First a review.
My boys and I stayed at Kamana Santuary in Subic during the last sem break. It was recommended by an expat friend.
The boys loved it! We stayed in two casitas built on stilts on top of the sea.
Most of the people were kind during the two nights we stayed there. I encountered only a grumpy maintenance person when I noticed that our bathroom was falling apart, and you know how I feel about that.
The knobs of the shower and bath were simply falling off. (Not the Four Seasons.)
Too bad because the bathroom was spacious and had good design (except for the wood and the sinks).
Wood is simply not a good choice for bathrooms because of moisture.
So Jeroen and I requested to move to another casita.
The aircon in the kids’ room wasn’t cooling very well, and the window shade was falling apart. But they were OK with it.
They loved the chicken tenders and lechon sinigang at the restaurant, while I had the most delicious chicken barbecue fresh off the grill on our second night.
The food is either a hit or miss. You will not appreciate the fancified chicken/pork fusion adobo which they bastarized.
But what’s important is the kids loved the food. Never mind me.
The first thing that hits you upon arrival is a strong stench coming from the restrooms, which look and smell like they haven’t been renovated for years. It is unfortunate that these were placed right by the entrance.
Curiously, the reception is located inside the smelly restaurant. I’m just lucky my boys are not as prissy as me.
I take very good pictures but Kamana needs to hire more people to clean the premises. The sand and walkways were bordering on dirty. Nothing that a good cleaner can fix.
Lots of monkeys come down from the forest up there. Perhaps they can put a “Caution: Monkeys” sign somewhere.
This place must’ve been so pretty when it just opened.
Our rooms were really spacious. I’m OK with this bedroom, but there were not enough plugs near the bed. Hassle. Then again, it doesn’t matter because there is no wifi! The horror! You need to go to the smelly restaurant to use wifi!
We had this gorgeous balcony, but don’t leave the doors open—due to insects (especially at night) and monkeys!!
I was shocked to see a big monkey perched on the rail. I nearly died of shock while frantically closing the doors. It was like a nightmare. My husband has the misfortune of seeing this same money screw a female monkey near our casita.
I nearly vomited when he described it. Just so grateful I didn’t see it.
Here’s something we don’t see everyday: This was the beautiful view in the morning.
I’m blogging this in hope that the owners (who I am assuming have not visited recently) would take note and renovate all the bathrooms, clean up the premises, and tweak the menu.
Because this is one place that deserves to be kept well and we want to come back!!
That is the sad thing about the Philippine hospitality business. Not enough attention to cleanliness, detail and renovation.
Also blogging this because Grace and I are excited to watch Gabby Concepcion’s comeback + Cristine Reyes’ cheesy new movie called When The Love Is Gone, which was filmed at Kamana Sactuary!!
Watch the trailer and tell me what you think.
Originally published at Chuvaness.com. You can comment here or there.