No one has been to the White Beach on Boracay can forget the sheer smooth stretch of white sand deliciously welcoming your tired feet. To have a hotel right on this stretch made up for anything else. But not that there was anything to make up for.

Getting to hotel is not the easiest of tasks, and best undertaken in the spirit of an adventure. The usual way, and I did that, is the take a flight out of Manila to Caticlan – it’s a short flight of about an hour. Boracay has no airport! On disembarking, hotel staff at the airport direct you to their van, which after a short ride brings you to a jetty. A short wait later, you get your ride, a speed boat that slices quite fast through the water to Station 2, where you again get on a bus that another short ride later, takes you to your destination!

Well, the hotel is large, but lovely nonetheless. The renovated rooms on the North Wing, straight behind the reception block, offered a lovely view of the hotel and the central pool, and was great to relax in. The room was great too, spacious, tastefully done, had a lovely table topped with fresh cut pinkish orchids, a lovely floral stucco pattern over the bed, a well stocked washroom, enough charging points. For the highlights were a great balcony with another set of chairs and round table – and one could have happily spent hours relaxing there, and a well stocked welcome food platter – a combination of fruits and chocolates, great after a long journey! And yes, the room comes stocked with flip flops and other beach necessities.

The resort is beautiful, has four pools to choose from, besides the sea next door of course. There are a number of lovely restaurants, though I liked Seabreeze best. As the name suggests, it overlooked the sea, and had an extensive menu to choose from, be it breakfast or dinner. The downside, its extreme popularity meant it was noisy and crowded right in the morning! You might just have to wait in queue for your omelette or waffles or conjee, but did I mention it is a lavish spread? Christina’s is a bit overated for fine dining, especially as the hotel offers other choices, and the beachfront has a number of great choices too. The entry to the lounge was a bit of challenge each time has someone had to come and open the door to let us in, but once it, it was a nice place to relax in, and read.

The staff was generally very friendly, especially the GM. As were the room service guys. The hotel helps in making all arrangement for water and beach activities, and seems to have reliable vendors. Boracay is great holiday destination, and staying in a great hotel only adds to the pleasure.

Booked and PAID FOR IN FULL (inclusive of surcharge for Peak Dates) for our Dec 26 to Dec 29, 2012 vacation THREE (3) MONTHS IN ADVANCE.
Unfortunately, weather wasn't conducive for travel as there was a declared typhoon in the area and vacationers were advised not to fly/sail.
As you would have to fly and sail just to get to the island from Manila, prudence would dictate not to risk it.

But adding insult to injury, this resort would rebook only one (1) night out of the 3 nights we already paid for in full, and provided we schedule it off-peak days only, and before March 27, 2013 -- even if we paid for PEAK rates.

Who in the right mind would fly all the way for 1 night of stay?! All they wanted us to do is to spend more money by booking several days again to make the travel worthwhile.

Clearly, this money pit of a place is neither interested on customer safety, nor customer satisfaction.
They are only interested on getting paid for service they didn't even render.

What's more, the Director for Sales and Marketing Ms. Isabel Garcia was plainly indifferent to our concern, and was even hostile to a point.

Better avoid this money trap!!!

I wasn't sure what to expect. We went with friends to celebrate New Years and their renewal of vows. Our friend had been to this resort a few times and raved about it. First two nights we were in the junior suite and it was the best part of the stay. We had a welcome fruit basket brought to our room. Free wifi, though it was super slow...except near the bathroom. We had to switch out to a swim up room for the remainder of the trip. It was ok. You can totally feel the downgrade.

The service was...aside from Izzy at the front desk, and the events planner, terrible. Slow everywhere we went. And I felt so nickeled and dimed, I was getting annoyed.

New Year's Eve was a complete disaster. The potential for a storm wasn't well thought out. There was no back up plan. We had a table outside of the tent, by the stage and pretty much felt as though we had to fend for ourselves and there were 8 of us plus a baby. All of a sudden the waitstaff just disappeared. We took two empty tables under the tent and I felt bad for the surrounding tables because we overtook their space. The food at this point was dismal. The meat stations had to be shut down. The sushi cart was moved to be closer under one of the tents....but it was moved to a spot where they were trying to connect two separate tents and it was soaking wet it looked disgusting. Because of where we ended up sitting, underneath the two tents, when it was pouring out, we had to sit under umbrellas, under the tents. Imagine trying to eat while holding an umbrella.

When I tried to call to complain about that evening and heard that people were getting either bottles of wine or free wifi, I ended the first call getting nothing but anguish. The person said that the most they could offer us was free breakfast....which was already included in our package. She ended the call with what seemed like a smile, which infuriated me more. We travelled all the way from Canada, which took us over 40 hours of planes, boats, and whatever else, and she wasn't willing to satisfy a disgruntled customer. I called back, demanding to speak to someone that I can file a complaint with, and was directed to izzy, at the front desk. She wanted to know what was wrong and I didn't have to say much, all we wanted was free wifi, and we managed to get it without further issues. She explained that I was speaking to the wrong person before and I asked why this person couldn't just direct me to the right person instead of frustrate me?

The vow renewal went without a hitch, and was a perfect evening. Because of the NYE disaster, the event planner (name slipped from memory), more than made up for it, making our friends day more special.

Service at the restaurants was ok. Christina's was terrible. We went for breakfast a couple of times and the last day, I had to walk up to a waiter and ask him if they would take our order as we had been waiting for 25 min. I get that the food is included in our package, but we wasted so much time just trying to eat breakfast! We decided to go there for our last night. It was the fine dining spot. It was just my boyfriend and I. Since we had to pay, I thought that maybe the service would be better. Nope. A table of four was seated a good 15 minutes after us, and while we waited for them to take our order, we watched this table get their drinks ordered first, and when their food order was taken before ours, I think our waiter heard me say how terrible the service is, and if they don't take our order in the next 2 minutes, we are leaving, even though we were starving, he promptly turned from that table that came after us and took our order. When I went to tell the front desk this at checkout, I didn't have to finish what I was saying about the slow service. She already knew, and with a smile, that I felt was condescending, she said that it was slow because its fine dining, so she believes that service should be slow. My boyfriend proceeded to get into more details of our frustration and still greeted with the same smile, but added she would take that up with the manager.

The beachfront is nice, which they would do without the tent. The water was full if seaweed.

Would I return to the Regency? Doubt it. Would I return to Boracay? We are just wrapping up the last leg of our Trip through Asia...and truthfully, after being where I have just been, I think Boracay is the last on my list.

My family and I stayed at this property for 3 nights in December and had travelled via Kalibo from Manila. We had booked our transfers via the hotel. Big mistake!!! The transfer arrangements were fine. It was the travelling time. From Manila, it was an hour flight to Kalibo airport. From there, we boarded a bus that took us to Caticlan (this took two hours!). When we arrived in Caticlan, we boarded a small mini van owned by Boracy Regency which took us to a special waiting area used exclusively by Boracay Regency guests where we had to wait for about 15 minutes to board our ferry to the island. The ferry that we got on was owned and operated by the hotel and was for hotel guests only. It was clean and new. I was told later on by my brother that they had to go on a dirty and gross ferry that they had to share with other guests from other hotels (they stayed at Tides Hotel by the way). The ferry ride took about 15 minutes. As i've said no problems with the transfer arrangements. Travelling with two small kids ( a 2 and a 4 year old) and having to transfer from one mode of transportation to another plus factoring in the heat and the crowd was a nightmare. We were so tired by the time we got to the hotel. Luckily check in was a breeze! :)

There were welcome drinks on arrival whilst we check in. Check in wasn't until 3pm but because we arrived early (around 12-ish) the room wasn't ready yet. We ate at McDonalds (which is located in the property itself (a big bonus) and was literally a 2 minute walk from our room. After lunch they rang to tell us that our room was ready well before the 3 pm check in. We stayed in one of their deluxe rooms on the second floor which had a queen bed and single bed combination. The room was big and roomy (plenty of space for my 4 and 2 year olds to run around!). It was very clean and everything was in good working condition. I was told that the property was one of the first hotels on the island. You couldn't tell by looking at the property as it was clean and well maintained. The beds were nice and comfortable. The aircon was cool and more than adequate. No flat screen in the room though, they had one of the older style boxy type tv. We didn't mind this though, as long as it worked and my kids could watch cartoons, it was fine. The bathroom was good with a rainwater style shower head. The room was cleaned everyday and I couldn't say enough about the Housekeeping team. They were very friendly!

Breakfast was included in our room and was downstairs at the restaurant. The buffet was amazing and we were spoilt for choice. They had the usual fare of bacon, eggs, sausages, pancakes, etc. But also had congee, rice and about 3-4 filipino dishes that were just delicious. They changed the Filipino dishes everyday for variety which was nice. Breakfast could get a bit crowded but the ladies out front always managed to get a table for us.

The property has, has from memory, about 4 very well maintained pools. The pools were lovely and we spent a good portion of our time there. The hotel is located in Station 2 which is the hub of all the action in Boracay island. Restaurants and bars are only a stone's throw from us which was very convenient and as the hotel is beachfront, we didn't have to walk very far. I have to say though, that the beach at Station 1 is a lot nicer. It is a bit further out and there are not that many restaurants and bars there. The water is clearer there (I saw more than a few seaweeds at station 2 and virtually next to nothing at station 1) and the beaches are cleaner. Not as crowded too. It was a good 20 minute walk from our hotel (relaxed pace with frequent stops to look at some shells - thanks to the kids). Otherwise, you can take a tricycle (similar to a tuktuk in Thailand( which is only about 60 pesos (less than AUD2) and it takes you less than 5 minutes.

There is also a supermarket at D'Mall. We stocked up on water and snacks for the kids and juices for us. Btw, the mini fridge in the room is empty so you have plenty of space to cool drinks in there! Side note: we also ate at this Modern Filipino fusion restaurant called 'Mesa' right next to the hotel. The food was tasty and we really enjoyed it. Steer clear of the freshly squeezed orange juice- very sour!

We also booked a couple of activities via the hotel. Reception was accommodating and knowledgeable. It is so much cheaper to get it from one of the many guys offering you tours at the beach. However, since we couldn't be bothered paying cash upfront for such huge amounts, we opted to book it through the hotel and it was charged to our room. We did the ATV (quad bike ride - highly recommended!!! You go on the local road and ride for 20 minutes to this amazing lookout where you can see the whole island - great photo ops here!), parasailing (excellent!) and reef walking (This is particularly crucial - make sure you go through a licensed and legit provider as we heard that some of them use compressors (a definite no no as your oxygen could get cut off whilst you're down there. The receptionist who booked it for us even made a phone call to the service provider to check prior to booking).

Another tip: My hubby found a bar in Boracay that offered happy hour from 4pm to 9pm. He couldn't remember the name but that it was only a few properties from our hotel. needless to say, he was extremely happy. Also the ladies offering beachfront massages near the property are nothing short of amazing. They are all older ladies with years of experience behind them. Cheap and one of the best massages I've had in a while. They are open til midnight - I had mine every night after the kids went to bed!) I'd go back just for the massages! :)

All in all, a wonderful 3 day stay in a beautiful location. We could not ask for more. Would we go back? Yes, in a heartbeat. Would we stay at Boracay Regency again? Yes, most definitely. The only change I would make is to make sure we take a direct flight to Caticlan next time. This way, we skip the 2 hour bus ride from hell. BTW, the ride back was even worse. The driver drove like a mad man and I felt so car sick 20 minutes in (and I never get nauseous). I recommend going direct especially if you have small kids. Have fun.