Diniwid Beach resort-Disappointing and No Refund !

We travel quite a bit and have never dealt with people like this! Diniwid Beach Resort is a case of misrepresentation and had not disclosed their status of reconstruction. We booked our reservations online with Diniwid Beach Resort for five nights and paid by bank transfer. When we arrived at the so-called resort as pointed out by our driver. Oh please, they call this a resort? There's no signage and no manager on-site. A security guard on the beach took us through a dirty alleyway to the property and met Che-Che, a young man left in charge of the huts. Che-Che showed us the room we requested. The Sampaguita "A" room was not to our liking at all. We’ve seen a picture of the room online but it was unacceptable in person. Room was not clean, not all windows were screened, no mosquito net provided, the bathroom was dirty, looked unfinished and smelled of mold. There was no online photo of the bathroom--one of the bathroom walls was part of the hillside “open and dirty” We asked Che-Che to call Teresa so we could talk to her. She refused to give us a refund, not even partial. She said that the money had already been spent on renovating the other rooms and that we could choose another room. We looked at the rooms which were dark, musty, no AC as requested and there was a lot of construction noise and dust everywhere. We asked for a refund, Teresa refused and told us she would contact a hotel near her to take us in (but not for free). She said she would talk to her British husband to discuss our request for partial if not full refund. She called back to say but she would not accommodate us at all. She claimed that she will lose money reserving the room for us and letting others know that it was already booked. I strongly doubt that we had anything to do with their money issues, given that none of the other rooms were currently occupied nor any rooms were booked since November 2007 (take a look at their guest registry).

On our own accord, we found Microtel Diniwid Beach Hotel nearby. It was like night and day. Microtel is clean, air-conditioned, have excellent service, very nice employees and provide on-site dining. After five days of bliss at Microtel, we stopped by Diniwid Beach Resort to ask Teresa Enano again to reconsider some sort of compensation. She flatly denied us. We acknowledged her greed, thievery and misrepresentation.

Beware to all travelers if you don’t want to be robbed:
1. Never do business with bank transactions, only use a credit card. If you are not satisfied with any purchase and the seller refuses to give a refund, you can file a dispute with the credit card company.
2. Beware of any hotel that has a cancellation policy like Diniwid Beach Resort’s cancellation policy: cancellation fee before 15 days 25%, 7 days 50%, less than 7 days no refund.

OK. OK. That Austrian may have found the place pleasing. I find it appalling. Here's why:

1. It's name is Diniwid Beach Resort. It is located in Diniwid Beach. Fine, but nowhere are they in front of the beach. They are behind Artista Resort, shielded from the beach view by Artista's firewall. From the resort, you have to pass a narrow dirt alley between Artista and Microtel in order to get to the beach.
2. OK, I'll be fair. Some of their cottages have a view of the beach, but it is a far-away view. And in order to view it, you have to climb a steep flight of steps hewn along the mountainside to get to your cottage, and thus view the beach from a distance. Hey, I went to Boracay not to climb steep mountainsides to view the beach! And I don't want to view the beach from a distant cottage, but from a cottage fronting the beach!
3. Talk about learning the painful way, and I say it because it sure was a pain in the pocket. If you booked your reservation thru the internet, mesmerized by those pictures showing an idyllic place with palm trees, rustic cottages and a dazzling white beach, and when you arrive expecting a paradise and realize the truth on points 1 and 2 above, and decide you don't want to stay, can you get your money back? No way! Boracay resorts have a no refund policy - which I think is very unfair to the customer. To the tourist who wants to stay here. Be prepared to be robbed.
4. You still don't believe what I wrote? Check the webpages of Microtel and Artista. These two resorts are beachfront resorts. Step out of the resorts and you step right into the beach. Diniwid Beach resort is BEHIND these two resorts. To access the beach, you have to climb down the steep steps made of stone (do they offer insurance if you slip and fall?) and pass thru a narrow alley. If that's you're idea of a Boracay vacation, then go ahead. At least you've been fairly warned.

Made to appear in their website as if they owned the whole of the Diniwid Beach. No signage. Very bad experience with the owner's British partner. Heard from some reliable sources that they have the most number of transferees, booked guests who were so dismayed with what they actually saw upon arrival at the beach, just like us.

For a more detailed story of my bad experience here:
http://chiwee.multiply.com/journal/item/16/An_Advertising_Scam_in_Boracay

Diniwid Beach Resort is owned by Mrs.Teresa Enano, I found this place through the internet and booked by sending fax and calling here, making sure that what I need and wanted is what I am going to get. And this is really what I got, the cottage that we got have an ocean view! It was exhilarating, simply beautiful. the price was very reasonable. The place was clean and so homey, nothing I could ask for. We opted to have a non airconcitioned room as we would like to go to sleep with our windows open and feel the fresh breeze and have a glimpse of the heavenly sky, which we did! It might be too secluded to crowd lovers but I do not see it as a problem as you can have a relaxing stroll to the "White Beach" in around 5 to 10 minutes. I have to mention though that the cottage goes a bit uphill by stairs and for those who have walking problems, this might be too strenous other than that, this is the perfect place for honeymooners/lovers or just people who would like to have peace and quiet, which we do need. The staff are so nice and helpful. They made our stay a most memorable one. We will come back again soon.