Surfside Boracay Resort & Spa has been one of the most popular and well loved hotels on the island for many years now. It enjoys a great reputation and an outstanding amount of returning guests, and the reason for that is mainly twofold. First and foremost, they always offer very affordable rates you won’t find anywhere else in Boracay. Secondly, Surfside still manages to sustain high standards in everything they do.
Located in the middle of station 3, this 3 star beach resort is perfect for people who wish to stay on the beautiful White beach but still avoid the tourist crowd. With excellent and friendly service, world class level spa and a fine restaurant, Surfside offers the ultimate package for your Boracay vacation. It’s a great choice for couples on their honeymoon, or small families with kids.
This is a small family business, so the service is relaxed but very friendly. You can expect every complaint you have to be taken seriously and they'll do everything in their power to help you.
The rooms are very clean, and so are the lobby and restaurant area. That said, everything except the spa has a bit of an outdated feeling to it. That's part of this resort's charm, offering a place that resembles the way Boracay used to be before over commercialization kicked in.
The rooms are neatly designed with a Japanese vibe to them, inspired by the owners no doubt. They are all very clean and quite spacious, and come with all expected amenities such as hot shower, AC, TV, mini bar, fridge and a small veranda outside.
There's no pool at the resort, but you really don't need one since the beach is merely a few steps away from your room. They take very good care of their area of the beach, and it's always clean and well maintained.
The location is very good for those who favor a quiet relaxing experience over the business of station 1 and 2. Still, the bars and restaurants are only 10-15 minutes of slow walk along the beach. To us, that's the best of both worlds and a great reason to stay at Surfside.
Probably the best budget accommodation on White beach. For these prices, you should usually expect to get much worse, but here you get a wonderful cozy resort in return.
While passing through the restaurant area we were immediately offered cold towels to wipe our face with. After a long day of walking in the hot Boracay sun, this was a real life saver. No other place we visited on the island ever thought of doing that. It immediately showed us this is a place where they want you to feel at home and taken care of.
We met with the Japanese owner Takeshi, who’s son Jiro is the resort’s managing director. After speaking with him and talking a tour around the resort, we started to realize better what this place is all about. The resort keeps an humble appearance on purpose, and instead aims to exceed guest’s expectation whenever its possible. This stands in stark contrast to all those fancy 4 and 5 stars hotels spread everywhere in Boracay, that provide and extravagant facade, overcharge their clients and then provide terrible service.
There are only 16 rooms in Surfside, which means they can always provide personal service to every guest. This is a place where after you’ve stayed there for more than a day, everyone will already recognize you by name and would love to chat with you. The Economy room, the most basic option, is a bit small with only 17m2 of space, but still gets the job done and its price is very competitive. The other rooms are much larger and also offer a much less simple design.
As mentioned, we were so thoroughly impressed by this place that even if someone would tell us now it's horrible, we'll have a really hard time believing him. Luckily, that is hardly the case and we have already heard countless people who say choosing to sleep at Surfside was the best decision they made during their holiday.
If that isn't enough, then we also turn to major online booking sites and see what their users say. The Surfside resort has been a popular choice for many years now, and so it has amassed a very large number of reviews, most of which are positive – giving the resort a great rating everywhere you look. When combined with our own experiences and observations, we are certain this is the best choice among affordable resorts in Boracay.
We went through all 270 reviews on Tripadvisor, where Surfside has an average ranking of 4.5 and is ranked 14th out of all Boracay hotels.This is really a fantastic achievement for a small, budget oriented resort. Only 3 reviews were negative, while a whooping 151 were either very good or excellent. Guests praised the staff, the relaxing atmosphere and the excellent price. The few complaints mention slow WiFi and small bathroom area in the more basic room types.
Over at booking.com we found 116 more reviews, with an average score of 8.7, making it again one of the highest ranked resorts in Boracay. Booking's users really liked the location, the friendly staff, the restaurant and the spa. Many people also mentioned the rooms were very clean and comfy, especially the bed. Complaints are again mostly about the slow WiFi connection.
We also went through most of the 1106 reviews found on Agoda.com. Over there, Surfside resort enjoys and average score of 8.6. Again, the recurring theme is how friendly the staff are, the great breakfast and the comfortable bed. The location and value for money also got a considerable mention of course. Complaints were mostly regarding the old furniture in some rooms, and the deposit charge they take if you need a beach towel (10$).
This resort is well praised for these key elements:
Still, there are a few negatives you must be aware of:
Another one of Surfside’s strongest features is their in house spa called Yasuragi. The spa has a very relaxing ambiance to it, and everything feels very professional. Guests of the hotel enjoy the first treatment for FREE – so you have absolutely no excuse for not trying it out. We are sure once you do, you’ll be begging for more. Luckily enough, guests also enjoy a 50% discount on every treatment they take. All massages offered at Yasuragi are very fairly priced, and only cost around 20$ for an hour (prior to any discount).
By now you should already understand exactly what Surfside resort is all about. This isn’t the place for people who want a luxury 5 star experience, or those who wish to be just a minute walk from the action. The value of this resort comes from it’s relaxing vibe and cozy feeling. Those who seek good service and nice amenities, while still sticking to a reasonable budget, should really look no further.
The most basic room type, it’s only 17m2 in size. 2 single beds occupy most of it, but it still comes with all the basic furniture such as a mini-bar, AC, TV and a safety deposit box.
This 25m2 room comes with all the amenities and is newly furnished with a clean design. There’s 2 single beds and no option to replace to 1 larger bed. A small balcony outside offers a view of the garden.
This 25m2 room can either have 2 single beds or one Queen size bed, depending on your choice. the price is the same regardless. The rooms are fully stocked, and there’s also a small veranda outside.
This is a 28m2 room that has 2 single and one queen size bed and can fit in 4 adults. The shower area is a bit tight, but other than that it’s a great room for a family.
Located on the 2nd floor, this is the largest room available with 47m2 of living space, not including the large private balcony. The rooms comes with 1 king size bed, and an extra single bed can also be added.
