OYO 872 Villa Tomasa Beach Resort

The island hopping to the white beach was the part I liked most. The sand there wasn’t especially white, but it was prettier and more relaxing than staying at this resort. The resort itself felt poorly run. We weren’t warmly welcomed, there were no staff around when we arrived, and it seemed they didn’t know we were coming that day. They were difficult to talk to, and the service was poor. The rooms were just okay, not very clean, with dust and spiderwebs in the corners. Even with the AC at its highest setting, we couldn’t feel much cool air in the VIP Room, and the small fan wasn’t enough for nearly 10 people. The faucet water was salty too. I didn’t like the atmosphere, and there were jellyfish near the shore. One stuck to my baby. At night things seemed okay, but the bean bags weren’t very clean and there wasn’t much to do.

We got a great deal through OYO, and I liked the concept. I still enjoyed our stay because there were a lot of us, and the dorm beds were wide with linens in much nicer colors. There’s a shared common area with countertops, too. But the place was in poor shape inside and out. The pool was empty, the bean bags had been put away because of rain, the toilet was terrible, and the refrigerator didn’t work. Cats from the attic tried to sneak into the hallway. The nice photos may be from when the place was new. The staff were too informal, although one young man at the front desk was friendly and accommodating. There didn’t seem to be a supervisor. Room spiderwebs are a simple thing to fix if a manager is overseeing operations. Everyone at reception could access the cash register, and one older staff member made a fuss about a 500 peso bill that another staff member had already handed to her. Personnel were there until midnight, but the young woman at reception said plainly that they sleep, so guests should wake them only for emergencies.

The resort was filthy, and our room was gross. Water dripped onto our faces from ceiling pipes while we slept. The next morning we saw those were toilet pipes, and the leak had left smelly water pooled under the bed. The sheet was dirty and sandy, and I think they’d left the previous guest’s bedding on instead of changing it. We couldn’t brush our teeth because the sink water was salty, like seawater. They advertise a swimming pool, but it wasn’t operating. Staff said it had been unusable for a long time. The beach sand was dark brown or black, which was okay, but the water quality wasn’t. Garbage was floating in the water and scattered on shore, so it didn’t feel safe to swim. Still, we had to pay a 25php per tourist environmental fee at the barangay checkpoint. We’d booked samgyup for dinner, which the reservation said was available, but staff said they couldn’t serve it because they had no lettuce and the meat was frozen. They told us to find dinner somewhere else since we had a vehicle, so we ended up driving at least 25 minutes. We were charged 150php per vehicle for parking and 350php to use a butane stove. If you forget to bring a frying pan, they won’t lend you one, so you have to ask the store across the road and pay 50php. If you want to waste your money and spend your vacation stressed, this resort is the perfect place. The staff were rude and unwelcoming.

Our room was nice and had A/C, and the beach was cleaned every day. The staff were friendly. Our stay included all-you-can-eat pork, and it was good. My friend wondered if the sheets had been cleaned, but everything looked fine and clean to me.