Residencia du Basco

This is a nice hotel on Batan Island in Batanes Province in the Philippines. Batan Island has limited facilities and Residencia de Basco is a very good hotel for Batan. The workers are as nice as can be and do as good a job as they know how. The pool was wonderful and the hotel was within walking distance from the beach. The AC was very effective but the hallways are open air. The dining hall was moderately Airconditioned. The room was adequately stocked with shampoo and soap with a shaving kit and make-up kit as well as two toothbrush kits supplied. The door lock did not work when we checked in but was repaired as soon as we brought it to the hotel's notice. However, for the traveler, this hotel left a lot to be desired. The room was clean but never serviced in the three days we stayed. The restaurant, important as there are limited eating facilities within walking distance, was not reliably opened. The selection of drinks was very strange, with multiple types of beer but no club soda available. When requesting room service, the meal was brought up on a tray and the tray was taken. Since they did not collect the dishes even when left in the hallway outside, it necessitated balancing multiple dishes to bring them back down to the Kitchen. In defense of the staff, as soon as they saw us carrying the dishes (on the next day of course) they ran to take them from us. When we went to settle the bill the night before (20:00) leaving as we needed to leave at 05:45 AM, we were told only cash was accepted. When we paid cash we were told there was no change available and we could pick up change in the morning. When morning came, still no change. Wifi was nice when it worked but they use one-time vouchers which needed to be renewed every time the device lost the wifi signal. About 40% of the vouchers did not work and we requested vouchers multiple times a day for only two devices using perhaps 30 different vouchers in only three days. Since there is no cell phone coverage at the hotel, wifi was the only way to stay in touch. All in all it was a nice stay but with very little effort and training it could have been much better.

We booked a complete Batanes vacation package through the Residencia du Basco website. The airport pickup was on time and comfortable with a polite, skilled driver, who was also with us for our tours of the island. We arrived hours before check in, and our room was already available for early check-in. The room was comfortable, with bathroom amenities, an in-room safe, refrigerator, and cable TV, though cable channels were not available until late on our first day. There is also strong free Wi-Fi, which is vital since there is absolutely no cell phone service at the hotel for either of the country's two main providers. There is a swimming pool at the hotel, and the beach is about a minute walk from the property. They also have a restaurant where they served plated breakfasts. While the staff was warm and efficient, the food was nothing impressive. The restaurant staff also departs by 2PM, so you will need to make dinner plans elsewhere. Fortunately, the location of the hotel is great, and there are very good dining options at neighboring hotels. There's also a small convenience (sari-sari) store within a 3 minute walk from the hotel where you can pick up small items like snacks and sodas. The staff is uniformly friendly and efficient, but there seems to very few of them on the property after 2PM - just 1 or 2. On the whole, it's pretty good for what it is if you temper your expectations.