Stayed here recently, and the atmosphere was unsettling. The dim lighting, creaky floors, and eerie…read moresilence gave off serious ghost vibes. Felt like something out of a haunted movie. If you're into that kind of thrill, this might be for you, but it wasn't quite the relaxing stay I was hoping for.

This review is for the 2nd floor restaurant located within the Marco Polo Hotel…read more Without a doubt the best restaurant I have dined at during my visit to Davao City. The restaurant itself is extremely classy, and offers a superb buffet selection, and amazing choice of desserts, that is one of the best I have experienced. The food quality is prime, great choice of wines, and the staff first rate. All in all, I enjoyed an excellent meal here, and most certainly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for fine dining in Davao City.

My extended family of nine enjoyed a two-night, three-day stay at Pearl Farm Beach Resort. I had…read morevisited over ten years ago with my family when they still offered day passes, and I loved it then. This time, we booked Villa 5 on Malipano Island. Malipano Island is a private island located just across from the main island and is accessible by a short boat ride. It features three or more villas, at least two private beaches, a public pool, as well as its own dining area and bar for guests staying on Malipano Island. If you book a villa on Malipano Island, you have access to the main island. However, if you book accommodations on the main island, you have little to no access to Malipano Island. Our villa featured a spacious open-air living room with stunning views of the beach/ocean, three bedrooms with a total of five beds, three full bathrooms, and one half bath. While I appreciate the open-air concept of the living room, we mostly stayed in our bedrooms to keep cool and avoid mosquitoes. During the day, we were either out on the beach or at one of the resort's many pools. Kayaks and paddle boards were available and included in our package. The grounds are beautiful, clean, and well kept for the most part. However, during low tide, you can see the trash on the beach, which turned us off. I actually didn't get in the water during low tide for fear of getting a skin reaction or getting sick. The food is excellent at both islands. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all served buffet-style featuring a wide variety of traditional Filipino food options from meat to seafood to veggies. The service is impeccable. Every staff member we encountered was super friendly and helpful. I would still recommend Pearl Farm. Just keep an eye out for trash on the water during low tide.

Pearl Farm was highly recommended to us and is apparently the Maldives of the Philippines. The…read moreviews were definitely breathtaking and the white sand beach was beautiful. The water was so clear and pristine. The boat ride from Davao to Pearl Farm is about 45 minutes. We were lucky because the weather was perfect when we went and the waters were not choppy. We stayed for one night in the Malipano Villa, located on Malipano Island which is a short boat ride from the main resort. The private island consists of seven ocean front villas and has its own beach and swimming pool. There was also a restaurant, but it wasn't open unfortunately. There was only one other family staying at the time so it was super quiet. You can literally hear the waves and birds chirping from your bedroom. It was a bit disappointing as the villa was a bit run down for the price we paid (minus one star). I definitely think it would benefit from a renovation. When you walk in to the villa, your eyes are greeted to a fully open lanai with a beautiful ocean front view. The lanai had a seating and dining area. I didn't care too much for the open lanai because it invited critters in to our villa so we had to make sure all of our doors were closed. The master suite with king bed and second guest bedroom with two twin beds were on the first floor, a spa bathroom on the second floor, and a third bedroom with three twin beds on the third floor. The spiral stairs were very narrow and it was difficult bringing luggage upstairs. I believe the villa can accommodate up to eight guests. I appreciated the cold a/c in all of the bedrooms and the filtered water dispenser. All of the staff we encountered were helpful and friendly. There are different water activities available at a cost. My family opted to do jet skiing and had a lot of fun. The lunch and dinner buffets were okay (traditional Filipino food). Their dining area is open and birds kept flying in to peck at the bread during lunch. There were also fruit flies on the fruit. They should do a better job and keep the food covered. We enjoyed the snacks and cocktails served during appetizer hour. We opted to have breakfast delivered to our villa and the food was good. We especially enjoyed the sikwate (hot chocolate) that I dipped my pandesal in. Upon check out, we were charged 400 pesos (almost $8 USD!!) for a small can of Pringles that was in the room next to the bed stand of the master suite. Mind you that was the only snack in the villa so I thought it was complementary. Ridiculously expensive! All in all, I'm glad we had the opportunity to stay at Pearl Farm. This would be the place to stay if you're looking for a place to relax and enjoy beautiful ocean views.

This resort is hands down the best bang for your buck...or peso you will find anywhere near Davao…read more Paradise Island Park and Beach Resort hasn't been contaminated by greedy investors, cruise ship off shore excursion contracts, and all the other things that can jack up the price of a resort. This resort is priced for the people of The Philippines to get away and relax. That can easily make it a bargain for a tourist. You can visit for the day or stay several days in a clean Superior cottage. For about $60 you will be impressed...maybe even amazed at what you get. The grounds and gardens are I guess why they call it "paradise." The grounds are immaculately kept up. Workers are always cleaning, sweeping, picking up leaves that just blew down that morning, and they all seem very friendly. The 1 hour full body massage costs $10! Pamper yourself with one each day! Other stuff to do is go out on a Banana Boat or Jet Ski. (added cost for those things but they are still priced very low) Or just snorkel or lay in the warm water and soak up the sun. Play ping pong, pool, walk the gardens in the back or just relax on the front porch of your rented $60 per night cottage. Your table is most likely on the powder sand. They move the tables all the time depending on the tides. The menu features seafood, but has some non seafood such as steak and chicken. All the prices are incredibly reasonable. I gave 5 stars. There is always room for improvement, but any substantial improvement at this resort I fear would increase costs which are passed along to the customer. I think the owner has found a good happy medium and I hope he keeps it this way. Please don't ever sell out!

My family and I spent the night at Paradise Island Park & Beach Resort with a large group. Each…read morefamily had their own cottage or room. We parked across the island and took the short boat ride to Paradise. Upon arrival, our bags were inspected for outside food, since they do not permit it. Although they initially confiscated our small bag of rambutan, they eventually allowed it since it was just a little amount. The resort is impeccably clean with beautiful manicured grounds. The staff is always cleaning! Paradise features its own restaurant and shops. After checking in, we were assigned a dining table in the main area near the beach for all our meals. The food is delicious here, by the way! They have live music on certain nights and they even had fireworks during our stay. The resort also offers a variety of water sports like jet skiing and banana boat rides, which are affordably priced compared to other resorts in Samal. The water is crystal-clear. Beach towels are available upon request. They are very thin, though so I recommend bringing your own. We opted for one of the newer cottages, 25C. The room was clean and had two full beds and two bath towels. We requested a third towel for the three of us, and the staff was very friendly and quick to assist. We had an issue with out toilet and they fixed it right away. Service was excellent throughout our stay. I highly recommend Paradise Island, especially if you're looking for a nice budget-friendly getaway in Samal!

This is a regular place for family and friends to hang out or celebrate special occasions. The…read moreplace has a variety of activities to choose from: karaoke in an exclusive room; drinks by the sea; birthday and wedding celebrations in a function room; weekend getaway by the beach. This is a hidden treasure residing by the coastal road at Matina Aplaya. The resort serves Filipino and Western cuisine and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. I especially love their bulalo steak! The beef shank is still attached to the bone, which is oozing with warm bone marrow. I love sinking my teeth into the tender meat. It's a great place to enjoy a relaxing day by the sea.

Had an overnight stay with the family during our trip to Davao. This is a fairly new resort in…read moreSamal. We took the barge (ferry boat) because we had a vehicle with us, but my understanding is that it is a short 10 minute ride via speedboat. The grounds are beautiful and the service was great. Staff was super helpful and friendly. I enjoyed staying here compared to Pearl Farm because everything is new and modern (although the views from Pearl Farm are unbeatable and breathtaking). The rooms were comfortable and clean. The beds were a bit firm for my preference, but I still slept okay. When you arrive to your room, our beds had a welcome bag which included Saniwipes, hand sanitizer, and reef-safe sunscreen. I was so happy to see sunscreen because I had forgotten to pack ours! Later in the afternoon, they delivered complimentary brownies to our rooms. Yum! The food offerings were good. We tried The Shoreline for lunch which was Filipino Thai fusion. We had drinks and appetizers in the evening at Haribar Lounge. Then, we had breakfast buffet at the Morning Catch which was mostly Filipino food. We wanted to do the Afternoon High Tea at Haribar Lounge, but that wasn't available yet. The waitress said the plans were still being worked out. We were sad because my daughter and I love High Tea :( We enjoyed the pool area which had a nice view of Davao City. There was also a small arcade area where the kids enjoyed playing pool. All in all, it was a good overnight stay. It seemed like they didn't have all of the amenities, offerings, and activities available yet. Once those are available, this would be a great family resort to stay at.

A fairly decent resort with basic amenities and a pool. The pool is really well maintained. Did…read morenot have the opportunity to see the rooms. They have a nice space for gatherings and events. We had a company event and the food was pretty good. The space seated over 150 people. It is quite a drive from Davao city.

Stayed here on our Vacay to the Philippines for five days. This casino-hotel is in the heart of…read moreDavao City. Davao City is a city in Mindanao island, the largest city in the Philippines in terms of land area. This hotel is under a new management. It's a 3-star Hotel and Restaurant. They have table games and slot machines at the Casino. Our de-luxe room amenities: air-conditioned room and minibars. Flat screen TV and complimentary wireless Internet/Wi-Fi, Bath tub and complimentary toiletries. And the housekeeping is provided daily. Cleaned room everyday. Kiddos enjoyed the outdoor pool, but their nightclub and lounge was under renovation, bummer! Anyway, we enjoyed our everyday breakfast meal (free buffet for 2) at the Cafe/Restaurant Josefina with a beautiful lush garden. They have Top notch friendly and attentive waiters. I was treated like a Queen. I literally love the Filipino breakfast, desserts, fresh fruits juices, I love the yellow ripe mangoes and the pure hot chocolate and brewed coffee. Hotel also offers a round trip airport shuttle is provided for a surcharge and free self-parking is available. Highly recommend this hotel if you're a traveler visiting Davao City area. Decent price. This hotel is very safe and the City Government of Davao makes it a top priority to keep the city safe, secure and peaceful for everyone.

The service is super slow. No body come by to check again for drinks after 45 min…read more Ordered simple appetizers and some fried chicken, 45 min still waiting. Once our food came out, it was hot for the most part. The food was good, but they held up the appetizers until the Paella was finished cooking which takes an hour. Resort was not very crowded.

Our family has been visiting this place for years. We like the convenience of being able to go…read moreanytime. The best time to enjoy the beach is early morning, around 6am. By 1030am or 11am, we're ready to head home cause the tide would have gone down and the sun gets pretty hot. This place has a little of something for everyone to enjoy. For the water enthusiast, the beach and water sports will keep them busy. There's a playground for the kids. The aviary is a nice little walk to explore and enjoy. The kids love looking at the animals and learning what they look like and how they behave. There are cottages that can be rented for overnight stays. There are halls for big events. There's also entertainment on Saturday's for diners and beachcombers to enjoy. Food is good. Lots of Filipino dishes to enjoy. Don't worry if you forgot something, they have a well-stocked mini mart that offers a variety of things. Note: The entrance fee has gone up and become cost prohibitive for a regular visit. But it's still worth going once in a while.