Donsol hotels & places to stay

The Vitton Beach Resort was my favourite stay in the Philippines. The staff were happy, welcoming and helpful and remembered my name for my entire stay. The biggest draw of this hotel is that it is next door to the Butanding centre which is of course why anybody goes to Donsol. But apart from this, the resort has a lovely pool with views out over the sea, an amazing spa where you can have an hour long massage as you look out over the sea for about £4, a bar and restaurant and a private beach. Many reviews I read before I booked noted that the service was very slow. This is true, I waited about 45 minutes for a plate of chips! But the surroundings are so lovely, if you’re not in a rush, this shouldn’t really matter. Some also said that the beach wasn’t that nice. I disagree with this, I thought the beach was lovely and there were people swimming in the sea. I had a lovely relaxing time at the Vitton Beach Resort, the room was great, with a nice terrace, the weather was perfect, the massage was much appreciated and the views were spectacular. The only downside was the ant colony that decided to descend upon the wall behind the bed. The room was spotlessly clean when I arrived so this was not the issue, I am not sure how they could address this problem. I was only in Donsol for one night so really took a chance on seeing the butanding. Sadly, I didn’t see any whale sharks but the bangka ride was great nonetheless with fantastic views of the islands and clear waters, we even stopped for some snorkelling and I got on a boat with some locals from Legazpi which was fun. I arrived back at the hotel late for checkout but the staff were very understanding and didn’t mind one bit so I appreciated that too.

Everything here was fantastically wonderful. We stayed for eight nights, which was clearly an uncommonly long stretch, with the staff giving us complimentary food/drinks/souvenirs and asking for hugs/pictures on our last day. This wasn't a surprise; the staff are great and largely responsible for the peaceful atmosphere of the resort. More than anything, at Elysia, you're paying a premium for peace; you're away from the dirty bustle of downtown, at a resort with only fifteen rooms that give a neighborly feel, watched by several security guards, and waited on by patient staff who are happy to help you with anything you need, but never push you into doing anything. After several hours roasting in the sun stalking buntanding, it's the best thing in the world to curl up in a hammock and watch the sunset from Elysia's gorgeous little beachfront-yard. The resort is also spotless, including toilets that are clean and actually flush, which is a huge deal in an otherwise poor area. The food was great and well-priced, although you can and should obviously hunt for bottled/canned drinks and snacks from local stands for a better value. Finally, my friends and I joked about knocking off a star for things that should obviously be ridiculous complaints to anyone going to Donsol--the Wifi is iffy at best; we were without power and water for half a day (Donsol-wide, though its common, and Elysia has a generator for the restaurant); the water pressure in the shower is minimal; they only offer complimentary soap (other essentials are easily purchased from Elysia or nearby local stands). If these sorts of things bother you, though, you really shouldn't be visiting Donsol!! Long story short, this was THE BEST PLACE I've ever stayed, and I really hope I have the opportunity to go back. I wandered around the other area resorts, and though they looked nice enough, nothing came close to Elysia.

Affordable. I think this is one of the better resorts in Donsol. Pretty, spacious and green grounds. Good pool (the kids definitely enjoyed it). Their restaurant and menu was kid and vegetarian friendly (when we requested for some dishes to be turned vegetarian, they were accommodating). Good beach front. Only issue we had, they did not serve brewed coffee. Donsol doesn't have cafes so it would be better for resorts there to broaden their coffee menu from just instant coffee. Great place though.

I highly recommend staying here whilst you visit Donsol the place is incredible for the money you pay! Beautiful beach side bungalows, clean and fresh, highly attentive staff with everything you want/need onsite. Whale shark diving 10 min walk up road. I even paid for 2 nights online but only needed to stay 1 night in the end (regrettably) as was a beautiful place I didn't want to leave, but to accommodate the manager or owner I'm not sure which gave me and my other half free breakfast to make up for the fact we weren't staying for a night we paid for. They totally didn't need to do this but was extremely kind of them. I will be back in Donsol at some point as there were no whalesharks and I will 100% stay here.

The room may not be the best out there but for it's price, I can say it's the best room you can get value wise. What I expected to be a small one bed room turns out to be this spacious room with TWO beds and AIR Conditioned! I checked out other rooms at Donsol and other rooms more expensive doesn't even have airconditioning. It may not be at the beach front but you don't need to be in the beach front. You can just go to almost any beachfront nearby in less than a minute. TIP: You can also rent diving gears here at a cheaper price

We enjoyed our stay, even though we have never been in a homestay before. We took a tour to see the whalesharks by the help of Marilyn, the owner. We got lucky and saw 3 of them even though the season was not right. It was a great experience and we got some good video, though it was hard to catch up to them, even with fins. Marilyn was very helpful in everything we needed, she helped us in everything from getting there to doing what we want and even got liquid for my wife's contacts when she was out. They always asked us what we want to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so when they cooked for themselves, they also cooked for us. Breakfast was 150, dinner and lunch 250/person so the prices are very reasonable. Now to the cons, nothing major but might be an issue for some: A general feeling of lack of privacy might be an issue especially if you're with your wife or girlfriend. This probably applies to any homestay, but this was our first stay in one. You can hear the people downstairs very clearly at least from the room we were staying in. The prices are not always clearly stated, so remember to ask. They're not especially high or anything of the sort, but it would always be nice to be informed beforehand. We also had a little issue with our bill, which we were asked to settle long after check-out, when we were already in Manila. It wasn't a big deal, just a couple of items forgotten from the bill, but asking to settle bills after checking-out is something we haven't experienced before. All in all though, the owner handled the issue very well and was extremely friendly and apologetic of this. The internet was extremely slow, but it is so everywhere in Donsol. Seems like they only have wireless connections, no landline internet at all. I did my work in one of the internet cafe's nearby, where the connection was a tiny bit faster. All in all, a nice place and very hospitable people who are glad to help you during your stay. They food was also good.

We stayed 3 days in Giddy's and it was great. Clean and spacious room, nice pool, nice place. WIFI not great, but it was the case everywhere in Donsol. It is 5min away from the beach in Tricycle and even if the beach is not very nice in Donsol, it is close enough. The staff was fantastic !!! Always smiling and helping whether you need info, or want to book any trip, tour, dive (I heard they are the only PADI certified dive center in Donsol). We booked our diving + whale sharks snorkeling with them and it was awesome and easy. The only negative point I'd put is the restaurant. It is clean and service is good, but the food is just ok ... not bad, but just ok.