⌛ Olivia Homes/Olivia Resort Danao Panglao

I wanted to post about our experience, in case others decided this sounded like a nice place to stay.
Below is my report posted on Trip Advisor plus an additional sentence or two!
I have told Trip Advisor many times that the place is actually called Olivia Homes, not resort and it's not in Tagbilaran City but in Danao on Panglao but they haven't changed their misinformation!
We just spent a month in one of the two 'luxury' bungalows in the complex. Before we moved in, the website said there would be satellite tv called Dream and free natural gas for cooking. It turns out all their Dream hookups were not official and therefore unfunctional for the whole time we were there and are still not functioning. We also had to pay for a tank of gas even though at the time, their website (since been changed) was providing misleading information.
I asked the owner why there were no screens on the doors and windows, as you know the Philippines is a Dengue hazardous zone, he said no one had ever asked for them before...well I have never stayed in a 'luxury' unit that didn't have screens. This meant we had to run the air conditioners in the evenings rather than have the windows open. I am now in Dauin and all windows and doors have screens..this isn't a luxury item.
At least twenty percent of the time we smelt sewerage coming from the septic tank between the two bungalows which was not a pleasant experience.
We spent the last week with a blocked sink in the bathroom and no one made any effort to fix it even though we reminded them a number of times.
It also felt like living on a building site with workers and vehicles going past our bungalow all the time.On completion of the building works non residents will be driving past the units to get to the bar and restaurant at all hours of the night which will make it even worse for residents.
The owner is a builder but hasn't s a clue about dealing with guests. Making us go out and buy basic kitchen utensils to me shows a complete lack of regard or understanding what providing 'luxury' accommodation is all about. The so called manager is the ex guard to the place so you can imagine what he knows about handling guest requests!
The staff would enter our space whenever they felt like it to garden or get something without any consideration to our privacy. And although he advertised that internet was provided, quite often the built in internet would not work which meant one had to sit in the afternoon sun on the balcony to connect to a very weak signal from a wireless modem located at the end of the resort. The baking sun would shine directly into the living room in the afternoons.
All payments had to be in cash for obvious reasons!
So I would say if you are looking for privacy and a pleasant experience this certainly isn't a place I can recommend.

 

why would u commit to a month on a building site? why not try what most people do, if they know nothing about the place. book a few days somewhere and then have a look around

 

Circumstances meant I had to commit as it was not a short term rental and besides the owner told us the tv would be fixed in a few days (never was) and the bungalow was not next to the building site so I thought it would not be a problem. Then the trucks started coming and the workers to pour the swimming pool etc...

 

Live and learn! Welcome to Philippines.