To save any confusion, this review is for the “Alice Boracay Hotel Resort” on the left from the seafront. NOT Alice in Wonderland with the pool.
Compared to some of the other budget places in Boracay this place is definitely OK. The rooms are small, but have most requirements. The rooms are clean and modern enough with a slightly Japanese feel to them reflecting the management. The place also seems extremely secure which is good as there are no safety boxes in the rooms. The rooms have a door key rather than a card system, but it is a good lock. You’ll have no problems with rowdy guests.
Nothing though is ever quite right with any place in the Philippines. Ridiculously, when you remove the key from its slide, all power is switched off including the fridge and sockets. This is just silly and annoying. Also the shower hose is far too short and it suitable only for your average person. Six foot westerners would have to bend down to have their hair washed. As is usual with Japanese run places, they seem to like their baths, so you have to stand in the bath to take a shower and as the hose is short that is a real problem. The TV is an old fashioned CRT screen, but of a style which is modern to some I have seen in hotels here. Despite, or perhaps because of, there being an in house internet shop, the internet connection is very unreliable and mostly isn’t there. The front office tries to blame the island’s connection, but other connections I have had work well. I suspect the hotel itself cannot handle the traffic. Also, annoyingly, they don’t accept payment by credit card.
The reception staff seemed very decent people, but they need to smile more and be a bit more welcoming to guests. The place has a rather sterile atmosphere. The omnipresent “observe silence” signs do little to help, although they do tend to have the desired direct result. If you want more atmosphere than a clean room and reception area can give you, then this place is not for you. To call it a “resort” is misleading. There seems to be confusion with this place and the Alice in Wonderland resort up the road. This is called “Alice Boracay Hotel Resort”. The only connection I can see is ownership.
That all said, I have looked at rooms in the 2,500 category (high season price) and the Alice has to be good value compared. Some of the rooms offered are quite scandalous in price for what is offered. One place at 3,000 peso a night had no running hot water and many places smell of damp. Boracay is the most expensive destination in the Philippines and at peak season the demand/supply equation creates some silly prices. Despite the faults which would not take a lot to remedy, this place is clean, secure and quiet. Of course no sea views at this price, but the location is just a stone’s throw to the beach and across the road from an excellent Spanish restaurant.