Trip to a Palawan Beach Resort is in Progress
I’ve run into some problems with picking one of the Palawan Beach Resorts to stay at. Most of them have limited websites. I find that comment for many businesses in the Philippines though.
Palawan Palm Bay Beach Resort
The first place that grabbed my attention was Palm Bay Beach Resort on the west cost of Palawan. It is out in the Palawan jungle and I was intrigued with the idea of staying there. They have mountains around them and are located on the beach. They are a bit far from Puerto Princesa, just getting there was going to cost P3800 if I used their shuttle service. I could take a Jeepny which would cost much less.
I was pretty much set to stay there. They are closer to some of the attractions I want to see and they put together a nice package for me. To visit the Underground River and Estrella Falls. There were some other smaller Palawan side trips that would have been interesting too.
The first snag came when I learned their air con rooms had no air con at night! If they mention that any place on their website, I didn’t see it.
I also had trouble finding out exactly what the Underground River tour consisted of. Specifically, their website indicates that one will spend the night on the “Monkey Trail.” I don’t think the representative I was emailing with was aware of that or she might have understood my questions. I really would enjoy that but I think it would be too hard on me. Those questions led to the revelation that the rooms had no air con at night. I was really interested in staying there so I asked more questions about the lack of air con.
The representative told me that it was very cool at night but Jessie said what I already knew: “Cool for them but not for you.” So I asked what the temperature was. I waited a day and got no reply. So I sent the message again, I’ve been having some trouble sending emails. I waited another day, still no reply. So I sent another email.
To this one I got a reply and it revealed that she had received my other emails. She told me the temperature would be between 18C to 22C at night. I might be able to handle that. So I was hopeful. Jessie was still unconvinced and mentioned mosquitoes. So I asked about mosquitoes and it was possible to have a second fan other than just the ceiling fan.
Here is her reply and my original message:
- On 5/29/2011 2:24 PM, Palm Bay Resort wrote:
- Please cancel your reservation i cannot quarantee more than i have. God bless you and i hope you enjoy where ever you go
- Of, course your still welcome if you decide to join us. Please let us know i have to arrange the tour otherwise
- Op 29 mei 2011 om 07:53 heeft Rusty
- My partner is really worried about my staying there. Is there a fan other than the ceiling fan. How are the mosquitoes?
It sounds like a lovely place and I really want to but it is a big expense and I don’t want to be miserable.
- My partner is really worried about my staying there. Is there a fan other than the ceiling fan. How are the mosquitoes?
I was completely blown away with this response. Of course I cancelled! What an absurd response to my question! I still didn’t want to cancel, I waited another day and thought about it but realized I had zero choice but to cancel after being asked to do so. So much for my stay in the Palawan jungle.
I had oozed with niceness yet I got that reply? Wouldn’t, “No sir, I’m sorry we can’t do that” have been a much better reply? Probably would have and they probably would have got my P20500 or $488 USD that the four night trip would have earned them.
Microtel Inn at Palawan
So after a few more days, I was finally able to get a confirmed room at Microtel Inn located on the beach in Palawan.
My cost is about $350 for the room including breakfast. Usually included breakfast with rooms are not so great. We will see. I was able to get a room despite their website indicating that no rooms were available during my stay. They must have some kind of event going on there. I found a travel agent though that must have had pre-booked rooms and booked through them.
The booking didn’t go very smooth though. I booked with Agoda.com. Now I do have a confirmed room in Palawan but this took a couple of days. After I booked the room, they required that I upload ID and copy of my credit card. So I had to scan that and then upload. There site said to ignore the email if I did it on the site.
After doing that, I waited for a day and the status of my booking was still not confirmed. So I emailed them and asked if there was a problem? They replied with something like “We didn’t find any attachments included with your email.” Knowing that there were not many rooms to be had, this concerned me and I attached it to my reply email. Agoda acknowledged my reply and said they would contact me within 24 hours.
So, after three days they send another email marked as “urgent” and requested that I call my bank as the bank would not approve the transaction. So I went back to the website and used a different credit card and that went through. It bugged me that after three days of their not getting it done they now send me an urgent request. I did let them know I was not impressed. I’m also not impressed they already took the money from my bank account! However, I have the room now and at a good rate.
Microtel sits on the beach within Puerto Princesa and has Wi-fi in the room but you have to pay extra for that. Geesh, come on…. They have a pool too. A friend recently went to Palawan and told me if I could stay at Microtel in Palawan that I should.
If money is no object, you might want to consider Dos Palmas Island Resort and Spa. It appears to be very nice but the cost is not so nice. Not even by Western standards. Yes I’d love to stay there but the cost would be for the same stay over $1400 USD! Ouch! That is to steep for my poor old blood.
Looking Forward to My Trip to Palawan
My Palawan vacation is still quite some time away. I won’t give the exact dates as I think it is a bit of a security risk to do so. I’m not too worried about what will happen in Palawan since I’m staying in a modern resort within a major city of the Philippines.
I have to book my own trip to the Underground River and hopefully to Estrella falls too. Everything I find online is for a minimum of 6 people or more. I am only 2 people. Well, I could count for three I suppose.
I often speak of the low cost of living in the Philippines. Travel isn’t really a cost of living to me. It is a luxury but still, the cost of travel within the Philippines is very low compared to that of the USA. A trip to a place like Palawan would cost a lot of money in any Western nation.
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Tagged with: Cost of Living in The Philippines • Living In The Philippines • Palawan Beach Resort • Travel
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Interesting,
I wonder if it would be possible for you to show us a location map of Palawan in reguards to Cebu.
thanks for the story
Here you go. Grabbed it from Wikipedia and colored Cebu in red. Palawan is in Orange
not been there,but will be in our plan for our next Pinas visit,I hope
I have to start walking again before long. I need to be in a little better shape, I’m in awful shape right now.
Yeah limited websites or no website at all. And if they do have a website they are not good at replying to email.
I did email one other inn, Desert Inn and they replied to my email and made an unconfirmed reservation for me. But I’m happy to be staying at Microtel, only one on the beach within Puerto Princess.
I emailed a hotel in Manila and a few days passed so I emailed them again and I stated this is my second email. They replied we never received your first email. Hmmmmm did they really never receive the first email? Or someone just slacking?
I emailed an American owned Gun Range and body guard service in AC, I think it was in AC. I never heard back from them. I didn’t really expect to based on what their website looked like. Many emails do get sent to spam, especially to yahoo accounts. Use the wrong word and boom, in the spam folder it goes. Once an email address is online, there are just too many spam mails to go through them. My blogs get over 500 spam comments a day. I can’t go through those, I’d be there doing that and nothing else. I just hit the delete spam button. I have no real choice. So yeah, it is believable they didn’t get it.
The reason I kind of did not believe them is because a few years ago when I emailed them it took days to get a response.
Rusty I think a big mistake is relying on web page info for filipino business to be acurate and timely. It seems to me most only have them to look more profesional and get forign business, so rates should be higher there and a more highlighted picture is painted. As you know most filipino operate at a much more laid back pace and this does ofeten times translate to business practices. That added to the fact that most don’t check emails and web based info on a regular basis probably led to most of your headaches. Most of the small resorts are going to be operted with the average filipino so you can’t expect the same level of expediency as you would get in the USA. I think you would have had much better rusults with phone calls.
On another note I would be really interested in prices, locations & reviews of resorts, rooms, activties. Ireally liked the Tristens Resort article and I am sure can help many people.
Bruce, I didn’t find that to be true at all. Everyone was very was responsive and I got deep discounts off published prices. The only time it got slow was dealing with a US based travel agent. They were the only one with rooms at that hotel. It is booked up for my stay. It was either get the room through them or not at all. They no longer have any either, I got the last one. I never got a kano price.
Now, there are some cheaper places there but they were not very appealing.
The resort I had a problem with I was dealing directly with. They just got tired of my questions. I was too much trouble so I moved on.
I’m not in Palawan so it is kind of hard for me to find out anything without going to the web. I checked with my travel agent in Cebu, prices were the same, a little more.
Still gotta work out the tours. Hope I can go some places once there.
Yes, I’ll be writing about it once I go. I think the jungle resort would have made an awesome story.
They sent me a form to tell them why I cancelled, the form seemed to indicate they have NO power at night. lol
maybe the jungle resort you mentioned was doing you a favor asking you to cancel. Most places there are not very set up for people with a handicap. Maybe because of the concerns you expressed they realized that their place was just not right for you. Sometimes in the Phil I have noticed you have to pick up on the subtilties because the people are too embarrased and polite to come right out with it. If you don’t you could end up like I did once in Siquior island with a room at the bottom of hundreds of stairs and me with a stiff leg making stairs awkward.
Jodon, I think they did realize I probably wouldn’t be happy there. From what I can tell they don’t have power at night at all. When I asked for a fan at night, I believe the proper response would be “Sir, we don’t have power at night.”
I have a problem seeing “please cancel your reservation, I’ve done all I can do for you” as polite.Maybe it was meant that way and I bend over backwards to adapt to Filipino culture. I never found on their website that they don’t have power at night but when I cancelled one of the reason they have for cancellations is “No power at night.” They told me there was no air con at night but they never told me there is no power.
I think this is something they try to hide. I also do not believe the temperature gets down to 22 degrees there at night. Maybe once every 10 years.
I asked if they were at a high elevation and they said no.
I don’t know though it was pretty cool at Estrella falls. I was still hot. You might be right and it wouldn’t be the place for anyone hot natured.
It is hot in Puerto Princesa and Sabang (Underground River). Very hot. I asked Jessie if was me or is it much hotter here. She said it is much hotter in Palawan.
It did look beautiful there, looks like they have a really nice beach. The pricing though, it is in the same price range as what I would have paid for Mircortel after I included the cost of going to the attractions. That is because they charge quite a bit to take you to the hotel. It is on the other side of Palawan.
I wasn’t at the hotel very much. Except for Monday when I was just too sore to go any place. Walking in the SM mall did me in. LOL I find that a bit funny. Cool in the SM mall in Cebu but that place is large.
Yes it does seem as thou much of Palawan is still very undeveloped and power issues would not be a surprise to me. They do have a tourisim office for the district you are taking your trip in. Read a great many things to do there such as majestic mountains with great views without a great hike. I also saw something about a safari there as they have a lot of animials that were taken from Africa.
Yeah, the first place I was looking at offered that tour but I told them I couldn’t walk a lot. I don’t know if they just didn’t offer it any more or if they thought it wouldn’t be good for me.
Jessie will start calling soon to try to line something up for our tours. If not, We’ll visit the sites in the city and hang out in the pool. Not sure about the beach at this resort. Some reviewers complain that is is a mangrove swamp. It might be better to look at than to jump in. LOL
My next trip will be to Tacloban, that one wont cost much at all. Then to Bohol. I hear that it can be expensive but I don’t think it needs to be.
That one resort that I mentioned that is expensive, Dos something, it is VERY nice. Sitting on an Island in Honda Bay.
Microtel was recommended to me by a recent visitor there. We’ll see how it goes.
There is one other things about staying out in the jungle, it really isn’t the safes thing to do. One remote resort was raided a few years back. Allegations that the Armed Forces of The Philippines was involved. Allegations from the Philippine congress. One of the victims published a book about it. I was going to buy it but it is no longer on Amazon or I can’t find it. Would be an interesting read, I’m sure. You could tell from the cover she was most unhappy with the investigation into the matter. Who can blame her.
Palawan is one of the best destinations of all. Covered with great scenery that would make us be proud. It also has resorts that can beat other resorts internationally. I’ve been to Palawan, 2 years ago…for 2 years of not visiting the place for sure Palawan is now beautiful as what i expected.