Arena Island Resort

“Holiday of the year.”

Our 3 night stay was certainly all we had wished for, beautiful environment and no stress. Everything was provided for and we just kicked back and savored the luxurious ambiance of the island. My wife and I took long walks and took lots of pictures, totally enjoying the isolation as there were only… lisää

Our 3 night stay was certainly all we had wished for, beautiful environment and no stress. Everything was provided for and we just kicked back and savored the luxurious ambiance of the island. My wife and I took long walks and took lots of pictures, totally enjoying the isolation as there were only two other guests (our friends too) while we were there. The food was good and plentiful. We went snorkeling every morning and interacted with many beautiful fish. The island is really special.

vähemmän

“Best island for family bonding”

The island is big enough (plus their staff are good planners/coordinators) that you can spend 3days here without encountering other people... food is delicious & plentiful, amenities are well maintained, & the staff are courteous, helpful, & accommodating... schedule your visit during the season wh… lisää

The island is big enough (plus their staff are good planners/coordinators) that you can spend 3days here without encountering other people... food is delicious & plentiful, amenities are well maintained, & the staff are courteous, helpful, & accommodating... schedule your visit during the season when turtles lay their eggs or when they release the newly hatched turtles 🙂 this place is really worth your money & vacation time!

vähemmän

“Unique and charming”

This resort is well worth the trip and the cost. Although a little dated it is still very nice with outdoor bathrooms and stunning ocean views. The staff are excellent and the food is good and there are only 5 rooms so it's very quiet. My only complaint is the corral reef which is destroyed by what… lisää

This resort is well worth the trip and the cost. Although a little dated it is still very nice with outdoor bathrooms and stunning ocean views. The staff are excellent and the food is good and there are only 5 rooms so it's very quiet. My only complaint is the corral reef which is destroyed by what looks to me by dynamite fishing. We also had the opportunity to release baby sea turtles which alone is worth the trip

vähemmän

“Quiet Ruined by Chinese Tourists”

Stayed at Arena Island for 3 nights. First, I must say that the name by which the Island was derived from can be quite misleading. Arena, in Filipino, Harina or flour, was supposed to be a description of the island's fine white sand. It doesn't have fine white sand. I haven't seen a review saying s… lisää

Stayed at Arena Island for 3 nights. First, I must say that the name by which the Island was derived from can be quite misleading. Arena, in Filipino, Harina or flour, was supposed to be a description of the island's fine white sand. It doesn't have fine white sand. I haven't seen a review saying so. This was by biggest disappointment when I arrived. So I thought I'd make sure to leave a review to set the right expectations. Now that I can get that out of the way, the island does have many redeeming qualities. It is quiet, remote, and can be quite private. The food comes in like clock work. You might think that it's nothing special, yes. It doesn't taste like restaurant food at all. It seems like the type of food you get served when you visit a friend's house, so in that sense, I really liked it. My boyfriend hated it. There's free massage, and we were given the chance to release baby turtles. That was really something. Now I somewhat feel responsible for the wellbeing of that turtle. I hope they make it out in the wild. We tried diving, but the weather only permitted us to do 1 dive. I didn't think it was anything special. The visibility wasn't very good either. For it's price, your money is better off somewhere else. We stayed here for the private experience, but was quite disappointed on the first day when there was a herd of extremely noisy Chinese tourists on a day trip. Shouting at each other whilst they were less than 2ft from each other. This was, of course, no fault of the resort, but I think it should be well advertised that there are day trips being offered in this resort. So that kinda lessens the exclusivity it is advertising. I mentioned this to the butler and the next day, the day trippers didn't seem to wander in our area. Not sure if that had anything to do with that, but we were just glad the noise didn't happen again after that. As you've read in other reviews, you get a butler. But as in other luxury resorts, we didn't get a briefing when we got to the island. They just give you your welcome drinks and lead you to your cabana. No information about what the island offers, where the turtles are, etc. I had to ask. I know this doesn't sound very enticing, but I did enjoy my time here. They set up a bonfire for us and a dinner by the beach on our last night. It was quiet, we had a paradise all to ourselves (mostly) for most of the days that we were there. I just think that I had different expectations when I went there. There was a certain air of luxury when you book for this paradise, but it's really more of a quiet, a little exclusive, Philippine island experience. Oh, there are a lot of mosquitos, even during the day. So make sure to bring some repellant.

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