Let me start by saying that I travelled to Boracay alone, after I finished a work trip. I'd never travelled by myself overseas and was a little nervous, but from the moment I was picked up from the airport by Monaco Suites I knew I would be in great hands!
STAFF
The customer service at Monaco was absolutely amazing, and made this place stand out amongst the majority of places I've stayed. It wasn't just that they were friendly and polite; they were personable, kind, and went out of their way to make you comfortable. They would have conversations with you and be genuinely interested. They bent over backwards to give you the best service. Special thanks to Tess, Laila and Reyan!
ROOMS
One word - amazing. The views from the rooms are spectacular. Each room has a huge balcony, and the most breathtaking view of the ocean. I relaxed on the balcony, just taking in the view, and felt completely content.
The suites are huge, with hood quality furnishings, large TV and cable, as well as free wifi. The speeds for the wifi were good enough for me to Skype my family back home :)
The bed was a little firm for my liking, but housekeeping came to the rescue straight away with some sort of padding to make it softer. Slept like a baby.
The bathroom was awaiting maintenance but while not the best, I couldn't rate the hotel anything less than 5 based on everything else.
BREAKFAST
The view from the restaurant, like the rooms, was amazing. I found it extremely relaxing enjoying my breakfast and taking in the view!
This wasn't the best breakfast buffet I've been to, compared to others. The selection was fairly basic, while enjoyable. This is probably because it is not over-run with tourists - at times there were only 3-4 tables filled. I wondered at the time if it would be more cost effective for them, and more enjoyable for the guest, just to order from the menu. While selection was lacking, the customer service certainly was not and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!
BEACH
Monaco Suites overlooks the beautiful Bulabog Beach, the place to be for kitesurfung. This part of the beach is quite windy. From my balcony, I'd watch the locals fish, and kites everywhere. I explored the shore and found the perfect hideaways to sit with a book and just relax. I didn't swim at this beach.
Monaco also has a private peace of paradise in White Beach. This is about a 5 min shuttle away (free of course). I swam for hours, this is what Boracay is famous for! The water is clear, sand is soft, just heavenly! I recommend you have a mango shake at Coco Loco and soak it all up. Loved it!
SPA
Monaco used Bella Isa, which is right next to Coco Loco. I enjoyed a 2 hour treatment, very relaxing and a great price! The only thing I didn't really like was that there were only curtain partitions instead of private rooms, but you can't have it all I guess!
ACTIVITIES
I booked an Island Hopping boat trip fairly last minute from the hotel. They arrange an array of activities at a good price to save you from bartering on the beach ;) I enjoyed the trip and met some great people, however we only 'hopped' to one island and the people running the boat didn't communicate very well with us. A few things you should know before going! Don't expect luxury (unless you book a catamaran I guess), wear your bathers before you leave as you need to wade waist deep in the water to get onto the boat, and consider bringing your own snorkel if you're a little funny about sharing! This was a great day, but more so due to the people and the surroundings than the operators.
OTHER HINTS
- Bring a book to the airport, as there is literally nothing to do there :)
- Wear shorts and cheap shoes as you're coming or leaving Boracay. You'll have to step through a tiny bit of shallow water and sand to board the boat.
- Travel light - do you really need more than 10kg?
- Room Service at Monaco was BRILLIANT!
- try to book in advance for activities - not too far in advance, maybe the day before?
Overall, fantastic stay, I loved every minute with the exception of leaving!
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.