When my husband and I are lucky enough to do a bit of traveling, we usually just take our chances on finding somewhere to stay while we’re out of town. I guess we’re just a bit lazy when it comes to finding an affordable place and making reservations, and we’d usually prefer to just drive around and see what we find. Being that it was a long weekend, though, we figured that many of the better resorts on Panglao Island, Bohol, might be packed already, so we decided to break our rule and find something ahead of time. After a little bit of internet searching, we came across Hope Homes Resort’s website, and decided that it just might be the place for us!
What really attracted us to this resort in particular was that for the price (750 Standard fan room, 1300 Deluxe room with aircon, mini fridge, and hot water), not only are you just 1.5 kilometers away from the beach, but you also get a free motorcycle rental to use during your stay! We were looking for motorcycle rental places on Bohol as well, but they were all a bit more than we wanted to spend. So when we came across this deal, it seemed almost too good to be true! Reflecting that most anywhere else, we’d be spending 1k a night for a room and an additional 500php for a motorcycle rental, we quickly contacted them to make our reservations for the Deluxe Room.
One thing that I really appreciated with Hope Homes Resort is their timely responses to my emails. For months, previously, I’d been attempting to contact various hotels and resorts and was endlessly frustrated at the super delayed responses I was getting. Hope Homes, on the other hand, responded to my emails within a day or two at the most, and it was a good omen for me. So, I went ahead and booked our room for 2 nights, and when we arrived there, we were delighted with the place!
The first things you will see when you arrive at Hope Homes are the motorcycles parked in front. I think there were about 10 when we arrived, and they came and went as we stayed. There are several models to choose from. As long as someone else isn’t already using the one you want! For the first day, we used a manual Kawasaki bike that looked a bit old, but did a great job getting us all around Bohol. We went all the way up from Panglao Island to the Chocolate Hills using it!
During the second and third days, we traded in the Kawasaki for a newer, automatic bike; a pink Honda Scoopy. Even though my husband is used to driving a manual, he said he loved the feel of the Scoopy and really enjoyed taking it around. We didn’t leave Panglao Island with this one, but she still got a workout taking us from Bohol Bee Farm to Hinagdanan Cave, which are on total opposite ends of the island.
As for the actual room, we were super happy with it. It was a lot more spacious than we expected, and even came with a mini-fridge to store our leftovers in which was awesome! The bed was large and comfortable, and the staff was happy to accommodate our needs and provide extra towels, blankets, and pillows as needed, at no additional costs. The shower also came with a hot water heater, and let me tell you, it was amazing to come home to the room after a long, tiring day and have a hot shower afterwards.
We had a lot of action packed into our short visit to Bohol, so we didn’t spend a lot of time at the resort for anything other than sleeping. For those that are interested, however, there is an outdoor dining area that also has a billiards table for patrons to use at an extra charge. Wifi is also accessible in this area, as well as in some of the rooms (we were able to use it from ours!) We didn’t have a chance to try the food here, either, but they had a nice selection of primarily Filipino and German foods that sounded interesting. We’ll have to come back just to taste them!
What I loved most about staying here, though, was the hospitality of the staff. Usually, staying at budget-friendly places means dealing with annoyed staff who can’t wait to get rid of you, but that was definitely not the case here! The staff was super friendly and helpful. They were more than willing to answer all our questions about where to find certain things on the Island and the best ways to get to the tourist spots. They also surprised us by coming in the room while we were out and changing the sheets and folding the blankets – we were shocked because we’ve never stayed at a resort that did that before! The wonderful staff made our stay super comfortable and stress-free, and we can’t wait to stay here again when we return to Bohol!
Hope Homes Resort
Panglao Island, 1.5 kilometers from Alona Beach
www.hopehomes-danao.com/index.php/en/
Email: hopehomes_danao@yahoo.com
Tel: +63 928 552 3435
