Plantation Bay Resort and Spa

The restaurants were all bad. The Kilimanjaro Cafe is overpriced and the food was inedible. Route 66 probably had the best food but became boring quickly. The resort acts like it is 5 star and prices itself in that bracket, but it is not. The beach towels were thin, washed out. The bed only had a sheet on it with fleece blanket and the pillows were terrible. It did not have the quality feel of linen at a too resort. The lagoon outside our room had green moss in it and was slippery to walk on, it seemed tired and you could see the concrete cracks on the floor of the lagoons. There are a number of rules at the resort and you are reminded of these through boldly worded signs throughout the resort. It seems the expectation is you are going to break rules, rather than let you enjoy your stay. It is really difficult to get anywhere else from the property, Grab cars are hard to come by. We felt we had to leave every day to get anything decent to eat.

Used the same review on trip advisor and Google - Plantation Bay has made no effort in the intervening years apart from increasing their prices and decreasing their care so why should I make extra efforts. Six years ago, my family and I had a delightful experience at Plantation Bay in Mactan, Cebu. The staff were exceptionally helpful, and there was an abundance of mostly free activities. However, our recent visit was marred by a drastic decline in service quality and overall experience. The most striking issue was the staff's attitude. They were consistently surly, often appearing irritated, and even engaged in arguments and shouting at guests for using mobile phones. While I understand the intent behind restricting mobile use, the execution was poorly handled and overly aggressive. For instance, while using a workout app in the gym, I was rudely interrupted by staff, despite the gym's TV loudly playing CNN. This contrasts sharply with the serene environment we once enjoyed. The decline extended to dining experiences as well. Despite the high cost of staying at Plantation Bay, breakfast was a chaotic scene. Guests had to endure long waits, only to find scarce food options once inside. This was particularly disappointing considering the resort's multiple idle kitchens during breakfast hours. Furthermore, amenities that were free during our last visit, like kayaks and paddle boards, now came with a hefty fee. The once enjoyable water slides were closed, with no explanation given, suggesting long-term neglect. Even simple tasks like hailing a taxi were problematic. We were misled by staff about additional taxi charges, a claim easily disproved by our own experience. Our experience at the resort's Spanish Tapas/Italian restaurant, Palermo, was equally frustrating. The dishes were excessively sweet, and when we sent them back, they were returned with unconvincing explanations about alterations made to the recipes.

Absolutely love the resort style living and how each building has their own pool to look into. The pool lagoon arrangement is gorgeous and the property never not looked like it was from a movie or a brochure. Loved their themed Hawaiian night buffet on the beach. There were so many pools that some days there were hardly any people in it so it was very relaxing. Their private airport pick up was absolute luxury and made our transfers a breeze. In addition our in room check in and check out was very personal and easy. Staff were very accomodating and always asked how the food was and wished us well everyday. I injured myself on an excursion and was looked after and monitored by their lovely nurse who was of assistance and provided daily ice.

- our toilet didnt flush/ ran out of water 3 times in our 7 day stay and needed to be fixed each time (staff were great about this but was very annoying and embarrassing) - I found some front desk reception staff not accomodating and were very judgemental and not friendly. I even saw staff gossiping and pointing at me which made me uncomfortable. It was not professional at all - I would prefer more options for drinks at the swim up bar or options of crushed ice drinks like slushies when it is really hot. The resort would really benefit from serving people snacks/drinks from their chairs by the pools and some people spend all day there and it is very hot. I can count too many times I would have loved a side of chips and a cocktail by the pool