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About
4.0
#10 of 22 resorts in Puerto Galera
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
All Air-conditioned room, With Cable TV and Hot and Cold Shower
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Boutique
Trendy
Languages Spoken
English, Filipino
Location
007 Western Nautical Highway Hondura, Brgy. Poblacion, Puerto Galera, Mindoro 5203 Philippines
Nirvana Resort
80 reviews
Getting there
Car recommended
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We just had our company outing and team building at Puerto Nirvana. The food was good. My employees had a great time.
It was convenient that the resort arranged our transportation from Batangas to Puerto Galera, as well as the snorkeling and beach hopping activities.
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Date of stay: April 2015Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Puerto Galera is inundated with beach resorts everywhere. And really, when the beach is the only thing you have during a summer vacation, you tend to want to see and do something else. So, the beach isn't exactly white beach material, but it's fine. The location is perfect to force you out of your comfort zone and explore the island and rediscover it. From the tours offered by the resort, it gives us a refreshing way to enjoy the island. And it's not just the sea: the falls, hiking trails, spring waters, mangroves and beautiful views are just some of the places waiting to be rediscovered. Plus, the resort's staff is very friendly. Unlike in other places where we get snubbed and treated like second class travelers. It also has great views so I guess this is contradictory to one of the reviews. And the furnishings in the suite is also very nice. I like it! A merge of the east and the west. nice touch.
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Date of stay: May 2010
Value
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Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Puerto Nirvana offers more than just a fine place to stay in. They were so accommodating and they cater to our needs and concerns. They offer package deals inclusive of accommodation, food (breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks), tours and did all the arrangement for the team building activities. You will not worry even about the travel to and from Puerto Galera since they contact the shipping line and even provide for a shuttle that you will also use for the tour around the area. They are also very considerate that they allow us to move the date of our booking with them and did not charge us with additional fees. The resort owner was even kind to bring us to Calapan pier so we could catch a ferry back to Batangas because we needed to go back a day ahead of our scheduled departure.
The food they serve were also good. The place is clean, quiet and relaxing. I enjoyed the team building actvity/amazing race. The games were a mix of both physical and mental activities. The staff always accompany us throughout our trip and sees to it that we are safe while we are enjoying the tour and the activities they prepared for us.
So if you guys are looking for a place where you can unwind and have fun as well, this is the place to be. Indeed, you can make the most out of their very affordable rates.
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Date of stay: August 2015
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I booked online via travelbook,com.ph. We stayed in the Family Room B. Rate was discounted in Travelbook at 3200 per night for 6-8 pax. Very affordable right? That does not include breakfast though. We knew that it is a budget hotel/resort. The pictures on the website are misleading. We stayed there because there is an infinity pool but when we arrived, it was under treatment so we asked the staff to clean it. They promised to clean it the next day. When I woke up, I asked again the staff to clean it again. Yes, they cleaned it but the water was still dirty. We ended up not swimming. The room was old and dirty. The toilet was also not that clean. The room was old enough. The blankets were stained. The breakfast was also over priced. I paid for PhP 155 for just an omelette but it only tasted like a scrambled egg with tomatoes. It was not even delicious. Coffee or juice was not even included. Also, there were a lot of mosquitoes. There is nothing to do in the resort. Also, when I texted the staff and confirmed that we were coming, they informed us that there was a funeral in the resort because the owner died. They did not even notify us before going there to cancel out reservation. I have been to budget resorts like Villa Noe in Cagbalete and we even stayed in a fan room but did not experience these things. Also, I was not impressed with White Beach. The sand is not even white and it was too crowded. The beaches we visited when we had an island hopping were better. I will not bother going back to this place.
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Date of stay: May 2016
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Do not ever choose the family room A and B.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
(Short version: a resort with a friendly staff that tries its best but will never meet your expectations even if you lower your standards. There are better choices at Puerto Gallera. Stay only if you have no other choice.)
Puerto Nirvana isn't a budget hotel by any stretch. Their prices are consistent with the other hotels in the area so there are no excuses for the negative review you're about to read.
Also worth noting is the fact that the resort is photogenic. It looks amazing on photos but as you'll discover the moment you check in: it couldn't be farther from the truth.
-Selection- My wife and I stayed with Puerto Nirvana for 3 days and 2 nights specifically for the Malasimbo Festival. As an official partner of the festival organizers, we were confident that they would be a great resort.
We couldn't have been more wrong.
-Service- Friendly staff. This is the only good thing about this resort. They do try to make your stay as pleasant as possible. Unfortunately, this isn't enough to make the place worth the money.
You want your room made? You can't just hang a sign, you have to go to the front desk and ask.
You want your eggs over-easy? You better make sure you can translate it into tagalog and reiterate how you want it. Forget about trying to send it back to the kitchen either if they get your orders wrong.
The list goes on. Ideally, you should be able to forget about these small things when you check into a hotel or resort. Not with Puerto Nirvana.
-Food- The hotel's restaurant is called "Bistro by the Bay". It's consistent with their "it looks good on the photo, barely recognizable in reality." Excellent looking menu items, but the servings are small considering the prices and the taste is average.
-Room- We booked an "executive room" with a queen-sized bed. We were given room "bulalacao" also known as room 101.
As you walk in, you're going to find yourself in a room that has the heavy atmosphere of someone's attic--as if the rooms have been left unoccupied for a while. Probably true in our case as evidenced by the thick amounts of dust on every surface in the room.
The room was in general disrepair with the paint starting to peel and the ceiling has already started to cake and shower you with the occasional dust. If that's not enough, who can forget the termite-eaten ceiling above what they would like to pass off as a cabinet?
You won't find any solace in your bathroom either as it's cramped, moldy and incredibly unkept. The ceiling has spots of black mold and the shower mat has lichen and hard water stains growing in-between. Doubly irritating for women will be the lack of a bidet.
Icing on the cake? You're lucky if you can get lukewarm water out of the heater and thats IF there's enough water pressure to actually take a shower. Most times, you're more likely to use a bucket and a pail. Not exactly what you're paying a resort for, is it?
There's also the privacy issue. The rooms have paper-thin walls. Taking your special someone for a romantic getaway here? Make sure you're comfortable broadcasting what's happening in your room to your neighbors and to anyone else who happen to be passing by. This goes both ways, by the way. Imagine if you're unlucky enough to get a rowdy group of teenagers stating next door.
Want to change rooms? Well, they'll let you but it wont do you much good as every room looks and feels similar.
-Facilities- So by now you're probably thinking, "maybe the facilities will make up for the other things?"
Man, are you in for a disappointment!
Consistent with their "looks good on a photo, horrible in reality" theme, the facilities of Puerto Nirvana are probably the biggest disappointment of staying there.
When booking a beach resort, the first thing you're probably looking for would be access to a good beach. Sadly, Puerto Nirvana doesn't have that. What you don't see in those beautiful photos is that the beach they have access to is very rocky and is composed mostly of pebbles rather than sand. Think more of a quarry rather than a beach and you get an idea of what you'll be paying for.
Looking for azure blue waters? Try another one of the multitude of beaches in the island instead.
They have a good-looking swimming pool you say? Again, photos versus reality. We stayed 3 days and I never once saw anyone skim that pool for random debris and dirt. I wonder when that pool was last cleaned?
Game room? 2 pool tables does not a "game room" make.
Children's playground? Having a Little Tikes plastic slide does not count as having a "family friendly playground" no matter how they sell it.
-Location- Their location is both positive and negative.
On the positive side, the resort is somewhat isolated. That means that if you're lucky enough to have quite neighbors on the other rooms, you'll actually be serenaded by the waves as you sleep.
On the other hand, it also means you'll be spending buckets and buckets of cash for transportation if you want to go anywhere else aside from the resort. This normally wouldn't be a problem if the resort facilities were good enough. If you had a good beach, a great restaurant, and excellent facilities, why leave, right?
Well, you don't have any of those so you'll end up looking for the better beaches which will cost you about PHP 500.00 upwards depending on what beach you visit.
-Overall- Bottom line: don't stay here. For the price you're likely to pay, you should be able to find better accommodations particularly in Puerto Gallera.
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Date of stay: March 2014
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Don't stay here. If you do find yourself here for some ungodly reason, course all of your...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Gab R, Manager at Nirvana Resort
Responded Mar 11, 2014
Dear Dustin, We apologize for any inconsistencies you think we may have. We will work on the points that you have raised. The resort has already been around for 10 years and we are currently undergoing renovation and restructuring to improve our facilities and services so the staff are undergoing re-training and are still adjusting to new recipes and policies, but I am making no excuses. The criticism you have given us will be brought up in our meeting and will be a key for our improvement.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I cannot begin to express my dissatisfaction of this resort. If I can summarize it in one word: TERRIBLE. But for the sake of tourists, who wish to enjoy a good time, and get a bang for their buck, I will accentuate the many substandard facets of this resort.
I. Service 1. Food service - Their food service was BAD. And I mean BAD. This includes quality and portion of food, aswell as waiting time. (Let me warn you as early as now, that if you wish to book at this resort, and you are more than 5 people, order 5 hours ahead of time! I mean it!)
2. Room service - This, I gotta give to them... Somewhat. After much scolding to staff members from their owner/boss, they definitely got the ball rolling. All-in-all Room service wasn't great, but acceptable. But do take note, things were bad before they got better.
3. Information service - Not very good aswell. Alot of the staff members did not know the island and it's hotspots. And if they did, their answers were inconsistent and inaccurate with the locals, leaving you very confused.
4. Personal service - this one, atleast I could smile about. Despite their mistakes, lapses, inaccuracies they were very friendly and accommodating. They listened to our complaints, and justly compensated.
5. Activities - Activties were good. Probablly what you could get in any other resort though. But in anyways, I give this a thumbs up. No complaints here.
II. Amenities/ Facilities
1. Rooms - The rooms were not fully furnished (unless you get their vip rooms), and lacking in basic toiletries. And definitely devoid of anything that will capture your senses.
2. Bathrooms - OH MY!! The bathroom, instead of becoming a place of comfort became a place of DIScomfort. Already, my family and I upgraded to an executive suite and still there the bathrooms were horrible! And to add, the cr's room we were in had NO dividers, leaving the floor constantly wet after a bath.
3. Pools - Yes.. they had a pool. Infact, they called it an infinity pool. But to be honest it sort of fell short of that. From a distance it did look like the waters of the pool extended to the sea... but get close enough and all you will see is a pool.
4. Bars, Karaoke, billiards, water ski other amenities - Here, I cant really say. I didn't try them all... i didn't even bother. From the looks of it, alot of their amenities were not up to date. Even their Wi-Fi was disfunctional..
5. Water front/ beach - I wouldn't blame if you choose NOT to swim at their beach. It was awful! Hardly any sand, or any spot to relax on. It was also very dirty and unappealing...
III. Ambiance/ misc.
1. - Wasn't great either..
All-in-all, my experience was anything but fantastic. I feel that this resort failed to capture the essence and beauty of Mindoro. And I do not recommend this place to anyone on a honeymoon, or a huge family vacation.
NOTE: There is much need for improvement... Despite my descriptions, the resort itself has a lot of potential. Just more tending to is needed, and im sure they can get the ball rolling! May this review be an invitation for much needed improvement!
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
To be fair, let me enumerate first the positive things I've seen in this hotel. And these are only two: courteous staff and free pickup and send via their shuttle from the port to the hotel and vice versa. It's included in the voucher I availed via ensogo. But the total verdict is regret. To enumerate the things we didnt like in staying at this hotel: 1) The entire hotel looks outdated, poorly decorated and maybe cheap to my taste. It wasn't the scene we were expecting. 2) Room was relatively small, as if you're renting a bed space. Although it was newly painted, it still cheaply decorated. Somehow, the three of us with my 9yr old kid fit in to their bed. The room looked like a motel room I must say, including the comfort room. And the heater! It was terrible. It was constantly TOO HOT, that there's nothing you can do to adjust the heat. So from time to time, we had to turn it off and just fetch water to the pail and mix it with the running water from the faucet to balance the temperature. So hassle! 3) Complimentary breakfast - I was shocked! Though I expect that it's good for only two, I was exasperated to receive a TOAST, BUTTER, JAM and BITTER BREWED COFFEE. When I exclaimed about it, the staff freed up another plate for my daughter. We were thankful, but again, WE WERE UNSATISFIED! It wasn't the breakfast we were expecting, at least a usual plate of tapa, sausage or cornedbeef with rice and egg would do. That's the usual, anyway! I tried to order a nice, decent meal, but when I checked the menu, the price and what's included, we decided to just consume what they offered and just eat lunch at Batangas. The price is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE, and yet the ingredients are agitating. For example, the CLUBHOUSE Sandwich costs 190, but it states that its the classic sandwich which composed of ham, lettuce and mayonaise! Where's the chicken and egg that's supposed to be included? Same story goes to other meals, where you were expecting the complete ingredients, at least for the price! By the way, when we arrived on the first day, it was almost 6pm, upon seeing the menu and the looks of their bar, we decided to walk around the hotel and we were lucky to find this Italian small eatery, where we at least had a decent dinner of pizza, pasta and pork ribs rice meal. It wasn't cheap though! The rest of the place, A HUGE PLACE OF MOTOR STORES and you can barely see a resto except for that Italian eatery. We got disappointed again! 4) Sea water and pool water. My daughter is extremely a water person. She loves to swim wherever we go! She wanted to swim at the seaside but the water is TOO DARK, that totally you'll be under the impression that it is DIRTY and UNSAFE! To attest, we didn't see any guest swimming at all! 5) The pool was THE SINGLE POOL ALONE that exists in their establishment. We had to wait for other families to finish and leave, before my daughter and her dad can swim! Of course we cannot afford to swim in a such a confided space that even a 4foot person can swim around. It was totally good for two-three persons, duh! Luckily, they left after we ate our bfast at around 11am, and so my daughter had a chance to swim and play around with her dad for just an hour. Because we were so eager to leave the hotel, and eat out and be back to reality! My fiance kept saying I made a mistake in booking to that hotel, and there's no reason at all to spend a vacation in that hotel. So I felt compelled to write this review, so people would have an idea, that you have a better place to stay in Puerto Galera. The first trip I made to Puerto Galera was year 2007, and it was totally great at Coco Beach. To sum up, its NOT VALUE FOR MONEY. Ensogo sold vouchers for this hotel at exactly PHP 1,500 which was ORIGINALLY PRICED AT PHP 3,500. We conclude this is FALSE MARKETING, as you really didn't get the value of PHP 3,500.00, but only the PHP 1,500 paid for the quality of room and complimentary breakfast that they serve! Who could tell that a piece of toast, egg, jam and cup of coffee and a small, cheap room COMPENSATES A STAY WORTH PH 3,500? Next time, I will be smarter in picking escapes that says YOU SAVE BLAH BLAH...but you actually GET THE VALUE FOR EXACTLY THE AMOUNT YOU JUST PAID FOR!!! I hope this review makes sense and you realize what I'm trying to point out here. Thanks for the experience anyway.
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Date of stay: December 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Gab R, Manager at Nirvana Resort
Responded Jan 21, 2014
Good day 44Satine77! Thank you for your feedback. I am happy to hear that you are pleased with our staff's services. We regret to learn of your disappointment, we will work on the things we can work that we are able to improve on. While we appreciate criticism for our improvement, I would like to clarify an issue that you have raised regarding the Ensogo voucher you have purchased. Prior to reservation and during inquiries, our booking officers made it a point to inform our guests that the room referred to in the deal is a Standard Room. Our website shows the price of our rooms and I would like to sincerely apologize in if there was any false marketing that may have happened when the deal was offered by our third-party client. We have raised this issue with them and hope that it does not happen in the future.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We just recently came back from our Puerto Galera Trip. The most awaited vacation with my family turned out to be a nightmare. This resort does not deserve a DOT accreditation. Do not be deceived, the place is far from a resort. Everything comes with a price even good service! Service is not even at par with a 3 star hotel. Staff was friendly but ineffcient. We originally reserved for a suite room since it stated that it has a nice view but it does not have any view at all as it was blocked with trees. Anyway, we upgraded to a VIP room and it was supposed to be the best room but it does not have any phone, robe, toothbrush, etc, menu and shower pressure is weak. Room and bathroom amenities are not even close to standard. Everything is just picture perfect but far from reality. Food is dissappointing too, expensive yet tasteless and not fresh at all. They even charge shuttle going to and from the white beach instead of just offer it for free since they do not even have a nice beach as its too rocky. Note that the place situated beside residences no bounderies at all and you may literally walk over to their place. We even witness some guests cooking just beside the resort's shoreline. I am not sure if the hotel allowed it but well who can blame them. I guess, they can't stand hotel food more than we do. This should not be called a resort as it is devoid of any quality and style. They charge first class rate but the place, service and facility is way below acceptable standards. Not worth it, might as well go to the white beach and scout for vacancies. There are also big hotels out there even cost less but much more classy. Security is also questionable. Originally, I thought since rate is more expensive than those in white beach area, this place is beautiful and with excellent service but to my surprise, IT WAS SOOO DISAPPOINTING. Because of this experience, I vowed never to visit Puerto Galera ever!!! PS: -If you will use card they add 7% to cost and they also charge 10% for room service. -Also, I have no pictures to share as none was good to show. -Note that other guests have sentiments like mine as we had the honor of speaking with a couple on our way back to Manila.
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Date of stay: April 2010
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fun is subjective. If you go here for company outings, this is a great place. Other than that, I dont know if it's still fun...
PROs activities - the staff facilitated the "amazing race" activity for us which is a huge plus. i just dont know if we had to pay extra for this service which lasted for more than 5 hours.
service - they tried really hard to please guests. another point for this.
food - good enough for all guests. quality is good for its price.
hotel room - clean, enough space, working faucets, and cool airconditioning.
hotel amenities - they have karaoke, billiards, and clean pool.
price - good enough. =)
CONs beach front- not swimmable. they share the same shoreline with some residents. if you want to enjoy the beach, you still need to go to Bulabod or the White Beach which is quite a travel.
pool - the pool is too small for a resort which doesn't offer a swimmable beach.
Would I recommend this to friends? Maybe. For families? Not really. For couples? Definitely not unless you can have the resort all by yourself. Not worth the travel to Puerto Galera. Afterall, those activities can still be possible in some place near Manila.
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Date of stay: April 2015
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This resorts really sucks! Don't believe with their pictures on their website! Its 10 times different on the actual! We went their with my group and expecting were going to have a wonderful vacation but we are very disappointed. At the moment we land on puerto, on their place... sea water is very dirty. Rooms are not provided with basic toiletries and staffs are not accomadating! The ambiance is not good! They do not have consistent rules and regulations inside the resort. Rates of the resort is not worth it. Some areas are under renovation. I do not really recommend this hotel for everyone... white beach is much better!
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Date of stay: November 2008
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Check-in / front desk
Service
Business service (e.g., internet access)
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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