Contrary to what you might think, I did not spend the last 1.5 years in the Philippines hopping from resort to resort.  However, I have seen quite a number of them in different places.  The following is my mini-guide to Philippine resorts.

Types of Resorts your would find in the Philippines

• Family resorts – these resorts should have a decent sized swimming pool for both adults and kids, sometimes they have water slides or wave pools too.  Couples or matured vacationers should learn to avoid these places if they want a quiet, leisurely holiday without any rowdy kids screaming.
• Sleazy resorts, which I sometimes  call “Rated R” resorts.  These resorts cater to what we call “sex tourists” or plainly said, dirty old men looking for cheap girls willing to do anything for them. Enough said.  Most of the time, these resorts employ pretty young ladies that wear minimal clothing as uniform.  Expect girls to be extremely friendly to foreigner guys.  Wives — you’ve been warned!
• Diving/aqua sports resorts -  a lot of these resorts are around the southern part of Batangas and all across the islands.  They usually provide formal instructions too.
• Party-goer resorts – these resorts are usually  where company or school outings take place.  20 somethings and teenagers come here to get drunk all night and sing karaoke.  Usually there are live bands and/or dancing taking place at night.
• People’s Resort – resorts that cater to the masses.  Extremely budget-friendly but expect basic no frills accommodations and of course, karaoke all day and all night!
• Luxury Resorts – Marriott , Shangri-La, and places with names that have the words “country club”  in it.   Prices per night is around 200 USD and above. Boracay and Cebu have  many luxury resorts.  They usually have all of the above — except the karaoke machines.  Staff are always dressed appropriately and treat you with utmost courtesy.

Important questions to ask :

• Price of the room per night. Is it per person or per room?
• Is the room you are booking airconditioned?
• Do you have a restaurant in your resort? What kind of food is served in your restaurant? What is the average price?.. (Average price for a meal in a middleclass resort is around 300 PHP per meal). Believe me, some resorts charge so much on food yet provide so much less. If you can checkout their menu please do so.
• Do you have a lifeguard? I noticed that not all resorts have one.
• Do you have backup power? Brownouts happen all the time.
• What kind of transportation is available from the resort?
• Do you have free wireless internet. Is it available from all rooms?

If you need to know about specific names of resorts mentioned above feel free to send me a comment (with your email address)  and I’ll answer you by email.