Salagdoong Beach Resort in Siquijor Review

Siquijor Tour Series: An Overnight Stay in a White Sand Beach Resort

The local government of Siquijor manages a public resort. Are you surprise? 🙂 Yep they do and what’s even more awesome is that the government-owned and managed resort Salagdoong Beach Resort and Hotel Agripino sits on prime white sand beach property in the town of Maria.

To get there at Salagdoong Resort and Hotel Agripino, you will be passing through Salagdoong Forest, a large area planted with Mahogany trees. I imagine its a bit creepy if you walk the whole stretch at dusk. Hehe  😎

Salagdoong Forest at Day Time

Being government-owned, Salagdoong Beach Resort Siquijor rates are affordable.

Day trip only sets you back P15 per person to cover the entrance fee.

You can rent one of the kiosk cottages and cabanas for P100 for a whole day use.

There is no corkage fee in this famous resort in Siquijor so you can bring all food that you want! Grilling place is also provided.

A wonderful spot for your summer getaway or a weekend day trip.

SALAGDOONG ROOM RATES

Room rate on the beach front duplex is P1,600, this is already good for 3  persons. If you want to avail of an extra bed, you pay P200 more.

We availed a room with one queen size bed and a single bed. We were four so we paid for an extra mattress. Total amount paid for our resort room was P1,800. There are of course cheaper options for your Siquijor accommodation but I was with my siblings and siblings do not like the backpacking, no frills route.

Salagdoong shoreline boast of white sand and the beach area is wide. The beach strip is divided into two segments by the huge boulder in the middle. This boulder is magnet for daredevils who likes rock jumping (see last picture hehe) The bridge connecting it is also great for picture taking for those who have no guts to jump into the water, no matter how inviting it looks hehe.

Panorama view of the two sides of Salagdoong Beach Resort

The left beach area boasts of white sand peppered with lots of broken corals of all shapes and sizes, peebles, and shells push through on the shore. This side is also bordered by concrete seawall; you have to go down a few steps before your feet will touch sand. On the right side, you can enjoy finer white sand and very calm waves. This is our favorite part of Salagdoong Beach and we spent more time here enjoying the turquoise colored water.

We arrived there at a time when there were very few people on day trip and even fewer checked-in guests. The following morning we were the only visitors exploring the nooks and crannies of the resort. It feels like we have the whole resort to ourselves, marvelous!

The water is very clear too!!!

Salagdoong Beach Rooms and Hotel Agripino

This resort complex offers two types of accommodation. One is the Salagdoong Beach Rooms and Duplexes, the other one is Hotel Agripino but both are managed by government personnel. We did not have booking nor reservations when we got there, which is a good thing because prior to going I had considered booking a room at the Hotel Agripino building.

We checked out the beach front rooms and climbed up to the hotel. The hotel is newer so it might not be plagued with the problems we encountered in the beach room but we chose one of the beach room because we felt that climbing to the hotel is very inconvenient and requires more effort. If you want to eat, you also need go down to the restaurant. It was a good decision; no doubt, as far as convenience goes.

BUT…

Salagdoong beach rooms and duplex is in serious need of repair and better maintenance. The overall structure of the duplex has seen better days, paints have peeled of, it looks very aged but not in a comforting way. The rest room and shower disappoints, no hot shower, no flushing toilet, mirror was dirty when we got in, rust eating through the bathroom fixtures, the tissue roll on the holder was half-used, the water pools on the floor when you take a bath, I suspect problem with water drainage. The room needs new aircon, needs cable because tv has very poor reception even for the single channel that it receives, needs new towels, ref smells really awful. Very, very awful in fact that I think management should have just rid the room of the refrigerator.

The beach front rooms saving grace is that it is big even with 4 people occupying it. There is also a big couch that an extra person can use if you are not willing to pay for an extra mattress. Overall, the room at Salagdoong Resort is not something I will recommend in light of its need for immediate attention and renovation. But the beach and the sunrise in this resort is just awesome!

Curious thing though, they have on-going construction of a new duplex with 4 rooms or 6, not sure, on the far left side which suggest there is budget for the resort. This puzzles me then why they left the old beach room duplexes in their sorry state. The room we occupied was right across the restaurant and the beach area, if I was part of management, I will make this beach front rooms the showcase rooms to attract more visitors to check-in for an overnight stay or like 2D/1N in Siquijor or longer. But sadly that is not the case.

Swimming Pool Available … errr not really

The pool at this beach resort looks real inviting. Unfortunately, when we got there we were told the water is being clean and treated and will be available at nightfall. Nightfall comes and we asked again, nope sorry can’t be used now, will be open in the morning. Morning comes and nope the pool is not open yet. It was still not available to guests until we left the resort at noon.

The feeling I got was that they did not open the pool because it does really seem that we were the only guests at Salagdoong at that time. We did not saw any other guests during dinner nor breakfast. Also, the other duplexes were not occupied.

More Observations in Salagdoong

First, there is only one restaurant with mini store that serves both Salagdoong Beach Resort and Hotel Agripino.

Second, this restaurant only serves food until 8pm as advised by one of its personnel; they close after and turn off all lights. If you get hungry or thirsty in the middle of the night and you have no supply of chips, candies, waters etc –  it’s bad news for you. You need to master your hunger and thirst until morning comes and the store and restaurant opens again. Advise: Buy your snack supplies before you get to Salagdoong Resort.

Third, the afternoon we got there, there was power outage for an hour, the place appears not equip with a generator-on-standby, or if they have they did not fire it up when we were there. Good thing the brownout did not last long and also, at that time, we were still preoccupied with exploring the white sand beach.

Food at the Restaurant of Salagdoong

We enjoyed the food served at Salagdoong Restaurant. The wait staff was also commendable for the service showed us. On dish prices, they are somewhat comparable to other resorts we’ve checked-in in the past. Cost per viand ranges around 95 to 165.

Sample of Food and Prices available in the resort:

 Pancit Canton – P105

Sizzling Sisig – P165

Garlic Chicken –  P120

Calamares – P125

Sinigang Baboy – P165

Chicken Curry – P135

Beef Stew – P135

Rice Platter – P70

Coke Litro – P40

 For breakfast they only served quick plates of  the *silog varities at P95 per order which comes with your selected “main offering” plus egg plus coffee. So we’ve had tapsilog (a bit tough), hotsilog and cornedsilog.

Penfires Recommendation?

Will this travel blog recommend Salagdoong to visitors and tourists coming to Siquijor? Yes, if you are looking forward to enjoy a white sand beach, a chance to go rock jumping, and an opportunity to watch a beautiful sunrise. BUT if you are picky about your room and the availability of facilities, I suggest you stay elsewhere.

Rock Jump, Waterslide and White Sand in Salagdoong

Siquijor Sunrise

Sunrise view in Salagdoong is really amazing. Kenneth and I woke up real early to catch the first rays of the sun and it did not disappoint. Seeing the fleeting play of lights on the horizon was really beautiful and calming. The clear water is also inviting. We enjoyed the waters so much, and we also had tons and tons of  pictures there. LOL.

Another thing going for this resort if you hate huge crowd, is that it is out of the way of public transport. The resort lies in a secluded cove and to get to Salagdoong one must plan ahead and arrange transpo. During the summer months, long weekends and holidays, there may be lots of beach day goers, but the night I bet will be more relaxing and calming as you listen to the crashing of gentle waves against the shore.

 To see more pictures of the white sand beach at Salagdoong , please Click HERE.

For other stories and to read more about the other famous attractions in the island of fire, check this: SIQUIJOR!

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