Vista Marina Hotel and Resort

Never a hotel charges an extra when you ask for a blanket and sheet but this one. Only provided us with 1 room card and don’t have any extra.  The hotel is located close to the event that we need to be, that’s why we agreed to switch it this one when Trip.com failed to confirm our original booking with another hotel. Not recommended to others at all.

It seems we got a better room compared to other guests who had a bad experience at this hotel. We booked a weekend stay with breakfast at a reasonable price through Agoda. We chose a non-pool-view room with a balcony. The hotel has outdoor parking, which felt safe. There’s no elevator, but our room was just on the second floor. The bed sheets, towels, and room were all clean. The hotel is ageing, which is especially noticeable in the bathroom, but they make up for it with generous toiletries. The hot water system worked perfectly—we love hot showers and never had any issues. The internet was impressively reliable at over 100 Mbps, which was great for us since we work remotely and need fast internet. The minibar was also a plus, offering items at reasonable prices. We didn’t get the chance to eat at the restaurant or have breakfast, and we also missed out on using the swimming pool. We woke up late, and by the time we were ready, the sun was already too bright and hot. Compared to other reviews, I’d say we were lucky to get a good room (209). Yes, the hotel is ageing, but the price we paid reflected that. However, they should check their door locks—the doorknob on our room was slightly wobbly and felt unreliable. Overall, this was a good choice, especially considering its convenient location near everything in the Freeport area.

Towards the end of our Ilocos Norte tour we made a last stop at Subic and stayed at the Vista Marina Resort Hotel. This is not a place you’d want to stay at, even for its price. The online photos are not accurate, do not be deceived as I was. This is a picture of the door chain supposedly for additional security.

We wanted to spend 2 nights for Christmas at the hotel. When entering the room on Dec. 24 I found the customer feedback survey of previous guests, dated Dec. 6. It had only one comment: too many cockroaches. And I can confirm that. The bathroom is full of mold, especially the shower head. We were disgusted to shower there. The bed sheets and blankets were stained. It shouldn’t be expected for the price we paid, 207€ for 2 nights. After one night we left and moved to another hotel.