Date of Stay: October 13-15,
2017
RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)
Location: *******
Rooms: ********
Condition and Cleanliness:
********
Staff Performance: ********
Room Comfort: ********
Food and Beverage: ********
Other Amenities: *********
Value for Money: ********
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| Sophia Garden Resort |
As its
name would suggest, this cozy, family-friendly boutique hotel, located in the
middle of paradise called Coron, has a lush, spacious and nice central garden
area with bamboo groves, mangroves and lots of trees (mango, duhat, casuy,
etc.), a reflection of the owner’s love for gardens and landscaping. The name
“Sophia” is derived from his granddaughter Ms. Annika Sophia
Tiotangco. 
This
modern, Spanish-style, 5,000 sq. m. resort has 22 rooms (14 of which were built
just this year) – Superior (PhP4,500, good for two pax), De Luxe (PhP5,800,
good for two pax), Dormitory (PhP8,000, good for four pax), Honeymoon Suite
(PhP8,500, good for two pax) and Family Room (PhP10,000, good for four
pax).  |
| Room 17 |
The
spacious and clean airconditioned room that I stayed in (Room 17) was decorated
in a Minimalist style and was elegantly furnished with a very comfortable bed a
flat-screen cable TV, a wardrobe, work desk, mini fridge, coffee and tea making
facility, in-room safe, free bottled water and a patio with views of the
garden and pool. The nice en suite bathroom had a rain shower head with hot and cold water and comes with a hairdryer and free bath amenities.
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| Patio |
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| Sun loungers |
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| Hallway |
It also
features a multi-colored outdoor swimming pool, kiddie pool and a heated
jacuzzi, all opened till 10 PM, picnic gazebos and sun loungers.
Both poolside
and lush, well-kept gardens offer a relaxing, serene vibe and, thanks to its
large garden space, Sophia’s is a perfect venue for garden
weddings.
Currently, the resort is undergoing a big expansion that will
open up rooms facing the ocean, have a floating restaurant, beach front and
dock for island hopping and pick up, so a little noise was experienced during
the day.
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| Outdoor swimming pool |
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| Children's Pool |
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| Heated jacuzzi |
Internet
in Coron isn't the fastest or most reliable and can be
pretty spotty. Free Wi-Fi, though available, is much better at the
reception area than in the rooms (which is limited to one gadget per person
only). Complimentary private parking is provided. Sophia's Garden Resort
operates a 24-hour front desk that can assist with laundry and ironing
services. Guests can enjoy a barbecue session with the provided facilities, or
request for full body massage services (book in advance). Weather permitting,
bonfires are lit every 6 PM. Round trip airport transfers are included in the
room rate. They also have a gift shop and rents out bicycles.
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| Poolside picnic sheds |
Its
charming El Comidor Sophia Restaurant, with its Spanish-styled interior, serves
a mixture of delicious international and Filipino (can be served boole style) cuisine. The food, prepared by Corporate Executive Chef Francis Christian "Janjie" Ocoma (the "Lakwatserong Kusinero"), was very
good. Breakfast (tocino, dried fish, fried rice, scrambled eggs, salad,
cereals, etc.) is included in the room rate.
A bar is also available and room
service is provided. The staff was friendly and accommodating and the service
provided was excellent. The package tours that they provided through
resort-affiliated Amika Travel & Tours, with guide Mr. Jonel Vergara, were
very good too. Security was superb.
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| El Comidor Sophia Restaurant |
The
hotel is only a 6-min. drive to Baywalk and Busuanga Airport is a
17/km./45-min. drive away. It is also easily accessible to some of
Coron’s must-see destinations, being 950 m. (5-10-min. drive) from the Coron
Public Market, 3.8 kms. from Maquinit Hot Spring, 6 kms. from Twin Lagoon and Lake Kayangan, and 1.1 km. from Mt. Tapyas.Check out "Maquinit Hot Spring" and "Lake Kayangan"
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| Reception Building |
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| Reception Area |
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| Bonfire Area |
Since
its opening in 2012, this sister resort of Kamia Bay Resort (Luzviminda, Puerto Princesa
City), received the Award of Excellence from Booking.com in 2014 and the
Golden Globe Annual awards for Business Excellence as “Best Spanish Inspired
Resort” and the Traveller’s Choice by Trip Advisor, both in
2015. Experience home away from home at Sophia’s Garden Resort.
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| Gift Shop |
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| Gazebo |
Sophia’s Garden
Resort: 5 Dinagpan Rd., Sitio Jolo, Brgy. Poblacion 5, Governor's Dr.,
Coron, 5316 Palawan. Tel: (048) 723-1871. Mobile numbers: (0917) 543-5775
and (0939) 915-0274. E-mail: sophiasgardenresort@gmail.com.
Website: www.sophiasgardenresort.com.
You can also follow them on Facebook: Sophia’s Garden Resort
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