Travel HOTEL WATCH Advisory - Jan 2005.

WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ABOUT RECENT SERVICE, AND STANDARDS OF THIS HOTEL. PLEASE BE ADVISED WE CAN NO LONGER RECOMMEND THE HOTEL. bookings taken only on the basis that you are aware of this. NO HOT WATER most days. Especially when it's not sunny. Poor service. Security issues. Lack of management available Mon-Thurs every week.

Thank You.

Our recommend Hotel on Sabang Beach is the luxurious Club Tropicana Beach Resort Hotel.

There are, four standard types of rooms here, and the Hotel is built into the cliff-side with a medieval castle type look. Rooms are excellent and very reasonably priced.

*Due to the very nature of the Hotel setting this may not be suited for those handicapped or disabled - although there are some new rooms added on lower level.

The Penthouse has a patio with a hammock where you can layback and read or sleep in the shade of the brilliant sun. The Penthouse suite is large with two huge four poster beds and a large bathroom that has a Jacuzzi.

The Royal suite is one floor below and identical to the penthouse with the exception of the patio and hammock.

The Suite rooms are smaller with just the one four poster bed but also have a bathtub in the bathroom, whilst the standard rooms are slightly smaller still, with just a shower.

The Hotel has all rooms fully fitted with A/C and fans above the bed, which make them amongst the very best rooms I have seen outside of Manila and the Heritage Hotel!

Rooms come equipped with a well, stocked mini-bar refrigerator and Cable TV in the Rooms

The Hotel manager, Paul is a character himself. A likeable Austrian who makes all his guests feel welcome and goes out of his way to be friendly as well as adding the personal touch to your vacation. Hospitality with a capital "H" is the order of the day here.

The Hotel Restaurant has a wide and varied menu and specializes in fondue cooking at your table. A really nice touch, try the seafood or meat fondue, which we again highly recommend.

In the evenings the Hotel runs a movie at 7pm each night, and will also accept credit cards, and arrange cash advances as well as having money changing facilities.

The only negative aspects I could see were that the daily papers don't arrive until after 11am from the mainland, and the steps are steep. Both very minor problems that cause no problems really.

The Hotel is still under development with a swimming pool added and additional rooms away from the main block (no stairs)

• De Luxe Rooms
  A/C Room, Queen Anne Size Four Canopy Bed, Refrigerator, 14"Remote Control T.V. Clean Marbled Toilets, Telephone & Shower.
• Suite Rooms
  A/C Room, King size Four Canopy Bed, Refrigerator, 14" Remote Control TV, Sala (lobby) BIG ROOM SIZE Marbled toilet, Telephone, Shower & Bath Tub for three person.
• Royal Suite Room
  Two Four Canopy Queen Size Beds, Two Horse Power A/C Two Ceiling Fans, 20" TV, Telephone, Marbled bathroom with Steamer for Sauna, Jacuzzi.
• Penthouse Suite Room
  Two Four Canopy Queen Size Beds, Two Horse Power A/C Two Ceiling Fans, 27" TV, Telephone, Marbled bathroom with Steamer for Sauna, Jacuzzi. over looking Sabang beach with hammock and private patio.
  

Now with additional rooms and SWIMMING POOL

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Atlantis a lost paradise rediscovered. Nestled in a lush tropical isle, rising from turquoise seas, sink into a luxurious haven, bathe in the calmness and tranquility, soak in the voluptuous union of light and water, share the fading of the last embers of the night, and sleep until the first songbird awakens the sun.

The Atlantis rooms are bright and beautifully designed in this tropical setting. Fully furnished with air conditioning, 24 hour room service, mini bar and fridge. There is a beautiful swimming pool as well.

I can also say that although I'm not a scuba diver I do keep getting rave and glowing reports about the diving on the island. So if you are into the world of scuba, I would highly recommend you add Puerto Galera onto your itinerary when visiting the Philippines.

The Atlantis has a fully equipped dive shop, with all aparatus and equipment available as well as dive courses. You can rent Kyaks as well.

The Restaurant is one of the best on the island and they also have Internet facility at the reception - one of the few places on the island that has public access to the Internet

All meal pack.  US$ 25 .00
Half board       US$ 17 .00
Breakfast         US $ 5 .00

• Rate per night in US$ plus 10 % VAT
• Child 4-11 years 5 US$ discount
• Minimum booking period for Christmas/New Year,  Easter/Holy Week and Chinese New Year is 5 nights

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Portofino at Small La Laguna Beach is Puerto Galera's newest and one of Mindoro's finest residential resort-retreats, catering to the international traveler and to Manila Embassy and executive families.

Portofino is a first class Spanish-Mediterranean design of award winning architectural character with white sand, beach front, diving, swimming and dining.

The hotel is comprised of 25 one and two bedroom studio homes, all elegantly furnished and air conditioned with full cooking facilities. There is cable TV and mini-bar, refrigerators and room service available as well as a laundry service. A pool side restaurant overlooking the beach with a wide and varied menu.

Exotic birds reside near a cascading fresh waterfall-swimming pool where patrons may enjoy a special rum drink and tostadas, quesodillas or huevos rancheros whilst overlooking the beauty of a reflected sunset and moonrise over Verde Island across the bay. Hey sorry, I know this is a hotel rather than a restaurant. But, then again I know the chef would possibly disagree!

This hotel has the finest, and I mean the finest food, I have tasted in the P.I. and it's part of their everyday standard fare not a special occasion thing. The menu is varied and the cuisine is cordon bleau, though I say so myself. My honeyko and I, had a meal there on this trip and it was so damn good, we returned for their equally as impressive brunch on the beach buffet on Sunday afternoons.

The chef is a certified German Chef and as well as Bavarian dishes there are great chicken dishes with creme sauces and the Mexican foods there are done by a Southwest American. Try it if you get to Puerto, and remember the Sunday Brunch as well.

10% discount plus during low season  15% discount Mon-Fri only.

All beds are Queen size doubles. All rooms are A/C deduct 10% for no A/C option and all rooms are VAT included.

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Located right next door to the Portofino, is Carlos Inn Hotel. Set in the cliffs, in a quiet and secure cove, Carlos Paradise Inn is made up of apartments, private cottages and aircon deluxe rooms.

Carlos Paradise Inn is ideal for those more budget class minded, as this is an inexpensive resort Hotel on the beach at Small La Laguna. They are also friendly and well run by Gunther who is of German origin.

Carlos restaurant and bar serves mouth watering international cuisine and sumptuous seafood delights, fresh from the bountiful sea. Grilled to perfection or cooked just the way you want it. Feast on Filipino delicacies and indulge to your hearts content.

The views from the rooms are breathtaking and spectacular and the Hotel runs a special promotion offer through Beeline travel with 5% discount plus One day free every fourth day from May fifteen to November thirty. The hotel also organizes and runs beach trips, fishing trips, day trips to hidden paradise waterfalls, Mangyan Village, the cockfighting arena and a nearby gold panning site. They accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards and offer special room rates for long staying guests.

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The hotel we recommend on this beach is The La Laguna Beach Resort. Managed by the same group that, run the Southern Star in Angeles, and the Southern Palms in La Union. This resort Hotel has a swimming pool and it's own Dive Shop.

The hotel has a variety of rooms, all of which are spacious and are equipped with all the essential requirements you need. The staff, are friendly and the service is good. There is a restaurant and a fine area of beach right in front of the hotel. Again as one of Beelines featured Hotels you can avail yourselves to a 10% discount offer when booking through Beeline. There are a number of beaches on the island that we have not covered here, and these can be reached with ease by using a banka boat and exploring some more secluded and beautiful beaches, such as "white beach" famed for it's white sands.

Puerto Galera is a beautiful place to visit and explore, it is the sort of pace you n

eed at least a week to look around and explore at a pace that befits the area. Relax and enjoy the swimming, snorkeling, the coral and the Diving. Dine in some really fine restaurants and explore the alleys of Sabang. It is far less expensive than the more popular, and tourist generated Boracay Island Resorts. It may not have the beauty of the white beaches of Boracay. But, the diving and snorkeling, is some of the best in the Philippines. Puerto remains relatively free of the mass tourists of Boracay and the additional expenses that can lead to.

Puerto is still an island paradise. It is relatively easy to reach from the mainland and Manila it is used frequently as a weekend retreat by Manila business people. So if your visiting the best times to get a few bargains and enjoy a quiet and peaceful time, is Monday/Thursdays. Although the weekends are still fine as well.

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