Plantation Bay a Real Resort with a Real Spa

A very beautiful place for staycation. Lots of activities to do especially for family with kid/s, they will have so much fun in doing activities (not only swimming) like biking, archery, wall climbing and there's a children playground for small kids and a game room for both kids and adults. Not only this, they also have water activities that you can enjoy like kayaking, paddle boarding and beach volleyball. The rooms are spacious, clean and cozy. The bathroom is beautiful too! Oh I love their bath tub 😊. Their salt water lagoon is super wide and there is a shallow area for non swimmers and deep area for good and expert swimmers. My husband's and daughter's favorite place is the diving rock where you can enjoy jumping and diving to their 12ft deep water lagoon. They also have 2 swimming pools located near Savannah and Kilimanjaru restaurants. The food? Oh, it's really good! They have 4 restaurants that you can try, Kilimanjaru (kare-kare and langka home made ice cream is the best!) , Route 66 (round the world burger), Fiji (yummy sushi😋) and Palermo. Lastly, their staffs are very friendly and accommodating too!

Great Facilities, but Lacking Identity and Guest Experience I stayed at this hotel with my family and young children for a relaxing holiday without needing to leave the premises. The hotel indeed offers excellent facilities — multiple swimming pools, a high-end spa, and a great selection of quality restaurants. However, the overall experience fell short of expectations. The hotel lacks a clear identity — it’s not designed specifically for families with children, nor does it cater clearly to couples or seniors. There are no daily activities, no poolside classes, and no sports or entertainment programs for kids. This makes it hard for parents to get any real rest, as all activities require their full involvement. The staff are polite and professional, but they seem more focused on strictly enforcing hotel policies rather than enhancing the guest experience. One of the most frustrating aspects was handling external deliveries: • If you order food or pharmacy items from outside the hotel, you must pick them up yourself at the external gate. • You’re required to pay ₱500 in cash only, with no option for digital payment or adding the charge to your room account. • If you don’t have cash on hand, security will ask you to go back inside, get the money, and return to the gate — an exhausting and unnecessary process, especially with kids. Despite the premium pricing, the hotel’s management and policies show little interest in providing a smooth and enjoyable guest experience. It may work for those fully dedicated to managing their kids’ time 24/7, but not for families expecting support through kids’ clubs or structured programs. Pros: ✔️ Excellent facilities ✔️ High-end spa ✔️ Great restaurants with quality food Cons: ❌ No kids’ programs or structured activities ❌ No kids’ club or supervised playtime ❌ External deliveries not allowed to rooms ❌ Cash-only payments for outside orders — no digital or room charge options ❌ Rigid enforcement of policies with little flexibility ❌ No clear identity — not family-friendly nor couple-focused Conclusion: While the facilities are impressive, the rigid policies and lack of family-friendly programming made the stay less enjoyable. I wouldn’t recommend it for families with children unless major improvements are made to the guest experience and services.

Dear Plantation Bay Management, I am writing to share our recent experience during our stay at your resort in Cebu, Philippines. We travelled with another family, each with children, and chose your resort specifically because of the range of advertised family-friendly amenities, particularly the large water slides and activities for kids. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed to find the water slides completely non-operational. When we inquired, your staff informed us that they had been under renovation for years. This was never mentioned on your website or during the booking process. It's extremely misleading and, frankly, false advertising. The main reason we chose Plantation Bay was for the family-friendly features that, in reality, were unavailable. Upon arrival, we were also greeted with an unexpected surprise — a staff member informed us there was a "glitch" in our booking and that we owed an additional ₱42,000 (approx. $1,400 AUD) due to uncharged taxes and fees. This was incredibly frustrating and poorly handled. We had booked our stay more than six months in advance and had already paid for the accommodation in full. Why was this not communicated earlier? Last-minute financial surprises like this, especially after a long journey, are completely unacceptable. This was not the only issue with your booking system. We initially had to upgrade to a Junior Suite because our original booking (made through your "Call it Home" package) inexplicably didn’t allow for a child to stay — even though we had clearly indicated we were traveling with a child. While this was eventually resolved, it added further stress and confusion to what should have been a relaxing holiday. Furthermore, during our stay, two lagoon pools were drained and unavailable for extended periods, and large sections of the resort were out of action on separate days. Again, we received little to no notice about this and no compensation or alternatives were offered. To top it off, the children were frequently whistled at by staff for playing in the pool — they weren’t being disruptive, just enjoying themselves like kids normally would. While I understand we visited during the off-season, the overall management and communication from your team left a lot to be desired. Information was inconsistent, and staff seemed uninformed or unable to offer proper assistance. It’s a shame, as the resort has great potential and beautiful surroundings — but the poor communication, lack of transparency, and misleading advertising significantly impacted our experience. I hope you take this feedback seriously and review the way information is presented on your website, as well as improve internal coordination and guest relations.