La Vida Hostel Samal Island

早く着いたので荷物を預けに行ったが、パートタイムの大学生ボーイの対応が素晴らしく、人当たりも柔らかく、おしゃべりも楽しかったし、広くて緑に覆われた敷地、建物や間取りもとっても素敵でした。 食事スペースに置かれた手水壺(食前に手を洗える❗)など、心遣いが癒しを与えてくれた♥️ 周りも民家で、静かに夜を過ごせる。

私の携帯は、Wi-Fiが弱くて写真や動画を大量に送ることが出来なかった。 シャワーカーテンが無くて、シャワー後のトイレは水浸しになった。 部屋にハンガーがなくて(言えば貸してもらえるが)、濡れた水着が干せなくて困ったので、ハンガーがあると良いと思った。 歩いて行ける近所に、レストランやサリサリストアは無いようでした

リゾート感あふれる緑とアートに囲まれた清潔な宿。スタッフも全員親切で笑顔と対応が素晴らしい。風邪を引いて食事ができないときジンジャースープを作ってくれた。

シャワーの水圧が弱いこと

Todo genial, una casa muy acogedora con una terraza maravillosa. Bien ubicado y el propietario muy atento y amable.

Por decir algo, las tuberías no deben de funcionar muy bien y a veces huele un poco, pero nada demasiado desagradable. Como idea de mejora, añadiría algunos espejos más, ya que fuimos 8 personas y 2 espejos se quedaron cortos.

I really loved the vibe of La Vida! The owner/artist had arranged his small reception/dining area and gallery in a very unique style, combining practicality and chic. Soon as you enter for check in, you could already tell that it was going to be a REAL vacation :) The receptionist was courteous and friendly, and Ninio, the owner was exceptionally warm, informative and helpful! The food??? wow! you can't beat their Kinilaw, Davao's famous fish appetizer (ceviche in other parts of the world). It was served very fresh! Breakfast was included in the booking, and it was the usual sausage and egg plus rice or toast. We had booked for a room for two, and the other room was for a family of 5. I specially like the family room because it had more space, and was great for 2 couples with a toddler each. Rooms were made more elegant with paintings that allow you to reflect. My family was able to enjoy the whole area in the morning just doing some art coloring, with peace and quiet, Even the little ones were engaged! VERY PLEASANT atmosphere! Our second time to book ? I did the Art workshop that was offered and it was an amazing experience! Love the way Ninio taught color blending, shadowing, etc. ..it was my very first time to draw on canvas, and he made it so easy for me with his gently guidance and encouragement! YES!! I did my first painting, and all because Ninio created that space and opportunity. THANK YOU!

IF the property were by the beach, that would have been perfect! However, you can access a public beach just about 2 minutes from the hotel by walking, and the more popular Kaputian Public beach was 30 mins. away . The water pressure in the rooms were low, though flushing wasn't a problem but taking a shower was. A bucket was made available for easier bathing but this could be something the owner can look into.

La Vida Hostel has a special touch that fosters genuine connections, combined with a unique and authentic native style. If you're looking for peace, simplicity, and a close connection with nature, this place is perfect for you. I would like to thank the owner, Mr. Ninio, for welcoming me and for sharing his beautiful place. It is clear that he has poured his heart, hard work, and dedication into making La Vida what it is today. I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to meet him. Thank you for taking the time to connect and share such interesting and meaningful conversations about life. Last but not least, the entire staff are warm, friendly, and helpful. They made me feel at home from the moment I arrived. I highly recommend La Vida Hostel to anyone looking for an authentic, peaceful, and memorable experience. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

NA

A very pleasant place to stay with nice breakfast and, if you order, excellent dinner choices that makes you discover local pinoy dishes. The staff makes you feel at home and take good care of you. Also to help the environment i noticed they avoid using plastics. The hostel is close to the sea. We had an excellent time, good memories and i hope to come back!

I must say this place is underrated. There is so much more to it than what photos and videos online can show. Exceptional service. Very welcoming people, and even the owner, Sir Ninio, makes you feel right at home with his warm greetings and beautiful creations. The hostel itself gives you that sense of comfort. Every corner is an art. The quiet afternoons, peaceful evenings, and the sound of birds in the morning are the best. I personally felt what “slow living” truly means during our stay here. Again, no amount of photos/clips can justify the feeling.. you have to experience it yourself. Already having “sepanx”. Babalikan ka, La Vida. ♥️

Everything is at a satisfactory level. There were minor imperfections like the leak from the shower head (Guyabano A room), kept dripping slightly even when not in use, but honestly, we were not that bothered by it for some reason. I don’t know Sir Ninio personally but looking at his paintings and the way the place is built, I felt like it quietly teaches you that there is beauty in imperfections. I mean, if everything were perfect, would we still have reasons to create more, improve, and keep going? Maybe that’s the real charm to it.

The hall is a great art space decorated with lots of cool stuff that the owner bought from everywhere, along with the artworks he created himself. Every breakfast is added with mangos from their tree, some of them tasted like honey. Staff are nice and helpful - everything made it feel like home. Oh, one more huge strength is the owner is all about environment protection. None of the products they use is from plastic. Perfect!

Superbe décoration et personnel au petit soin. 2 jolies expo pendant notre passage. Un accompagnement sur les visites bienvenu. Le pain perdu est une tuerie !! J'en ai pris tous les matins !!

La chambre sentait un peu l'humidité mais nous avons eu une plus grande chambre que prévu !!

Place

Low AC temperature

The room was very spacious, and the beds were comfortable. The staff were very kind and thoughtful, and caring.

There were some ants on the table in the room, but they were cleared quickly. The water pressure in the bathroom was low.

Svært hyggelig og imøtekommende betjening

Mr. Niño and all the staff are very nice people, the atmosphere is great, very natural with all those trees and plants around

They need to take into account the food and drink orders on the premises because I had a problem at checkout. I had canceled all the orders at reception after I had finished eating, so they didn't return my deposit, thinking I hadn't paid. I think it was a lack of coordination with the reception staff who collect the payment.

Clean, very helpful staff

A little far from town.

Sehr freuindliches Personal. Man hat Zugang zum Meer. Auf der Anlage ist viel Platz man kann auch mal eine Runde Badminton spielen, Rackets selber mitbringen.

Na die Speisekarte ist sehr Reislastig. Da der Betreiber auch schöne Bilder malt, könnte er etwas seiner Kreativität vielleicht mal in die Erweiterung seiner Speisekarte stecken.

The owner and the staffs are very accommodating and friendly. It was very homey! Thanks so much guys.

Amazing location, friendly personel. A great owner who is very open and friendly! As a solo traveler I had some great evenings with the owner. 10/10 would visit again! The nature on location is great and makes you want to stay and relax!

Good place.

The stay was brief but their staff took care of me very well. The dinner I ordered was good and the complementary breakfast was a feast! Thank you La Vida!

Very kind and helpful staff, location is good but at best to rent a scooter 🛵 for... clean room's, art gallery is very nice

The bathroom size is ok

The first room they offered us was beside a freshly painted room so the smell was kinda lingering on our room. But as we requested the owner to have us transferred, they were so considerate to change us to a more comfortable one. Staff were also attentive and nice. But we were just shocked about the 10PM curfew. I also love how they have complimentary breakfaat :)

nice garden surropundings, quiet, good vibe

nearby beach was not great swimable but for snorkeling I needed to go elsewhere

They have amazing staff, I appreciate how accommodating they were. The room was okay - AC worked well, and bed was comfy. They need to check the rusty shower metal tho. Also the main door lock is not very secured. It makes me feel like it's so easy to open it but the property is gated, I assumed there are no incidents of theft here. The restaurant area has a lot of beautiful paintings making it very relaxing to eat while looking at the beautiful art around. They served filipino breakfast too and which was included on the price of the room. I had a very quiet and peaceful stay which was what I wanted. I recommend this place if you want to be peaceful while exploring Samal island.

Food

No tv

The staff was extremely helpful and kind, they helped us arrange motorbikes and ride to the ferry. 4 choices were offered for breakfast and it was tasty.

The island is not walkable, you need motorcycle or tricycle to get around. There is only 1 bar in walking distance.

The owner is a visual artist and his art works beautifully grace the facilities, including the room. The room was a neutral white as a backdrop for the paintings, which add an artistic and colorful touch. The staff was very friendly and efficient. The restaurant serves good, basic food.

It's far from anything commercial. There are no restaurants nearby. Fortunately, the hotel restaurant is good and reasonably priced. There is a big step down from the bathroom to the bedroom, which could be hard for seniors. The stool and small table were very basic and were uncomfortable for a long video call.

Grounds were clean

Dirty trash on beach and double price high for tricycle rides provided by them. 100 php for coffee very expensive

Staff was warm and very polite and accomodating.

The water pressure in the shower was weak.

Clean and affordable

None

Perfect for those looking for a quiet and smaller accommodation rather than a resort. The facilities are nice and the room is simple but clean and comfortable. You need a motorbike to get anywhere as there is not much food around and the beach near the hotel is not great, it has a lot of rocks and coral and it's impossible to swim. The staff is really nice and gives you recommendations of things to do around and places to eat. There is a curfew 10pm to 6am, so if you plan to stay out late, it's not the place for you, however the island is super quiet and there is not much open by that time, so it was not an inconvenience for me.

There were many ants in the room, they could do with some ant treatment.

Close to the beach

The host and staff were very accommodating and very friendly

Nothing

I didn’t expect that the family room I booked already had a free breakfast but my family and I got free breakfast meals on our 1-night stay in the hostel. They also gave us complimentary mangoes freshly harvested from their mango tree which were very sweet! You can feel the owner’s artistic side as the reception area was filled with paintings and artworks. It was also a plus because the staff told us that we can still change clothes and use their shower rooms after our island tour even after checking out. The staff were also very accommodating because they handed us umbrellas for us not to get soaked when we left our car after we had dinner as the rain was so heavy.

There was a cockroach on the CR (probably came somewhere after they cleaned the room). Other than this, nothing.

the staff and the owner took great care. We didn't miss anything, they helped us create an itinerary by offering us several activities and restaurants nearby on the island. The room + bathroom were very clean with good air conditioning. The lunches were very good with good homemade mango jam 🤤🥰

Nice garden

Need refrigerator and microwave inside the room

Wide garden

Limited breakfast availability

The kitchen

Toilet

I had a very relaxing time here. Property manager and staff are extremely helpful, friendly and accommodating. The arts in all areas are a must see. I definitely recommend it and will be back.

Schöne Lage, ruhig zum entspannen

Affordable, fun and full of original artwork. We had issues with aircon and hot water. Bring your own electric fan. Nice breakfast.

The beds were ok and so was the WiFi

It was a little dirty outside the rooms, the rooms were ok but no TV, really? Don't trust the photos, I don't know what location they were showing in the photos but what I saw was NOT what I got, they really need to fix it and make it more clear as to what you're really getting when you stay there. Also, I didn't like the curfew, you need to be back by 10pm or they will lock you out.

Clean secluded cheap and wonderful hosts

The room fully corresponds to the description and demonstration photographs. The staff is friendly and attentive to guests' needs. For breakfast during our stay, we were additionally treated to delicious papaya, which is grown in a section of the local area reserved for fruit plantings. Since then I started eating it ))

I didn’t like the fact that on the island they periodically burn plant debris on private areas, creating a lot of smoke. This does not depend on the owner, but it would be better if dry plant residues were disposed of on sites in a different way, taking into account the given climatic and soil conditions.

We stayed in this Hostel for 5 nights ! The staff and the owner is very very nice . There's a kitchen in the hostel so you can cook whatever you want. You can even buy drinks snacks from outside and bring inside the Hostel !. There's lots of beautiful paintings painted by the Owner ! The lot is very spacious, quit and lots of plants perfect for relaxtion! Everytime we go out for a tour, we're always surprised everytime we get back to the hostel because the staff already cleaned our room while we're away having a tour ! I really like the owner sir Ninio, on our last day i ask the staff if i can extend till 6pm because our flight back home is 10:55pm, check out is 12nn and you can only extend till 3pm, so the staff ask the owner if i can extend till 6pm, guess what ? Sir Ninio the owner said it's fine and he will not charge me from 3pm to 6pm! . If you're looking for a place to stay in Samal ! This is the perfect place for you, budget friendly not expensive and you can cook whatever you want and the beach is just 2mins walk from the hostel . I will be coming back to this place again for sure !! . Thank you Sir Ninio and the Staff Lanny and others . 🙏

Location. Friendly and helpful staff. Price.

Doors are locked at 22:00. Slow, intermittent internet.

place and staff

location

I liked the ambiance and the stuff..

I just wish that they can provide a kettle for the people who loves drinking hot coffee/tea..

So the wife and I came across this place decided to visit as it is very close to us. Upon arrival found the staff very friendly and helpful , reception full of art in various forms which made it feel very relaxing , we booked in advance they have a very small and intimate resto again clean and tidy with the usual Philippine cuisine , food was very good and over all worth a visit if you want some peace and quiet from the city.

Homey, friendly staff, nice garden. Owners are conversant.

Very quiet and relaxing

Shower not so good

It's a modern native house that would make you feel that it's your own home .and it's in peaceful place of samal island away from the big citys .

Nothing really can't say anything negative about the place .

Quite and it has good environment.

Nothing special

Location near the market place

Previous room has a toilet problem but the owner is fast to move us to a new room.

Big garden

Only one dish on the meny and far overpriced. They charge a bottle of water 6 times normal price. The beach closeby is useless. No shop or resturant near the hotel.

I like the ambiance, peace and warmth of their personnel and owner.

Cr can be improved. It still smells even if exhaust fan are turned on for a few hours.

Peaceful and relaxing place. Also very clean.

Location - near to the Ferry Station

Clogged bathroom

The one of the worse experiences

Toilet didn’t work, shower didn’t work and the owner told us to take shower downstairs his accomodation was no good

Staffs are friendly and accomodating

Smelly room and would require regular maintenance

Friendly staff Beautiful garden ambience

Poor water pressure (was staying at L2)

Awesome customer experience. Friendly staff. The owner is very accomodating.

15-20mins away from the beach

I really enjoyed the nature , silence and relaxing location of the Vida Hotel . We can add also hospitality of the owner and the all staff. Highly recommended if you want to experience this part of Philippines . La vie est toujours belle ! Enjoy !

Quiet environment, good staff

Lack of furnitures, no cabinet or even hangers, only 1 chair available, bidet is not functioning, location is too far

The room was spacious and the location was okay with public beach few meters away.

visible cobwebs. the water supply was intermittent maybe because we are located at the second floor but, it would be much better to provide bucket and tabo of emergency use.

After 10 pm till 6 am fate was close. We were not able to come in or go outside. Like prison

it nice place!