainland, allowing people to at least use 3G on the beach. Honestly, though, the internet connection and cell service isn’t a big issue when you consider the beauty of the island and that most people are there for the tranquillity.

There is quite a diverse set of wildlife on the small island. You can trek up to one of the observation points on the cliffs to get a sight of some eagles and more exotic birds.

Checking out was hassle-free, the trip back to the mainland was easy. And once again, Ronin was there to see the guests off and welcome the new ones.

All in all, Cauayan is an incredible experience but has slightly frustrating aspects considering the premium cost. I have no doubt that Ronin and his team will sort all of this out though, and they’ll need to because the occupancy is soon to double with the new mountain villas they are opening.

Great location, boutique style hotel, free unwanted wake up calls!

This is my first time staying at the Malmaison, but I did work in Farringdon for a number of years, so I am aware of the hotel and the surrounding area.

[SLAM]

So first off, the area. If you have business in Farringdon, then the hotel is in a great location just off Charterhouse street opposite the Smithfield Market. The hotel is about a 4-minute walk from Farringdon underground station and a similar distance from Barbican. Right outside the hotel is a decent size grass park, so if the weather is nice then you can soak up some sun outside.

[SLAM]

If you are here on vacation, then Farringdon is a decent spot to get out of the hustle and bustle of London. But it is a Monday to Friday area with the place being as dead as a dodo at the weekends. There are a ton of great old-style pubs in Farringdon with five or six of them being a stone’s throw from the Malmaison hotel. There is also a decent bar scene with places like Beduain staying open until 3 or 4 am. And if you like to drink until the sun comes up, then I believe Fabric is still operating as a traditional dance club.

[SLAM]

The hotel itself has a bit of a boutique feel to it. The hotel is a bit small with the rooms feeling slightly cramped, but not overly uncommon for this type of hotel in London. The bathrooms are spacious and probably could have been a foot or so smaller to allow the main room to be bigger. The showers in the hotel are absolutely pathetic, and despite there being a rain shower head and a standard one, you are going to need to spend an additional 15 minutes of your morning routine just to get wet! You’ll also likely find that the little water that does manage to make it out the shower head will end up on the floor, so put some towels down.

[SLAM]

The hotel has a decent size restaurant, but I didn’t eat there. I did have some room services and didn’t find the toasted sandwich particularly well made. The two hotel bars stay open until about 1 am, so if you’d rather drink closer to home, then they have you covered until a decent-ish time.

[SLAM]

The staff was helpful and friendly, albeit misinformed about certain things in the area, but no one is expecting an encyclopedia, so no big deal.

[SLAM]

You may be asking yourself why this review has the word [SLAM] dotted about it? Well, the [SLAM]’ing had me wondering what the hell was going on every morning at the Malmaison between the hours of 7 am and 11 am, waking (and keeping) me up on 5 of the 6 mornings I stayed there. I am not sure if it is just the room I had, but each morning, housekeeping would come slamming through the surrounding room and stairway doors up to the point where I wondered if I had paid extra for the mental torture package! Being the stiff upper lip Brit that I am, I obviously didn’t complain about this until the last night, with the staff taking my concerns on board and housekeeping not making a peep the next morning.

All in all, a decent hotel and in a great location if you have business in Farringdon. Be mindful of slamming door housekeepers!

Lovely self contained resort that would benefit from a wider menu choice.

Most people know that you can’t really go wrong with a Shangri-La hotel, and the resort in Boracay is really no exception.

First off, if you are from the Philippines or are heading there on vacation, then someone somewhere will have told you about the pristine beaches of Boracay. Unfortunately, a little too many people have been told about Boracay and it is about the most touristy and commercial holiday destination you can get. Absolutely great for an 18 to 30’s holiday, not so much if you want to relax a little.

Thankfully, the Boracay Shangri-La has us covered. The resort is set off to one corner of the island and is separated from the main white beach from a large rock formation jutting out. To get to Boracay from Manila, you either fly to Caticlan or Kalibo, both of which is a 45 minute flight time. From Caticlan, you will need to take a 15-minute boat ride from the ferry port (5 minutes from the airport) to get to Boracay Island itself. If you landed in Kalibo, you would need to take the same boat ride, but it would be about a 45-minute journey from the airport to the ferry port. Since you have spent all that money staying at the Shang, they offer a private speed boat to ferry you directly to the resort, which saves a ton of time waiting around and is much more comfortable.

Once you get to the resort, you get the standard welcome drinks and cold towel, and check in is nice and quick due to the many counters available. From there, you hop into a six-seater golf buggy which will drive you to your room/villa. I actually stayed in a Villa back in 2010, and whilst exquisite, I did find that they are a little too far away from the main pool/bar area of the resort. This time, I stayed in the premier sea view rooms which sit right on top of the large beach. We found it a little easier to get around as it meant we could walk, as opposed to having to wait for a buggy to pick us up each time.

The rooms are nice and spacious with a large bathroom. The rooms have a bathtub and a rainfall shower. Unfortunately, the pressure in the shower wasn’t too great and there seemed to be very little difference between dialing in hot and cold. The rooms also have a nice balcony (veranda) which has two beds you can lay out on. The main bed is firm but comfortable and housekeeping provides four large bottles of water to your room each day.

The problem I have with the room is that the curtains do not fit all the way across, so it leaves a gap of about 6 inches for the sunlight to wake you up at 5:30 am, pretty uncharacteristic of a Shangri-La hotel, along with us having an issue with our key card and room lock.

The main pool area is nicely laid out with its accompanying beach. You can find a poolside bed to lay on and camp out there all day without worrying about much else other than relaxing. The pool is nice and large, has a Jacuzzi, and is kept warm by the sun. The beach sand isn’t quite a talcum powder as the main white beach on the island, but you’ll not be complaining due to the exclusivity of it.

There are really only three restaurants in the resort and two bars (discounting the games room as a bar). The pool bar closes at 10 pm, with a few people commenting that they would like to sit around the pool and have a drink much later than that. There is, however, another bar that is open until 1 am, but it doesn’t quite have the relaxing charm of sitting near the pool, despite a large open fire to keep you warm in 30 °C heat — it does look nice though. Both bars offer the usual bar type snacks and are of good quality. I recommend the Kofte Wrap!

The fine-dining restaurants are Italian and basically seafood restaurants. Both had limited menus, as far as I am concerned, and whilst the food was nice, the portions were quite small. The third restaurant houses the breakfast buffet and offers a more homely selection of dishes, but I still felt a little limited by the choices available. There is also quite a limited beer menu from all the bars and restaurants, which isn’t necessarily odd for the Philippines. But I would like to see the Shang offer a little more than the standard San Miguel pale and light. Checkout can be a bit of a pain with the boat only leaving each hour, however, once you get to the Caticlan ferry port, you can sit and wait all you like in the private Shangri La area before you are transported to the airport.

We were there in July for a wedding which was organized very well. I would expect us to return to this resort despite not having much love left for the island of Boracay itself.

The hotel does everything right, I just can’t get to sleep here.

The Belmont does almost everything right. It is a small hotel that doesn’t try to be glamorous with a decent price per night, nice rooms, incredibly friendly staff, and in a great location. However, if you are like me and need a decent bed in a dark room, then there are going to be problems.

I am writing this review now. But in reality, this is probably my 8th or 9th stay at the Belmont. With the hotel literally being a stone’s throw away from Terminal 3, it is ideal to stay at if you have an early morning flight or just want to avoid the awful Manila traffic. In fact, with the new air-conditioned walkway, it is even easier to get from the Belmont to Terminal 3, and with the NAIA expressway, it’s also a breeze to get a taxi/Uber to Terminal 1 or 2. There is also Resorts World, a 3 minute walk away if you want to gamble (I would suggest other casinos though) or shop.

The staff at the Belmont are extremely friendly with check-in usually being quick despite there only being two or three desks.

The hotel entrance is relatively small, with the hotel Café (where you also eat breakfast) being right there as you walk in. Do not expect grand entrances with chandeliers at this hotel, but do expect a well kept, neat, and tidy lobby that is replicated throughout the halls and room. The breakfast buffet is a little on the simple side, but they have an egg station, so you can get a nice omelet or some pancakes.

The rooms are a little small, but are modern and have everything you need. The shower is nice and powerful, which is always positive. On this particular stay, the management was nice enough to leave a little chocolate welcome dessert, which was nice. All rooms have free wifi, which in all my 8 or 9 stays have never dropped out and is fast enough to watch some YouTube videos and what have you.

The corner rooms are very slightly larger and come with two windows as opposed to one, and herein lies my issues with the hotel… the curtains do not close all the way. Whoever designed this hotel made the walls entirely flush with the side of the curtain rail, which means that the curtains will never fully close and you get about a 2/3 inch gap on each side. With the direction of the hotel rooms, this means that at about 5:30 am when the sun rises, the room is lit up. The beds are also incredibly firm, so if you are like me and are a bit “Princess and the Pea,” then sleeping just doesn’t happen. I even tried to fashion some way to keep the curtains close to the wall, but alas my attempts were in vain. All of the rooms are designed in the same way, so it is a fundamental issue with the hotel structure.

It’s a real shame, because the hotel does everything I need it to do as a traveler, but I’ll likely not be staying again due to this problem meaning that I can’t get a wink of sleep. If you tend to sleep soundly, then I skip this minus point of my review.

Nice hotel, nice location, not much to do at night.

I’m a frequent visitor to the wonderful city that is Hong Kong, but this is my first time staying at the JW Marriot.

First up, the hotel location. The hotel itself is located right above the Pacific Place mall, which, along with housing the usual boutique clothing shops, doubles up as the entrance to Admirality MTR station. The Mall also houses entrances to the other two hotels in the area: The Conrad and The Shangri-La, and has a decent enough selection of restaurants on the bottom floor along with a pharmacy for getting any toiletries and what have you.

Outside of the Mall and around the hotel, there isn’t really much else in the immediate area. Don’t get me wrong, the area as a whole is bang in the middle of Hong Kong, but you are unlikely to be really wandering around the immediate vicinity of the hotel to find a bar or a hidden restaurant or what have you.

As with most places in Hong Kong, the hotel is a breeze to get to from the airport. You can book a hotel car, but it is frustrating because it’s about the only hotel in the world which doesn’t send you a link to do so in the confirmation email, nor does there seem to be any way to book the car directly through the website, so you are going to need to call. The hotel car is about 950HKD, with an Uber Black being about 750HKD, a regular Uber being about 450HKD, and a Red Metered Taxi being about 280HKD. A car ride from the airport to the hotel will take you about 30 minutes or so in normal traffic. You can, of course, choose to take the Airport Express train into Central station and then from there, go one stop on the MTR to Admirality, or walk it in about 20 minutes.

Checking in to the hotel was quick. They did this in our room due to booking a hotel car, but I didn’t see queues at the usual check-in desks. They also upgraded our room, which was very nice of them. I do like the hotel design, very traditional with a huge lobby and chandeliers and what have you — the way a hotel should be.

The rooms (at least ours on the 26th floor) were decently sized for Hong Kong. We had a nice sized bathroom with a bathtub. The shower was incredibly powerful and hot, which is what I need in the morning. Back to the room, the beds were soft and comfy with the pillows being a little too soft for my liking, but there is a choice of other style pillows if you wish it. The windows to the rooms are NOT reflective on the outside, so if you like to walk around naked with the curtains open, then you are going to get seen by people in the other buildings across the way — whatever floats your boat.

The hotel pool area is on the 7th floor and kind of juts out from the side of the building. The area is nice with a decent-sized pool and a Jacuzzi off to the side. The pool bar area is also very nice, with big comfy sofas and a fish bar-restaurant that seems to seat about 50 people. Two big complaints about the pool bar are:

1. It closes at 10 pm, which I will never understand from an international hotel
2. The service is really slow. There is often only 1 or 2 staff from the pool bar wandering around, and it can be a hassle trying to get their attention.

The other slight issue is bar food. They seem to have weird hours where you can order food from the Fish Bar, or you have to order very simple snacks from the bar menu. Let’s say you want a cheese and ham sandwich at 3 pm, well that isn’t happening. I didn’t personally eat at the Fish Bar, but my friends did and they said the food was good. Also, try the Wagyu Burger.

The other restaurants in the hotel are a Chinese Restaurant that we didn’t try, a Steak House that was booked for a private party, and also the standard-hotel-affair evening buffet. We ate at the buffet on two occasions and I’ve got to say that it is expensive. Look, I know I am staying at a 5-star hotel in the middle of Hong Kong, but 850HKD per person for the quite limited selection that the buffet offers isn’t really worth it, in my opinion. On top of that, I ate two lonely looking scallops that had probably seen better days and ended up throwing up all the next morning, so maybe that soured my view of the buffet?

The hotel lobby bar is right next to the buffet area, so you can go in there after eating if you wish. It is quite a quaint little lounge bar with a band off to the side that provides almost any drink you could think of. However, you better not be a night owl because the bar is open until 12 midnight and then that is your lot, which was quite the dismay to most of the tables as the lights went up and people realised there was nowhere else in the hotel to get a drink. Again, an international hotel closing the bar at midnight just boggles my mind.

Anyway, if you do want to drink a little later, then you can run through the lower floor of the now-closed mall and get over to the Conrad, who keeps their bar open until a slightly more reasonable 1 am. Or of course, head to Lan Kwai Fong in a taxi in about 10 minutes, which is the famous drinking area in Hong Kong, but not really a place to relax with a cocktail.

If you are sight-seeing, then honestly, it doesn’t much matter where you stay on the island. Everything is easy enough to get to either through the MTR, Uber, or metered taxi.

Check-out was quick. I booked an Uber Black back to the airport which came in about 10 minutes, so no issues there.

All in all, I think the JW Marriot is a nice hotel. I like the layout, I like the pool area, and despite the slow service around the pool, the rest of the hotel service is impeccable. My only gripes are the expensive and limited evening buffet, and that there is nothing in the area to do once the mall is closed, and then closing the pool bar at 10 pm and the lounge bar at 12 midnight doesn’t help this at all.