Name: The Red Palm Resort
Address: Poblacion Panglao, Doljo Road, Panglao, Panglao, Panglao, 6340, Philippines
Rating: 8

Terrace

Reception desk

General

Laundry

Dry-cleaning

Services and amenities

Breakfast

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Barbecue grill(s)

Picnic area

Barbeque

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Children swimming pool

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Extra decontamination measures

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the resort

Bohol–Panglao

Dumaguete Airport

The Red Palm Resort

Panglao

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

The resort was a short 10min beach walk from the Bellevue Resort. Car transport is available to and from resorts but it’s an easy walk without hauling gear. They offer introduction, adventure dives and PADI certification. Pool on site. They easily accommodated our group of 8 and had at least 2 big outrigger boats with a toilet. Clean, comfortable and spacious. The DM was highly knowledgable of all dive sites in the area and recommended dives based on “local intel”. Never felt crowded or rushed even though there were many other divers in the water in some sites. The reefs were alive and clean! The resort and boat crews respect their home beach and local dive sites. Feels good diving with a local company like Red Palm Resorts. They treated us like family over the 3 days. Top marks for service and went beyond expectations. Gold standard.
DM: Emerson Anthony “Kwatz” Gomez
Date: Nov 1-3, 2019

Dive Resort in Panglao Bohol

We stayed at the Red Palm the end of Jan and a couple days of Feb.  The hotel is very nice looking and the grounds are clean and well kept.  The pool looks inviting and the dining area is nice.  Just beyond the dining area is the beach, I would suggest you check it out before dashing out for a midnight swim as the beach and tree area was loaded with debris when we visited.  There was trash of all kinds, shoes, paper, rope, rubber, bottles both glass and plastic etc.  I also found broken glass and bits of broken wood -- things that could potentially ruin your day.  It looked nothing like the pictures on the reviews.  The rooms are simple, we could not get the wifi to work and was told it wasn't very reliable. The rooms were however clean and the beds were fine.  There is hot water and we enjoyed that feature.  We did have to ask for toilet paper and it was brought to us without issue.  That night we went to the pool as my grandson wanted to swim and we, after a long boat voyage and then van ride felt we needed the use of the hot tub/Jacuzzi.  We were told it didn't work.  So we assumed that was temporary and watched him play in the cold water while we sat at poolside.  The next day we did some adventuring and came back to find our toilet paper gone again...so back to the main house where the manager or owner lives to ask for more. They also did not replace our dirty towels but instead draped them over the railing in front of our room. I don't know if they thought we would let them dry and use them again or what but we are used to getting clean towels on a daily basis.   My son and his wife were in the room near ours and when my son went to lay down the bed collapsed!  For the night they slept on the mattress on the floor rather than have to pack and unpack again in another room.  The second night they repaired the bed themselves as it was still broken.  The management was very prompt when we ordered coffee in the mornings but you do have to request brewed coffee if you would rather have that than instant.  There are also two large pet dogs that are on the property, one is a doberman and the other is a sort of lab cross.  They are both sweet dogs but will beg for food at your table if you eat on the property.  We just ignored them as our dogs do the same at home but this is bothersome to some people so keep that in mind.  They did lock up the doberman at one point because he was barking so much but he was a very friendly dog that never gave us a moments pause.  We ordered dinner there at the hotel and it was very good.  It was sort of family style rather than each of us ordering a separate meal but it was good.  Our room had a refrigerator but we couldn't get it to come on so I don't know if it didn't work or if we were just not using it correctly.

The ups and downs

The Red Palm resort made us feel like family.  Wang Wang, Leda and the entire staff was extremely helpful and they went above and beyond for the 7 of us.  We had an early flight in from Manila and the rooms were ready when we arrived around noon.  Leda took care of getting us to the resort from the airport mind you at 6 that morning.  

The room was perfect for our needs clean, AC and hot water what more does anyone need.  It's a small resort and very quiet, it's also close to the beach.  I felt safe there and I'm usually paranoid.  My boyfriend forgot some pesos on the porch and it was still there the following morning. The locals in the area are amazing people.

Anything you need the staff can accommodate, they also assisted us with sight seeing and basic trips to the market/ store.  I would def stay at The Red Palm again it was a great experience for all of us.  

Internet was okay but it wasn't that kind of trip where I had to be online.  We did notice it works better late at night.

Affordable and Lovely Staff

This gets a bit of a better rating than it might elsewhere in the Philippines simply because other alternatives nearby seemed so disappointing or expensive.

Nearby Alona beach is overrun and crowded, and we stumbled across Red Palm looking for a better value alternative.  Also, near Alona, beach views from accommodation are very expensive, and all reasonable priced options are away from the shore.

Doljo beach is about 2 kilometres from Panglao town, where jeepneys / tricycles can be encountered, but is a little isolated.  On-site, they rent scooters, which helps (and we used it to go visit Bohol sights like fireflies, tarsiers, and the Chocolate Hills).

The options nearby are a little limited - there is no on-site restaurant, but there are a few accommodations within 15 minutes walk with dining options, including a fabulous seafood option at nearby Muro Ami.  Beach is reasonable, and sandy, with a lot of sea grass washed up, and a bit of rubbish (but there was a storm here a few days ago - I think a lot came with that).

Staff were nice and helpful and friendly, and included breakfast was nice one morning, OK on second morning, (coffee was good!).

Rooms are set back, but it seems around Panglao it is hard to find anything beachfront at a reasonable price.  You could see the sea from our room, and the breakfast terrace could enjoy the view (albeit with a fence in-between).

A Quiet Alternative to Alona

This is a very small resort, only 4 rooms in two buildings, semi-native style. The rooms are comfortable and clean. A decent breakfast was included in the price, but there is no restaurant or bar. 
The resort is set back a bit from Doljo (Dole – ho) Beach, which has soft white sand, but some bands of washed up seagrass and the ubiquitous trash that plagues the Philippines. If you want pristine, the Belleview, at three times the price has the same sandy beach, but manicured daily.
Red Palm has a nice little swimming pool for a refreshing dip if the ocean isn’t in a good mood. The sand at the beach extends way out into the water with a shallow soft sandy bottom, great for kids. For serious swimming, you would have to wait high tide.
Transportation is a real issue here. It is well off the beaten path. Grabbing a van at the pier or taxi at the airport to get there isn’t a problem, but if you want to cruise around, renting a motorbike is the best option (around $10 a day, you can rent one right on the wharf). As for meals, the Bellevue is about the only option within walking distance. It’s open for walk-ins and has a terrific restaurant, though a bit pricey. Otherwise, hop on your motorbike and explore the myriad restaurants on Panglao Island. Alona Beach is about 15 or 20 minute ride for island hopping or night life. Or one can usually hire a motorbike ride from a local right out in front (habal-habal). There is a small Korean focused dive outfit right at Red Palm, but there are probably a better bets for most divers.
There always seems to be a few maintenance issues in small reasonably priced resorts like this, but nothing too annoying. Our room had a broken towel bar and burned out light bulb. The shower had hot water, though the shower head was semi-clogged, but the toilet flushed fine (always a nice feature). The mattress was very good on the double bed, but was worthless on the hard-as-a-rock single bed. There’s not much lighting, so reading at night is difficult. The flat screen TV had a big selection of cable channels.
Overall, this is quiet little beach resort is a decent alternative to the beehive of activity at Alona. We paid a little less than $40 US a night, so it’s a pretty good value. We enjoyed our stay.

The Red Palm Resort

Main amenities of the hotel

Location

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hotel

What other amenities are there?

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Additional information

Payment