Hotel Island Garden City of Samal dengan Gim

Been wanting to visit Samal Island for the longest time. Discovery Samal was said to be one of the best if not the best resorts in the island. The resort itself from the ameneties, architecture, cleanliness and the actual beach was top notch. Would definitely say that this is one of the most gorgeous resorts we've stayed in. Service though unfortunately, was the opposite of 5 stars. Sharing below a few pointers: Samal Welcome Center - good place, helpful staff. did pre check in procedures there. Departure time though was not acurate. Despite the schedule stating that the departure was at 11 am, we left almost 12 pm. Check in - Most chaotic part of the trip. After receiving welcome drinks, there is no order on how to proceed with check in. Guests were all over the front desk not knowing how or where to queue. Took a while for staff to notice that there are guests waiting. Arrived at around 12 am and was told that room wasn't available. This was ok since check in time was at 3 pm. Was informed that we would be receiving a call once room is ready. Up until 3pm, no calls were received. Visited the front desk multiple times from 12 pm - 3 pm but it's as if they were meeting us for the first time. Did not help as well that there were no staff available during check in time. During actual check in, the only thing that was mentioned by the front desk is to wait for our room cards. There was no info on how to go around the hotel, breakfast details, wifi access, how to go to rooms etc. Had to consult with other staff members to secure all details. Front desk needs serious retraining. Despite that, everyone was very friendly. Room (Junior Suite) - very good and complete. beautiful interiors and above average finishing. bed was a perfect 10 for us. room service on the other hand was not the best. Requested for water and ice, despite multiple follow ups came 1 hour later. Food - good for resort food. Drinks - 2nd most chaotic part of the trip. There was a happy hour at 4 - 6 pm but was informed by waiters that there was only 1 bartender serving the entire resort. People were getting very furious with the wait. Complaints from people filled the beach area. After 1 hr and 20 minutes of waiting, drinks arrived for us. Waiter was very nice to explain what happened. Operations need huge improvements as waiters unfortunately get all the complaints of customers. This somewhat ruined the mood of ”sunset and cocktails” cause drinks arrived during the evening already. Quality of drinks though was above average. Getting around - not the best but far from the worst. Wait time was manageable. Staff were very friendly and responsive to requests. Breakfast Buffet - Above average dishes. Not chaotic at all. Order was in place. The only hard part was getting water from waiters. Would be helpful if restaurant decides to just leave a water dispenser. Check out and transfers - fast and efficient. done in 15 mins. transfers back to davao city was flawless. Overa

Another beautiful resort in Philippines, Pearl Farm Beach Resort is a beautiful place nestled between the waters of Davao Gulf and the hills of Samal Island. Our Samal House room was perched above the water and we could hear the gentle waves lapping the shoreline at night. Very relaxing. The staff were always smiling and quick to assist with any questions we had. Excellent!! The food was very good, the selection and variety of the buffet quite impressive. This applied to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My only suggestion is it would have been better if there was another restaurant or two that served a la carte. Nothing wrong with the buffet, just preferred other options. Overall, very impressive and will definitely recommend. Well done.