Staycation Series: Ananets Hotel in Bantayan Island

With the promise I made that I shall visit Bantayan Island at least once a year, I made a list of hotels and resorts where I can stay in. Although this isn't really a problem because the island has a lot of resorts you can choose from but I just wanted to make sure I won't be staying in the same place every time I visit the island. The first time I have been to Bantayan Island, I stayed in Santa Fe Beach Club. The second time, which was last year, was in Budyong Beach Resort. And the third time, we stayed in Ananets Hotel.



It was my cousin who suggested Ananets Hotel because it was really affordable. We looked it up on Airbnb and voila! One night only cost Php 1000 plus a Php 129 service fee. A total of only Php 1129. Very affordable, right?



I tried searching for reviews about the hotel on the web but couldn't find any and I thought it was a good opportunity for me and my blog. Haha! So we immediately booked our rooms and I tried contacting Sergei, the host, because we had a few questions regarding our stay. Sergei, as a host, was really nice and accommodating. He provided us free pickup at the port too.

When we arrived, we were greeted by two of their staff and Sergei. The hotel is not fronting the beach but that wasn't a problem because all we needed was a nice place to sleep in. However, Sergei gave me bad news. He had a mistake with the bookings and unfortunately, the bungalow room that I booked which was supposedly air-conditioned was already booked and so we were given a fan bungalow room. To compensate this, Sergei offered to give us free breakfast instead. I said okay but I was a little disappointed.



We checked in to our room which was a small hut and honestly the room was okay. We had one queen bed and one single bed. It was going to be only me and Zayn in the room so it was huge for us. But I had doubts that Zayn will be able to sleep soundly at night because it was really hot inside the room and the fan could not even make the room a little cooler. There were a lot of flies and mosquitoes too. Thankfully, one of my cousins who only had her sister as a roommate in another room, offered that we join them. And we did. The room they booked was the deluxe room with two single beds. We joined the two beds so that the four of us can fit in. Therefore, the room that I booked only served as our storage room and shower room. Haha.



It was my first time in Bantayan Island to experience a blackout. In fact, there were three consecutive blackouts in the middle of the night and it was really uncomfortable. But we can't control these situations and that's okay. In the morning, we left early for the land tour and returned just in time to shower and check out. Unfortunately, there was a blackout again and that meant no power and no water. We were astounded. Zayn was covered in sand while I was bathed in sweat and feeling sticky so there was no reason for us not to have shower. Thank goodness they had a generator and Sergei's wife told us to wait for 15 minutes before the power goes back on. And yes, we were able to take a shower before checking out.



Overall, our weekend stay at the Ananets Hotel was okay because at least we had a decent place to sleep in but I don't think I will stay at this place again. Yes, it was an unlucky experience and there was no way we can control the inevitable but there are more options as affordable as Ananets Hotel that can provide better services and amenities. But if you're looking for an affordable place just to sleep in, Ananets Hotel is an okay option.

Want to stay at Ananets Hotel? Book it via Airbnb! If you don't have an Airbnb account yet, sign up through this link and get Php 1600 off your first booking!

Posted in Family Travels, Staycation Series