Donatela Resort and Sanctuary

Personnel charmant et attentionné dans ces belles villas spacieuses au milieu de la végétation. Calme et reposant.

Pas de plage mais le bord de l’eau est magnifique. Accessible éventuellement avec masque et palmes. Plus pratique d’avoir un scooter (reservable depuis l’hôtel).

Beautiful rooms. The restaurant had amazing views in the morning. There is a shuttle which is very useful. The staff were amazing.

The restaurant was at least double the price of everything in town. The shower door didn’t open properly either.

Está situado en un paraje espectacular. Rodeado de vegetación exuberante y muy bien cuidada. Me sorprendió mucho. Todo el personal nos atendió de maravilla. Recepción hizo un muy buen trabajo respondiendo y gestionando todas nuestras demandas. El desayuno muy completo y apetitoso. Ampliamos nuestra estancia de lo cómodos que estuvimos. Las cabañas preciosas y cómodas. Os recomendaremos!!

Виллы красивые, территория отеля как затерянный город в джунглях. Но пляжа нет, мы не смогли искупаться даже в специальной коралловой обуви (учитывайте это при выборе отеля). Персонал дружелюбный, внимательный, помогают организовать экскурсии - молодцы, очень комфортный сервис. Этот отель подойдет путешественникам, кто не хочет с утра искупаться в море, а сразу уезжает на экскурсии или хочет насладиться виллой в джунглях.

We were tricked. We paid attention only to the high rating of this resort, and not the fact that at the time of booking, only 51 reviews were posted since 2016. Thus, very few people actually stay here. Description does not say that you need to book a whole shuttle (albeit free, but still inconvenient) to get to town or the beach, which is essentially required to get any affordable food. They do say they have laundry service...but its abhorrently expensive despite charging a high rate for the room already. Food is very expensive as well without discount again despite a high room rate. And our 3 year old accidently broke a plate. Understandable. But they pulled a low class move and charged us for the plate. You charge that high rate and still wanna nickle and dime parents? Its fine if you wanna charge a high price. But if you do, you have the responsibility to deliver amazing service. I wouldn't give you such a low rating if you didn't charge so much. And I wouldn't be mad at expensive laundry or charging 300 pesos for a toddler breaking a plate. But you charge that high a rate? The responsibility is on you. As a filipino american, I am deeply embarrassed for my own culture. Finally, no, there is no "beach" access. You do get a beautiful view. But there is no beach. Lesson learned: look for stays that have a high number of reviews. Be wary of places like this with a low number of reviews, since it means few people actually choose it.

We had a really nice stay at Donatela. The resort is peaceful and private, and our Honeymoon Villa was beautiful, private, spacious, quiet, and surrounded by nature. The private pool was a great bonus too. The staff were friendly and helpful, always quick to assist. We enjoyed the food at Paprika and the overall relaxing vibe.

The one thing that bugged us was the water pressure. Almost every day, we had issues and had to call maintenance. They fixed it each time, but it kept happening, which was a bit annoying.

The pool villa was spacious and tasteful. It was also very private and quiet. The staff service was excellent

More food options

My boyfriend and I had an amazing night’s stay at Donatela. It felt incredibly relaxing, with a great and friendly atmosphere. The front desk staff are really welcoming and helped us with a variety of requests that included a shuttle bus to Alona beach, abnormal check in and checkout times, food delivery and showed us around the villa and sanctuary. The breakfast was fantastic, and was a real sit down experience, where we were able to try a variety of different foods and fruits with a stunning view of the beach. The road approaching the resort is totally fine, a few bumps but nothing major. The resort felt very safe with security and is tucked away in a quiet and peaceful spot 5-10mins away from both Alona and Dumaluan beaches. The garden villa was spacious and pretty both inside and out. Wish we had stayed there longer!

If you like quiet and tranquility this place is for you. The villa is gorgeous and spacious. Not too far from the airport and Alona Beach. You can see Alona Beach from the restaurant. The horse riding was pretty great and the horses are very well taken care of. I’ve traveled to so many places and stayed at so many 4-5stars hotels/ resorts, the staffs here is by far the best I’ve seen. Very friendly and attentive. Front desk is very responsive with requests. The staffs even surprise me with birthday cake. I really enjoy all the conversations I had with all the staffs at Donatela. Overall I had a great stay at the resort and felt well rested. Would 10/10 recommend and come back here.

Feel that the garden could have a bit of maintenance and a bit more lights around as it gets very dark at night. I also booked one of the tour package, the tour guide they assigned the service was ok. The tour was a bit of a rush tbh.

Incredible stay and very reactive service. First at the arrival at the airport, we had organized the shuttle with the hotel. They were waiting for us at the exit and handle all the luggage with a very warm welcome. Shuttle was very comfortable and it took 10 to 15 minutes. A personnel from the hotel, on top of the driver, was here to welcome us and to introduce us the duration of the trip and the surrounding while driving. He accompanied us until our rooms. Check in was done in a glance, they were obviously waiting for us and everything went absolutely smoothly. Very appreciable after a trip of more than one day! Room, garden villa, were amazing, very big rooms with a welcoming basket of fruits (excellent mango). Beds are very comfortable, two air conditioners, a private terrace. The hotel is entirely located in a very nicely maintained park. Everything around is green, you’ll see on the picture, it is simply amazing. You can look for the statues in the surrounding, they even created a grotte ! They offer outstanding activities, we tested the spa and I loved it: strong pressure, for once, exactly as I asked ! 90 min that went in a glance! Kudos to the lady as from the beginning to the end she maintained the pressure. You can also horseride or have organized private excursion days: country side or island hopping. Not talking about the food as I will do a special comment there for the hotel restaurant but it was in line with the rest for what I tested. Service was impeccable. I definitely recommend, for the excursions I asked if we could have towels and in the 10 min later, someone was bringing them to our villa. This is just an example! No direct access to the beach but very big swimming pool you can almost enjoy alone and simply amazing view from the paprika restaurant. Basket fruit is the for the first day only, water refill everyday. Night service (to shut down your room to prepare for the night) planned. Thank you for making our first stop outstanding!

Nothing really to mention!

Beautifully furnished villas, filled with art adornments in a lush jungle setting. Attentive polite staff. Immaculately clean

A short tuk tuk drive to Alona Beach- this could be a good thing. Has a stoney beach area - again this is fine

The villa offers exceptional privacy, even without being beachfront. I appreciated the tranquility of the place and the sense of seclusion it provides. The property is impeccably clean, and the staff is outstanding—highly efficient and respectful. The place is very close to the airport which was also a big plus

We loved our stay at Donatela and had an amazing time. It was a rejuvenating and relaxing stay in the honeymoon suite, which was luxurious in a quiet and natural way. The suite was huge, comfortable, well built, and beautifully designed. We especially enjoyed the large sofa, reading chair, the super comfortable bed, big walk in closet, and the double bathroom sinks. The outdoor area was very tranquil and we spent a lot of time outside relaxing and dipping in the serene plunge pool. The staff were super helpful and assisted us with arranging travel needs. The massages were incredible and the best we've had on the trip. We absolutely enjoyed walking around the stunning grounds and snorkelling off the resort. It was surprisingly clear and full of marine life (clown fish, eels, large varieties of star fish, coral, lionfish, etc). We would love to come back again!

Excellent, quiet. Food very good

Our favorite place on the island.

There is literally nothing wrong with this place. It’s the best experience you can have for a luxury stay.

Peaceful and quiet.

Just a bit far from the main road and establishments.

The staff are friendly and helpful. The pool villa is very spacious and clean. We enjoyed the plunge pool. We also liked the free shuttle going back and forth to Alona beach.

None

The serenity of the hotel, the rooms were beautiful and the beds comfortable. The pool was fantastic and the sea view from the restaurant charming. The staff was very kind and available. The free shuttle to the downtown. Although there is no beach, they have a private pier with sunbeds from which you can access the shallow water. They have horses roaming around in the beautiful gardens

They should waive the pick up fee to the airport (seems a bit excessive for a 10m drive), they offered the free shuttle to downtown but it wasn't allways available as scheduled. The restaurant should improve the quality of the food and service considering the premium price payed.

Amazing view of the sea, excellent breakfast at Shafran, spacious villas. Tranquillity.

Almost impossible to swim in the sea. Swimming pool is "tired". Child was bored, kinda nothing to do.

Secluded and delightful retreat. There were only a few villa in the location and we really felt like we had the whole place for ourself. Great staff amazing place.

peaceful. The villa is very spacious. Staff courteous and attentive. lanscape needs more work or updates

Ambience and the overlooking view of the sea :) The place is also very peaceful so you can really have a restful day.

Too dark at night. The location is a bit far and you have to pass a rough road.

Nice place nice folks

The road

Extremely relaxing with incredible service

The house was spacious and new with good facilities. You can feel in a jungle since the houses are very spaced - the resort was full but we barely meet anyone. Not far from the Alona beach actions and easy to explore Bohol from here.

The road to the hotel is just terrible.

We loved staying at Donatela resort. It is comparatively remote and not as busy as other resorts in Panglao, it was quite and enjoyable. We traveled with our two toddlers and the kids were always welcomed! The only negative thing about our stay was that one night for dinner we arrived on the later end, the hours at the paprika restaurant said it was open until 9pm, we came around 8:15 because our kids had a late nap from our country side tour. The entire time the wait staff was rushing us to complete the order, rushing us to eat, and rushed us to pay for the bill. When we left the restaurant it was 8:50pm. I know different countries have different customs, but typically as long as you order at last call you are not rushed because you are still within the time frame of the closure. I found it unacceptable for the amount of money we paid to be treated like that. Other than that our stay was enjoyable. I would book again, but not loyal to coming to the resort again due to that one experience.

Restaurant was excellent location and food was and staff were great. Private tours organised through the resort were excellent.

Little things kept breaking down or not working, the shuttle, the water, the safe etc and as soon as you tell them about it they send you a message “sorry for the inconvenience “…..

We stayed in the honeymoon suite during our stay at the property and thoroughly enjoyed everything the suite had to offer. The private pool was a nice option to cool down after some sun bathing and the general look and feel of the suite was very high quality. The regular shuttles to town are handy and the staff are always on had to help when needed, they are all very attentive. All in all, a fantastic resort and wonderful place to stay in Bohol!

Great hotel

This property is vast, unique and just very interesting to walk around!

It’s exclusivity, truly a sanctuary.

Na

I loved the peaceful location away from all the people. Our family villa was amazing. So cozy and yet also luxurious. I loved our driver Jess for our private tours. Also loved the free shuttle service to Alona. We had the best tours of swimming with whale sharks. Loboc river cruise. Chocolate hills and ATV. And snorkeling at Belicasag. Thanks to the Donatela staff for a vacation of a lifetime.

We stayed here for 2 nights for the 2nd part of our Bohol stay and had a really relaxing time. Having done the chocolate hills tour at our previous hotel we were here to relax and this fit the bill. We were upgraded to a room with a pool which was so generous so we mostly enjoyed being around the room and pool with room service to the room. We did use the main pool too which was nice, plenty of sun beds, and actually no one else around when we swam! The room itself was absolutely huge with a very comfy bed, lounge area, strong aircon, modern bathroom and the pool and decking was a great space to read and snooze. The restaurant was decent enough but had we stayed another night I would have liked to try somewhere else as it was quite quiet with not much atmosphere, the food was fine though. The hotel arranged massages and transfers for us and the staff were all friendly and helpful (as we found most places in our Philippines travels!)

Villa is excelent. Staff are friendly.

The garden villa is spacious and mostly well maintained as expected. The resort gardens, public areas, walk paths are pretty and designed with taste for nature. Big kudos to the staff kindness and availability to help with anything anytime. Special thanks to the reception and restaurant staff. Driver service brings you everywhere around for a small fee. Also the resort restaurant paprika was clearly the best we had in 4 days in Panglao, and not overpriced. The view and peacefulness is worth it too.

Understand it may be out of control, however there was pretty loud clubbing music every night until late, likely coming from a nearby resort. That led to sleeping with ear plugs, such a shame as choosing a remote, peaceful place like Donatella was to escape the city noises. If bumpy roads definitely lead to beautiful places, the one leading to the resort could use some pavement.

Amazing rooms at a small hotel. Quiet location, but a short drive to town (200 peso) for wider food options away from the noise. Hotel also has free shuttle. When we stayed they were renovating a number of the bungalows, but you could not hear this. As such it was very quiet. Would highly recommend this piece of luxury. Staff were very helpful.

Breakfast was lovely, but food at the restaurant could be a bit better. For the quality of the hotel and price, would expect it to be slightly better, but don’t let this put you off staying there.

Beautiful grounds and comfortable room. The staff were incredibly friendly and accommodating. We loved the WhatsApp concierge service and the free drop offs from/to Alona beach.

The restaurant is the main reason I didn’t rate the property 9 or 10. There is only one restaurant and the service is painfully slow. On our first day we were the ONLY guests at the restaurant and it took so long to even receive a glass of water. We also found it difficult communicating with the staff. Breakfast was also below average. We also found the food to be overpriced for average food. Not all the facilities were available (such as the gym) and the pool bar was also closed. However we understand that this was due to the damage caused by the typhoon in 2021.

The facility is somewhere between 2 and 3 stars. The service is definitely 1 star. The pricing, however, is fully 5 stars. The property is not worth the prices they charge

Very friendly and helpful staff. Room is big, comfortable and clean. Breakfast is nice and restaurant food is very good. The place is very quiet, perfect if you want to relax. Not in Alona beach, but the hotel has a shuttle that takes you there for free in 5 minutes.

Nothing

Awesome property, restaurant is great.

No cleaning of the room during our 2 nights stay. At this price… Plus things like power plugs that didn’t work in the villa.

First class in every aspect. If you want seclusion, tranquility, and peace then is the place to go. I opted for a villa with pool and was completely satisfied. There is no beach but they do provide free transport to any that you want to visit. No cons here...probably one of the best hotel/resort experiences I've had.

Location Excellent villa, food, transport

As some have said... the road to the Resort

This hotel is absolutely amazing! We booked at the last minute and ended up booking an extra villa because we were blown away by how beautiful and comfortable they are. The grounds are so lovely, the ocean view is incredible, and we had several delicious meals at Paprika. Above all, the staff was beyond amazing. Everyone was so friendly and went the extra mile to make our stay unforgettable. We wanted to stay longer but unfortunately had to leave!

The room is rather nice, the landscape, the restaurant is well positioned. The swimming pool has a very good size. The staff were friendly.

The beach is too far from the resort and they charged the transport to the beach and the beach is lovely in terms of the white fine sand but not really attractive to swim because it's full of boats moaring and the sand with lots of dried sea weeds.

The resort is beautiful with an amazing view. The staff is incredible nice and helpful. The room / facility is nice.

The resort is gorgeous and the staff is amazing, they all go beyond expectations and made the stay incredible

We stayed 6 nights in the honeymoon suite at this beautiful resort. This beautiful, comfortable and spacious cottage has a private pool that is very nice, and it is just around the corner from the amazing onsite restaurant Paprika, yet far enough away from the 'community' pool to be quiet. The grounds are large and cottages are spaced quite well. The staff was the absolute highlight of our stay. They were so friendly and caring. From the moment we were picked up at the airport until our eventual drop off for departure, we saw so many kind smiles. We had all our meals at Paprika and every meal was very good. We very highly recommend staying at this property.

we really liked their service! they quickly responds to my requests.. they even set up a romantic dinner for us for free and made our lovely breakfast in our villa on our last day. also paprika serves good food!

nothing! the service and amenities are superb!

The staff were very nice and friendly. Sadly, the resort looked sad. There were unsightly buildings on the property.

The road you take to the resort is not safe for your cars. We drove our car to the resort but the huge pot holes prevented us from using it. We ended up spending money on transportation. The resort offered a van for short distance driving. The manager was nowhere to be seen. We stayed for 3 nights. Breakfast got boring. Not much selection.

beautiful villa, very private

NA

I have been all over the world and I have never seen such a beautiful hotel

There is nothing not to love there

Immediately upon entering we were made to feel like VIP guests, a warm welcome from all the staff (who were phenomenal throughout and went the extra mile), fresh calamari’s juice and a cold towel, and a private lift to our villa. We were delighted with our initial room, however shortly after we arrived we were given a free upgrade to THE BEST VILLA on the property, which had the most beautiful interior, all the amenities and more, as well as a beautiful private pool. The location was remote, but everything you could need is onsite, including one of the best restaurants on the island.

The only downside was the Wi-Fi which did not work at all, the staff did try their best to rectify this but to no avail, however we did stay during a pretty severe storm and I wonder if that played a part.

Stayed just one night for my Anniversary. Amazing service, complimentary upgrade and beautiful room and accommodations!!

We initially booked 2 nights but extended for a 3rd night. This place is incredibly relaxing, lush and well maintained. We felt like we were the only guests in the resort, despite occasionally seeing others around the grounds. The staff were all very welcoming and attentive. If you love natural surroundings, this place is for you.

Exceptional all the way

The layout is great. The rooms are beautiful. Breakfast is below par.

Very nice and quiet place, in a huge garden. The restaurant has a great view on the sea. The road to access is a very bumpy, but there is apparently a plan for improvement.

Very friendly, great views, super service

great place and services with nice views and surroundings

Nice view, great service and with all nice staffs. Rooms are clean, pool and restaurants are all great. A very peaceful environment with privacy. Highly recommended.