Verde Island Resort in Batangas, Philippines Review
- Thread starter wackodacko
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I wonder if Verde island has improved over the past 2 years... anyone has feedback?
wackodacko:
hey jong, they did a lot of revamp work to the place but still running on a generator. I know they had a showcase a couple of weeks ago to show people in the dive industry the upgrades. I don't know the specifics but I could find out for you.
IMHO, I'm still down with making a day trip instead of an overnight thing.
IMHO, I'm still down with making a day trip instead of an overnight thing.
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Verde is best when you stay on Puerto and make the crossing....the amenities are still not that great on Verde. It is easy to make 2 dives, a barbeque and then come back to PG. I know the guys I dive with do not like the arrangement on Verde.
ok... is verde island nearer from PG or from maricaban? cause am staying overnight this week at maricaban. 
dtg
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sorry to hear about your experience at verde....
had a chance to dive at verde 2 weeks ago and it was worth it, what we did was we stayed in a resort in anilao and rented a speed boat it was a lot cheaper compared to the price you just mentioned.
also dive in pg last sunday, the vis was not that good but it was worth it
had a chance to dive at verde 2 weeks ago and it was worth it, what we did was we stayed in a resort in anilao and rented a speed boat it was a lot cheaper compared to the price you just mentioned.
also dive in pg last sunday, the vis was not that good but it was worth it
8,600 pesos whoa !!! thats $150 + usd For 2 nights and 6 dives. At first that sounded like a lot..but with food and transpo thats not so bad.Wait you said 8,600 pesos a night Thats imposible in the P.I.`s isnt it. Whatever it sounded awful and ty for the warning from everyone at SB. Good for reporting BAD service. Especially the DM`s. Kind regards Kevin
Babyspicefan
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I was hugely disappointed by this resort.
Ideally before you consider the resort you should ask them to forward you a list of their tariffs. Ensure you ask for a FULL tariff list. I feel they were trying to rip me off by sending only the top tariff - I was met with no reply when I asked for alternatives to the full board Casa Aplaya tariff they sent to me! There are actually 3 types of accomodation and B & B IS available. Personally I believe all are well over priced and offer no value for money whatsoever.
I booked in Makti City at the resort's office there. Paid in full for 4 days 5 nights.
Was told to be at the departure point in Batangas City by 11.00am latest.
Arrived there at 10.30am - the boat had already gone. The resort had me down as being a guest, the office in Makati had me down, but none had told the boat crew. So that was a cracking start. They expected me to hang around for the next boat at 3.00pm! I was supposed to be meeting someone from the island itself at 2.00pm. After a few phone calls the resort sent a boat out to pick me up at 12.20pm.
Arrived at the island an hour later ... no resort management in sight. Now if I were manager and my resort had messed up I would have personally met the inconvenienced guest at the dock on their arrival - it was not until late in the second day that the manager apologised for the mix up. So I was not overly impressed from day 1.
The rooms - or villas as they call them.
Their doors are ill fitting and you can see plenty day light through them.
Their back door opens on to an eyesore with an unpleasant odour to it.
They contain no fridge.
They contain no safety deposit box. (If you wish to leave valuables with the front desk they give you a ticket and take them from you. In my experiences, they take them from you and put them on the front desk where they remain until you collect them later in the day - if anyone inclined that way wished to do so, they could just walk past reach over and take it. Needless to say my underwater digicam never left my sight)
On the table in the corner of the villa is a notice that states that the power will be interrupted daily from 6.00am to 6.05 am and again from 6.00pm to 6.05pm. Day 2 the power goes off at 6.00am at 6.05 am it is not back on, at 7.05am it is still not back on and by the time I leave for my trip at 8.00am it is still not back on.
This recurs on day 3, day 4 AND day 5. So for 4 days, I had no hot water when I required it, no air con (Which was doubling as a fridge for my water) and no light.
Meals basically I could have what I wanted as long as it was chicken. In fairness though, I was offered chicken pieces or a half chicken or a whole chicken. The chicken I was served must have been anorexic. I can however report that "Coke" is now 35 pesos as opposed to the 60 pesos "Cock" mentioned earlier in the thread.
I was the only guest at the resort for 4 of my 5 days on the last day, 2 (two) more people arrived - an indication of the resort's popularity, I wonder?
If you want to do the Verde Island dives, I would suggest doing so from either Puerto Galera or Batangas, don't stay at the resort, you may be very disappointed. I was spending my days with fishermen from the island and as such I had no alternative place to stay. I'm not qualified to dive and was snorkelling and looking at the abundance of (undamaged) reef life. That's all the island has going for it, in my opinion.
Hope this helps
Ideally before you consider the resort you should ask them to forward you a list of their tariffs. Ensure you ask for a FULL tariff list. I feel they were trying to rip me off by sending only the top tariff - I was met with no reply when I asked for alternatives to the full board Casa Aplaya tariff they sent to me! There are actually 3 types of accomodation and B & B IS available. Personally I believe all are well over priced and offer no value for money whatsoever.
I booked in Makti City at the resort's office there. Paid in full for 4 days 5 nights.
Was told to be at the departure point in Batangas City by 11.00am latest.
Arrived there at 10.30am - the boat had already gone. The resort had me down as being a guest, the office in Makati had me down, but none had told the boat crew. So that was a cracking start. They expected me to hang around for the next boat at 3.00pm! I was supposed to be meeting someone from the island itself at 2.00pm. After a few phone calls the resort sent a boat out to pick me up at 12.20pm.
Arrived at the island an hour later ... no resort management in sight. Now if I were manager and my resort had messed up I would have personally met the inconvenienced guest at the dock on their arrival - it was not until late in the second day that the manager apologised for the mix up. So I was not overly impressed from day 1.
The rooms - or villas as they call them.
Their doors are ill fitting and you can see plenty day light through them.
Their back door opens on to an eyesore with an unpleasant odour to it.
They contain no fridge.
They contain no safety deposit box. (If you wish to leave valuables with the front desk they give you a ticket and take them from you. In my experiences, they take them from you and put them on the front desk where they remain until you collect them later in the day - if anyone inclined that way wished to do so, they could just walk past reach over and take it. Needless to say my underwater digicam never left my sight)
On the table in the corner of the villa is a notice that states that the power will be interrupted daily from 6.00am to 6.05 am and again from 6.00pm to 6.05pm. Day 2 the power goes off at 6.00am at 6.05 am it is not back on, at 7.05am it is still not back on and by the time I leave for my trip at 8.00am it is still not back on.
This recurs on day 3, day 4 AND day 5. So for 4 days, I had no hot water when I required it, no air con (Which was doubling as a fridge for my water) and no light.
Meals basically I could have what I wanted as long as it was chicken. In fairness though, I was offered chicken pieces or a half chicken or a whole chicken. The chicken I was served must have been anorexic. I can however report that "Coke" is now 35 pesos as opposed to the 60 pesos "Cock" mentioned earlier in the thread.
I was the only guest at the resort for 4 of my 5 days on the last day, 2 (two) more people arrived - an indication of the resort's popularity, I wonder?
If you want to do the Verde Island dives, I would suggest doing so from either Puerto Galera or Batangas, don't stay at the resort, you may be very disappointed. I was spending my days with fishermen from the island and as such I had no alternative place to stay. I'm not qualified to dive and was snorkelling and looking at the abundance of (undamaged) reef life. That's all the island has going for it, in my opinion.
Hope this helps
Babyspicefan:
dang !!!! that's becasue you did not get the Buffet MEALS !!!!!!! you should have tried the buffet meals.......
buffet meals at verde : you can only go to the table and get one round , if you go back anotehr time they will remind you that it is limited......
yup whoever the management is on that resort is short of Brain cells.
next time may i direct you the Philippine Paradise Divers (PPD) section if you guys need any tips on diving in the philippines.
But Agapito and Washing machine are dive sites that give quite an experience... depending on how you take it
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