Ciriaco Hotel

The view over Samar sea and the blue horizon, especially the sunset by the pool, is hard to trade for. The place still has work underway to freshen it up, but it stands out even with new places opening nearby. Make time to visit their newly renovated Cafe Elsa with family, for either an à la carte breakfast or the buffet.

I was here for a two-day seminar. The rooms were spacious and the staff friendly. There’s a restaurant onsite and a swimming pool, though you need proper swimming attire to use it. Repairs were still going on, but caused very little disruption. It’s easy to reach from the national road, and there’s parking.

The ocean view outside was pretty, but the pool looked greenish and awful, so I lost any desire to swim. The room itself was dirty and badly cleaned, with ants on the walls, floor, and even the bed. The floor and glass door were dirty too. The toilet leaked and stank, and both the front door and the broken sliding door had problems, with the latter not closing properly. Breakfast wasn’t good either. There weren’t many choices, though I did like the watermelon. That was about the only bright spot.

We were visiting family and had no real problems during our stay. The renovations were happening, but they weren’t too disruptive. Our villa was nice, with both a bath and shower, and I enjoyed it. The food was pleasant for a family dinner, and we had a good time. The location was just okay, but didn’t cause any real issues. We’re from the States, and this was definitely a noteworthy place to stay.