Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort

The resort, beach, and pool are nice, but I didn't find the food very delicious and it needs improvement. The beach was wavy when we went, and the strong waves meant we didn't spend much time there. Check the wind and weather before planning a day visit.

The island views are beautiful, but this was the worst stay of my husband's and my three-week trip around the Philippines. Even tiny Coron was better than this resort. The rooms were fine, but the food was horrific. As an American, you'd starve here: the menu is 99% Filipino or Korean/Asian. The only other choices were margarita pizza, “chicken” fingers, or mozzarella sticks, served with ketchup instead of sauce, and all were horrible. You need to catch the 4pm boat back to the island, or you can't return until morning, so you're literally trapped. Service was poor too. In El Nido and Coron the hospitality was incredible, but here at Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort, we had to get up and ask for water or drinks at every meal. It seemed understaffed. For such an expensive, fancy “resort,” we expected a better boat transfer, like on Boracay. Instead it was very windy and we got soaked on the ride over. The front desk lady laughed when she saw us. Horrible. Just do the Tour day pass. The one really good thing about the island is that it's a secret to skipping the lines for the whale shark tour. Once you arrive, tell them you want to do the tour and you won't have to wake up at 2:30am like with the get your guide/expedia tours.

I went on a Monday, so it was quiet with fewer people, and the weather was on my side. The 8am boat took me there and I returned to the mainland on the 4:30pm trip, making it a full day. I was smiling from ear to ear the whole time. It was only a day pass, but I'll definitely come back for an overnight stay! Shout out to kuya Tata, my trekking guide, and kuya Hermes, my snorkeling guide. 10/10 service and 10/10 view.

Honestly, I don't get why this resort has its reputation. We visited for day use. The beach and the water are good, but that's about it. The pool is dirty, the lagoon is small, like it's for kids, and the food is just average. With how difficult it is to get there, it's hard to rate it favorably. If you're deciding whether to visit and are also planning to go to Moalboal, you can skip it. Definitely!