Malapascua Exotic Island Dive Resort

Nice beach and very quiet

Some of the staff were not friendly at all

They had a live band in the restaurant on our first night, which made for a terrific ambiance, and we really enjoyed this. Also, the food at the restaurant is excellent quality. I love their variety of their menu and made a point of trying many different options. All of them were executed very well. So much so that we ended up eating every meal here. We never did try any of the other restaurants on the island because of this. Really, really good! Air conditioning and hot water worked well (once the heater was turned on). The room was clean, spacious, with a nice balcony, the beds were comfortable, and we slept very well. The beach in front of the hotel is stunning, and from what I could see, it's the nicest swimming spot on the island. It is truly a paradise! The entire property is beautiful, actually. I love the plants around and the general asthetics of the hotel. Even though there are a few points of improvement, overall, we did really enjoy our stay here, would happily return, and I can confidently recommend it as an excellent option. Of the 5 hotels we stayed at in the Philippines, this was our favorite. As it should be, however, considering it was also the most expensive one (expensive by local standards). From what I saw, it must be the nicest hotel on the island.

Communication was nonexistant before arrival. I sent a few messages to the property on here and none were ever answered. The internet is atrocious. Only available in the restaurant, not in our room, and incredibly slow. I understand it's a remote location, but in 2023 surely better can be done. This limits how long you can stay here, if you need to be working online. The foot baths outside the entrance of our room, for cleaning sand off, is a nice touch! But this stangnant water brings with it a crowd of mosquitos. To be expected in this part of the world, that's no problem. But housekeeping should be mindful to keep the door closed while working, to not let them in. Each day, we had to spend a few minutes killing mosquitos inside after the room was cleaned. Staff were generally friendly and we felt welcomed. But on one occasion in the restaurant, they all stayed behind the bar, chatting amongst themselves and eating their own food. Which resulted in dirty plates remaining on our table for an excessive amount of time and brought the flies to our table. Obviously annoying. Nor did they ever come back to ask us if we wanted more drinks. And in the heat, we were dying of thirst! Considering they had a 3:1 staff to guest ratio during our stay, they could certainly be more attentive! I planned to dive with the "in-house" dive shop at the resort and, to my surprise, upon my arrival, was informed they had no trips planned during my 4-day stay. I understand we stayed during "low season" but nonetheless this is outrageous considering they proudly display that they are the pioneers of thresher dives on the island! And of course, this was the reason we traveled all the way here, for this specific purpose. I ended up going with another dive shop. Great for me, ended up saving money (paid less), but very strange. The name is DIVE RESORT!

The overall ambience and facilities and cleanliness of the resort was good. However, for the price it’s not value for money.

Left at 6 am, no receptionist so just left the key by the close shutter at reception. I got to the boat to leave island and then got seconded by two people from the resort saying that I hadn’t paid my bill. I declare that I had and I showed them proof that I had and it still wasn’t good enough they wanted the paper print out receipt. Then lots of shouting phone calls to the resort and arguing which caused the boat to held up. Really disgusting the way they treated me, I was meant to feel like I was a thief and I had done something wrong clearly I had paid. I showed the proof of payment but they wanted to escort me back to the resort to prove the payment to the receptionist. I refused several times and in the end they accepted that I had actually paid however no apologies, just rode off on the motorbike.

Breakfasts were excellent, as were most of the meals. Location on the island was good too. Staff were exceptionally good and eager to please us guests.

Internet service was not up to standards expected at a quality resort.

location and the beach and especially the food.

we all noticed that most of the staff were not very friendly and the kitchen/ waiting staff almost never came to check on us, we’re not attentive and again we’re not friendly. the one exception was the waiter Arman, he was nice and didn’t make us feel like we were just a bother to deal with, like the others did. the receptionists though we’re good and friendly and very helpful. when renting snorkeling gear, the staff there were mostly not friendly and I felt like I was annoying them by even asking for help. but all of that didn’t make our stay bad, it was a very nice stay.