Does the Island Garden City of Samal have the best beach resorts in the Philippines? Well maybe not by most accounts, but Samal Island sure has a lot to choose from. With the new developments coming in (Holiday Oceanview Samal & Playa Azalea), and the potential bridge, it may not be long before IGaCoS is ranked up there with the best.
Some of the more popular current Island Garden City of Samal beach resorts are:
Fernandez Beach Resort
Costa Marina Beach Resort
Pearl Farm Beach Resort
Balibali Beach Resort
Punta del Sol
HOF Gorei Beach Resort
Isla Reta
Blue Waters Beach Resort
Chemas by the Sea
Island Buenavista
Paradise Island
There are quite a few others, 26 by my count. A list is provided in my sidebar – check it out.
Everyone has their own favorite. Pearl Farm Beach Resort is probably the best known, and certainly one of the nicest/most expensive. Paradise Island Beach is a favorite of many of the locals. Chemas by the Sea and Blue Waters Beach Resort are the two closest to our property, and we plan to check them out on our next trip. With Island Buenavista you can get the whole island to yourself, and friends, for a day or overnight stay.
Been to another and have a different favorite than those mentioned? We’d love to hear about it.
Jul 26, 2008 @ 14:29:00
Yesterday we went to a new resort called Blue Jazz. I believe it is owned by an American from Florida. It is still under construction, especially the water park slides, but the restaurant, swimming pool and apartments are in business. I also saw that they have their own passenger ferry bangka. I didnt bring my camera, but here is their website:
This may be close to where you bought your land, as well.
Jul 26, 2008 @ 15:51:00
Hi Ellen – thanks for the information about Blujaz. It’s always nice when they have a website, especially one that lets you make reservations.
It does appear to be by Paradise and therefor not too far from our land. What did you think of it? Are there resorts any you have a preference for?
Jul 26, 2008 @ 16:18:00
The beach looks very nice with fine white sand. You can see that they took time to clean it – no debris, no rocks. I didn’t go into the water, and I don’t know how it looks like at low tides. My first impression was that the pool was much smaller than shown in the picture, but it looks inviting, and good for the kids to play around in. It is hard to comment on the other side of the beach because it is still under construction – looks like a very long waterslide will be in place when finished.
I hope the owner is reading this: I was not impressed with the food, but at least they serve food :). Also their staff undercharged us by P500. My sis-in-law who paid had to tell them to correct their bill. This is so typical, and without proper cash controls, the owner just won’t know why he is loosing money …. or at the end, when it is almost time to balance their cash, a poor drunk may be overcharged to compensate for the shortage :).
Sorry, Randy, I really don’t visit resorts that much. I have been to Pearl Farm once, but it was too hot and I stayed in the airconditioned cottage all day – haha. I suggest that if you do visit resorts, choose a nice day with a strong breeze.
Jul 26, 2008 @ 16:51:00
Hi Ellen – thanks for providing your opinion of Blujaz. You never know, maybe the owner will drop by
We expect to stay on the island at a minimum of half the time we are there, on our next trip. The rest of the time will be in Davao. We will probably stay at one or two of the resorts. So we’ll be looking not only for someplace close to our property, but nice and affordable for a little more extended time.
Aug 02, 2008 @ 02:55:00
this is nice! thanks for sharing this!
Aug 02, 2008 @ 08:36:00
Hi Carol – glad you liked it. Thanks for dropping by.
Costa De Allea Resort Village | Journey to Samal
Nov 23, 2008 @ 19:49:17
[...] with beach access. Located in Limao, Penaplata, Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) between Blue Waters Beach Resort and Punta De Sol (not sure how many more they can fit in that [...]
Bluejaz Resort and Waterpark | Journey to Samal
Aug 07, 2011 @ 18:40:24
[...] can get a partial review from the comments from this previous article: Philippine Beach Resorts. Related posts:Paradise Island [...]
Oct 23, 2013 @ 08:33:59
We spent our honeymoon at paradise island 28 years ago.
Oct 24, 2013 @ 00:33:09
I bet things where much different back then. They’ve changed so much just in the eight years I’ve been coming here.