I have been very fortunate to have experienced the Shangri-La experience in the beautiful island of Boracay. I will no longer repeat the praises given by past reviews regarding this hotel. It is enough to state that nothing has been exaggerated concerning this hotel. The place is simply wonderful, the staff so friendly & courteous & the experience, truly memorable. It is pricey but if you can afford it, it is a vacation well-spent. It becomes more affordable, though, if you can purchase a stay thru their occasional promotions where prices are significantly discounted. That's how we got there & we are just too happy we did!

Having the opportunity to stay in this hotel even once in your life time means a lot,especially for the special rooms such as bungalow with your own swimming pool near the beach or 2 storey houses on the cliff,this type of rooms will cost you a fortune for a overnite stay but youre gonna remember them for the rest of your life.

I have been to Boracay at least 5 times in the past 5 years, but this trip was a whole new adventure. I have never experienced such luxury even after staying in Papaetee Tahiti. Your amazing stay starts with the speed boat ride from the Shangri-La's private lounge at the port directly to the resort. The exhilarating ride provides a beautiful view of White Beach. Their lobby greets you with the beauty you can expect throughout the resort. My room facing the private beach gave me so many options to relax. I couldn't decide whether to enjoy my first hot shower since I moved to the Philippines under the special rain shower head, or take my first bubble bath since my move. Then I thought I should take a nap, but should it be on my plush king size bed or out on the veranda on one of the two twin size loungers. I could even invite a friend over to stay on the pull out couch! At night I fell asleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach below me. During my stay I could either jog up the pathway to my room or enjoy the convenience of their golf cart buggies to drive me throughout the expansive resort. I didn't get to enjoy a spa treatment, but their gym was inviting enough to make me want to wake up an hour early to utilize their equipment, sauna, and jacuzzi before breakfast. As for breakfast, every morning was a buffet feast. Lunch buffet was nothing much to rave about, but still a large feast. As for the 2 private beaches, the sand near the beautiful pool was soft, but there was a quick drop in the water. The beach by my building had rougher sand, but calmer waters. It was complete luxury, beauty, and grandeur! The privileges didn't stop until you arrived in Shangri-La's private airport lounge inside Caticlan airport. The staff was international, but my favorite was the buggy driver Tristan. He took me around the resort to take some amazing pictures of the view.

Especially with the family, 3 kids in range 4 to 7, having a villa Balani made the difference. The villa is very spacious (165 m2) with a wonderful garden and private pool. We compared our stay here with Amanpulo and must say that the villa offers by far more value for money as the beach casita on Amunpulo. The villa Balani has a garden exit to the resort gardens, swimming pool and a lovely beach. Granted that Amanpulo is a lot more private than this place and the beaches are nicer in Amanpulo. So probably Amanpulo is more special compared to this resort, but for our family the stay in the villa and the overall setting of this resort came out better.
The Rima Restaurant has excellent Italian food and also the sea food restaurant is recommended. If I have to choose I would go for Rima. The breakfast is very extensive and also a reminder that you are in a larger resort than what you think if you stay in the villa area as it can get a bit busy there..
The gym has an excellent choice of equipment. We haven't tried the Chi Spa facilities but they surely will be lovely as well. The service is outstanding with only one glitch during the whole stay. After the family left I stayed for another few nights for business and used a sea view room. Although the room is very nice it does make it clear that after all this place is a (luxury) hotel. It ones more drive the message to go for a villa to get the "special" feeling of this resort. One thing I did not appreciate was the rather loud beach party for a company on-site. It did end at 9pm but I still would have preferred and expected that this would not be done at all. One of the main selling points of this resort is the quiteness in the hectic that Boracay offers today and I hope management will keep that in mind. As said by many the entry by boat is a nice way to start and finish your stay. Thanks to the staff of Shangri-La and Airphil Express I made it door to door from the resort to Makati in less than 3 hours.