When my best friend and I got to Lagen Island on 1/19/19 we were speechless with how beautiful it…read morewas. For months we looked at photos of the resort and daydreamed about it. The photos don't represent how breathtaking this island truly is! Also, a major factor for our decision to book this resort is that this is an eco friendly resort! YAY!
Once we disembarked from the boat, we were greeted with large warm smiles, necklaces made from a palm leaf, and a refreshing drink. We were escorted to the front desk and Johnny Ray helped us check in and gave us an overview of the amenities, excursions and explained different dining options for our stay. He accompanied us to our room, on the way he showed us where the different areas were located for dining, the gym, the bar and boutique . When we arrived to our room he showed us which remotes went to what device and where our complimentary slippers were and most importantly to press "0" if there was anything we needed.
I like to preplan quite a bit and had explained that I booked multiple island hopping tours through a company in town prior to arrival and gave him the scheduled dates and times. I asked about transportation options back to town. That was when I realized that the complimentary charter they offer back into town where we needed to be for our tours in the mornings didn't workout timing wise (my bad!). He asked me for the tour group info and helped coordinate with them pick up/drop off for us! Lifesaver! PRO TIP: Book all of your island hopping tours/excursions through the resort, it's a lot more convenient!
For our dining options we decided to choose the all-inclusive buffet for our meals. Everyday we were so excited to have our breakfast! There were so many options and fresh juices. All the buffet meals were different everyday. There were different staples for every meal that were the same(rice, breads, eggs made to order in the a.m.), which was great because my friend was addicted to their garlic rice! To be honest, we looked forward to every meal here! The room service a la carte items were delicious also. You won't be disappointed, the chefs are amazing!
When we got back from our 1st day of island hopping Jazz, the activities coordinator asked us how our day was. I told her during that tour my GoPro was claimed by the ocean and not obtainable but other than that it was a great day! I asked her if she knew where I could purchase another one. She was able to locate one for me in town and Johnny Ray was able to help me coordinate a pick up for it on our transfer to our next resort which was in 2 days. I appreciate them going above and beyond to help me with this, they really did not have to do any of that!
All of the staff members are so friendly and so welcoming here that we were so sad to leave.
It was about that time and we had to check out and transfer to our next resort on 1/22/19. We arrived at our next resort, 15mins after being there we decided we really wanted to go back to Lagen Island and spend our last 2 nights in El Nido there.
While the current property we were at was beautiful as well, it just wasn't Lagen. We truly missed the vibe of Lagen and the amazing team there, we felt more like home there! We immediately called and asked if there was anyway we could come back and unfortunately it was getting late and the coast guard curfew was rapidly approaching. We were unable to make the transfer back to Lagen that night but they had us back on a boat bright and early the next day! We were so excited to be going back "home"!
Once we arrived we were welcomed back with warm smiles and open arms! Ms. Jen was so great and truly went above and beyond to get us back to Lagen. She even helped us coordinate a private van transfer to our next destination because a transfer flight I purchased wouldn't work with our connecting flight. I was unsuccessful with contacting that airline, but they were able to contact the airline for me. They truly did way more than we expected for us, faced all of our challenges we had presented from losing a GoPro, flight dilemmas, to adapters for our hair tools, etc.
Also, we stayed in a bungalow and the rooms are so nice, the patio was our favorite spot. From the gorgeous view to the peaceful sound of the ocean waves, you won't be disappointed!
They exceeded all of our expectations and it's going to be hard to stay anywhere else without comparing the hospitality/team to Lagen's amazing team! We really felt like they were more like a welcoming family here and the whole vibe on the island is so positive! We are currently feeling homesick from Lagen and can't wait to come back! Thank you for an amazing experience here!