Edgewater Dive & Spa Resort recensioner

We chose this hotel for our scuba trip to Philippines because it looked to be a lot nicer than most of the accommodation on offer in the area. We were not disappointed. Booked directly with hotel and received significantly cheaper booking than that on offer from *********** etc. This meant we could afford the best room in the hotel which was really spacious with glorious expansive sea views. Excellent comms from hotel admin staff from the start. Very well organised transfer from airport to hotel via van and private water taxi. Be aware that you will be asked to pay a very small price for the use of the ferry pier at Batangas (no facilities there so unsure what we were actually paying for?). We didn’t have any local currency with us so had to pay in euros which didn’t go down too well). Throughout our stay we were knocked out by the warmth and friendliness of all the staff for which absolutely nothing was too much trouble. Rooms don’t provide tea making facilities but when asked we were provided with a kettle and mugs for our early morning cuppas (so take teabags and coffee!). The bar and restaurant area was lovely overlooking the wonderfully scenic bay. There is a very small pool which we didn’t bother with but was great for those learning to dive. Breakfast was good, our faves were the eggs Benedict and the Shanghai Rice. Lunchtime food was also greatly enjoyed on a daily basis and there was usually a daily ‘special’ on offer for evening meals. We were pleased to see a decent wine list with a good choice of great wines at a reasonable price. The hotel owners, Richard and Victoria live onsite and were wonderful hosts, sharing beers, good conversation and diving trips with us. The atmosphere around the place is extremely chilled, perfect for peace and relaxation, no horrible boom boom music to spoil my paperback reading and snoozing in the afternoons. This place would definitely not suit those looking for a more upbeat party vibe. If your primary reason for visiting this area of the Philippines is to dive then I would highly recommend staying at Edgewater. The diving centre is small but well stocked with gear and they offer 3 dives daily, 2 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. The dive masters were great, setting up our gear every day and taking us to a variety of local dive sites which did not fail to disappoint. The coral formations were fabulous and the amount and diversity of fish life was a joy to see. The sites were all very close to the hotel, so no long boat rides needed. Surface intervals were spent on land drinking coffee at another local dive resort which we really enjoyed. We were provided with individual water bottles on our trips and hot flannels for post dive wash downs (a simple but blissful touch which we will surely miss on our next dive trip). There was never more than 4 of us in a dive group and compared to other larger dive operations, we felt we were getting a much higher quality, safer and personalised experience. I o