When you’re visiting Davao City, almost everyone recommends visiting Samal Island. And why not when it’s only a 10-minute boat ride away? Once you reach Samal, you are greeted with beautiful white sand beaches, serene blue seas, and lush greenery. Somewhere along this beautiful paradise is a slice of luxury! Discovery Samal. It’s the perfect getaway for couples and comfort travelers like me. Why? Because they have all the things you need to enjoy on a vacation in one place.

It has been a long time coming, but I was able to save enough to visit and try out my second experience at a 5-star hotel. My first time is at Mithi Resort in Bohol, which you can read all about here. So I was more than excited to finally see whether Discovery Samal lived up to the hype and the price tag.

1. Price and Total Cost
2. Getting there – Boat Services
3. Is the Room Lovely?
4. Checking In
5. Amenities
6. Pool and Beach Review: Water too wet, Beach too sandy?
7. Food and Breakfast Buffet
8. Overall Impression
9. Rating Based on Personal Metrics

Price and Total Cost

I booked my stay via Agoda for leisure.
1 – Junior Suite, pool view good for 2 pax at P11,447.54 for one night
Plus Taxes and Fees of P2,861.73
Total of P14,063.81

Lunch at Haribar Lounge: P1,192.50 (see Food and Breakfast Buffet Section)
Dinner at Morning Catch estimate: P2,300.20 (see Food and Breakfast Buffet Section)
Incidental for a bottle of wine: P3,500
Total estimated cost for the stay, excluding any expenses incurred outside the resort: P21,056.51

Inclusions: Breakfast buffet at Morning Catch, free fitness centre entry and their entertainment room, free boat ride to and from Davao, free access to two pools – beachfront and the Olympic-sized pool, free rides within the resort, free parking, and free wifi. We were booked on the 3rd floor in the 4th building with a pool view.

Beware: There are many fake Discovery Samal pages with random inclusions like free breakfast, lunch, and dinner for xx% discount. These are fake pages. The correct Discovery Facebook page is here.

Getting there – Boat Services

Hotel booking already includes the free boat ride to and from Discovery Samal. This boat ride is also available for those who are visiting to dine at their restaurants. To avail the free boat ride, you have to go to their service center in Maryknoll Drive, Buhangin.

They will provide you with bracelets and a claim stub for your luggage. The boat ride is 5-10 minutes. They have a waiting station that offers pastries and coffee you can pay for. Below is the boat schedule:

Is the Room Lovely?

The room is very modern and clean. Its interior design is plain for my liking. The junior suite, though, offers a king-sized bed, which was nice. The area is very spacious and has a beautiful balcony overlooking the pool.

They have a cabinet that holds their complimentary coffee, tea, and water. Amazingly, their complimentary coffee is from a Nespresso machine and not the usual black coffee stick. They have available chips you can consume, which are charged against your room. I recommend buying your snacks ahead of time, as the price of their chips is very inflated. Personally, we bought popcorn ahead.

Their TV is big with a Samsung brand that doesn’t have an in-app feature like Netflix, but it has YouTube, which was slightly better than none at all. For staycations, I find that this is an important feature that is easily overlooked by luxury hotels. You can only screen share to watch movies. Channels were available but not working.

Their air conditioning is great and was pre-cooled before entering, which was nice, especially if you came from the sun. They have a remote for the air conditioning, which was convenient. Well-placed lighting, charging stations, and outlets.

The complementary products they offer are well thought out and environmentally friendly. It’s eco-friendly, using the SOAK Superfood brands. They also provide free sunscreens that are safe for coral reefs. Free tote bag you can use to store your wet clothing or dry ones while you roam the resort.

They have emergency flashlights and have a nighttime room service to check if you would like your room fixed. So they check and clean it both in the morning and in the evening/afternoon.

Here is a complete list of the inclusions based on memory:

• King-sized bed
• Sofa + Table
• Working Desk and desk chair
• Bathrobes
• 2 pairs of slippers
• Safe
• Emergency flashlights
• Hangers
• Laundry bin
• Flat Iron and Ironing Table
• Hair Dryer
• 2 pairs of Toiletries – Vanity pads, Qtips, Tooth brush, Toothpaste, Handsoap, and waterglass
• Bidet
• Hot and cold shower
• Phone inside the bathroom
• Free wifi (password-protected)
• SOAK hand and body wash, shampoo, and conditioner
• Weigh scale
• Free Tote bags
• Free vegan-friendly sunscreens
• Appliances: TV, Chiller, Water heater, Nespresso Machine
• 2 pairs of towels
• 2 water jugs with clean water and 2x coffee cups, 2x water glass
• Complimentary tea, sugar, Nespresso coffee

Checking In

Booking confirmation is at the service center in Davao. Incidental fees are paid there, like the planned preparations, if you have any. The boat ride is generally PWD-friendly, comfortable, and fast. So, for those who have family who are PWD, rest assured that transferring is smooth from the boat to the island. However, it can get scary if the tides are strong, as you have to walk on a floating deck to embark on the boat.

Once you reach the island, you are met with a beautiful view of its white sand and manicured beaches.

They offer a delicious and refreshing complimentary juice upon arrival at the island’s hotel lobby. Check-in time is 3PM and check-out time is 12NN. Depending on the room availability, you may or may not be able to check in earlier. There are no deposit fees upon check-in.

The hotel rooms are up in the hills, so a cart ride will be scheduled for you. You can request a trip around Discovery Samal for a short tour.

Amenities

• Three dining outlets:
  Haribar Lounge – a beautiful bar right by the shores, graced with live music or DJs. Usually hosting the dinner buffet (excluded from the paid accommodation).
  Morning Catch – showcases a gastronomic experience with seafood specialties and where their breakfast buffet is also hosted.
  The Bistro – best for date nights, offering premium steaks and fine dining dishes.
• Convention Center that can host 1,000 guests
• Divine Grace Chapel – a favorite dream wedding venue for couples
• Three infinity pools: an Olympic-sized pool and the beachfront pool accessible to staying guests, and private villa pool exclusive for those staying at their villas.
• Exclusive Private beach – white sand and crystal clear waters
• Sandbox Kids’ Club – which is perfect for families with children, providing supervised recreation and activity for the kids.
• Samal Escape Spa – for those wanting a full-service luxury spa, complete with massages, body treatments, and wellness therapies.
• Fitness Center – for those monitoring their weight or those ensuring they do daily exercise while on vacation.
• Entertainment Room – which we have missed out, but this includes billiards pool, table tennis, and arcade games.

Pool and Beach Review: Water too wet, Beach too sandy?

I’m not going to lie, the pool area is large and wide. The lawns are well-manicured and attended to. In the afternoon, when the sun is not too bright and the breeze is gentle, the pool looks beautiful and serene. The wind blows gently at the water, making tiny waves. When the sun sets and if you are positioned at the right angle, you can take a really good picture where the pool starts and connects to the Davao Gulf. Such is the beauty of infinity pools.

Apart from its beautiful design, it is one of the longest pools I’ve seen and is a place swimmers would enjoy. The pools depth, though, is at 5ft across the entire pool. If I remember it correctly, the pool can be accessed only at 9PM and the beach at 8PM. You can double-check this one at the resort. At night, though, I find that it is too dark and not properly well-lit.

The beach is also a beauty to behold. Your sandals are filled with white sand. You can walk around and lie down at the sun lounges. It’s so perfect that even a leaf is quickly picked up by their staff. There are lifeguards overseeing the area at all times of day.

They have a flag system that you need to be wary of, which helps indicate if the water is safe. At the time, the flag was red, indicating that the waves were too high and not safe to swim.

Food and Breakfast Buffet

We tried dining at Haribar Lounge. They have a good selection, but it was expensive. We did end up enjoying a glass each of iced sea salt coffee (P250), which was really refreshing and good. We also ordered a good plate of fish and chips (P625). The fish was really delicious, which was made out of mahi-mahi, and the chips were perfect.
Lunch or meryenda cost: P1,125 (+6% service charge)

At dinner, we were torn between going to a buffet at Haribar Lounge or dining ala carte at Morning Catch. However, we were not in the mood to overindulge, so we went and had a simple dinner. We ordered Seafood Laksa (P720), Shrimp Tempura (P820), Apple Pumpkin Spiced Mocktails (P265), and Citruz Mint Twist (P265,), and a cup of rice, which I assumed was P100. Overall, it was a great dinner. The laksa was so far the best I have tried. It had the right spices and herbs. It was exploding with flavors and was not watered down by the coconut milk. The serving size was enough for two people. The Shrimp tempura was okay, but find it too expensive, but it was enough to fill us. The Apple Pumpkin Spiced was really delicious. A very cozy flavor. I haven’t tried the Citruz Mint Twist. A lot of their food menu is inflated and quite high, so you may need to save up for it. It’s quite good but expensive. Compared to our dining experience in Mithi, though, their food is much, much better.
Dinner cost: P2,170 (+6% service charge)

Finally, we go to their breakfast buffet. When you say breakfast buffet, that’s the breakfast buffet I am expecting. It had a big selection and multiple choices to choose from. It is also well-thought-out because they separated the room entirely for pork and non-pork dishes. They also have a section dedicated to kids’ stations. Amazingly, they have crepe stations and bacons that offer a selection of textures. You can select something crispy or the soggy, limp ones. A detailed section below based on memory:

• Bread station: It has a dedicated heater that can heat many breads at a time. There are at least 10 types of breads: plain, wheat, muffins, croissants, donuts, ensaymada, etc. Around five spreads, excluding the butter. More on the fruit jams.
• Cereal Station: They have three different cereals. The plain corn flakes, cinnamon crunch, and the fruit loops. I don’t think they have options for milk. It’s only fresh milk. At the cereal station, they also serve fruit pana cottas.
• Main Course Station:
  Non-pork:
  They have buttered vegetables, sambal chicken, corned beef, and Spanish-style bangus at the time for the main course. They have rice and garlic fried rice.
  Pork:
  For pork, they offered pork embutido, white sausages, and bacon (soft and crispy options). They also placed the bread and butter pudding in this station.
• Soup Station: They offer chocolate champorado, mushroom soup, and chicken congee at the time.
• Spud Station: I just call it this station because this is where they serve their potato dishes. At the time, they were serving ratatouille (yes, ratatouille!), hash browns, and baked potatoes.
• Charcuterie Station: Cold cuts and different types of cheeses, and fruits you see at charcuterie boards.
• Egg Station: You can choose how you want your eggs made. Omelette, poached, scrambled, overhard, overeasy, etc.
• Fruit Station and Salad Station: Their salad stations had a lot of options for dressings like balsamic, ranch, Thai dressing, Caesar, etc. They only have dilis salad as part of their native salads.
• Fry-ups Station: Fried food typically served at breakfast, like hot dogs and chicken ham. They have daing as well in this area.
• Kiddie Station: At the kiddie station, they offer pancakes, waffles, French toast, carbonara, and tuna melts. They have cookies and donuts here as well.
• Crepe Stations: They have great crepe stations. There were different fillings you could choose from, but we opted for a delicious ube-macapuno combination.
• Coffee and Tea/Beverage Station: They Nespresso machine coffee you can opt for cappuccino, mocha, black, americano, and more. They also have tea, cucumber juice, and yogurt juice

So far, this was the best breakfast buffet I had in the vicinity of Davao City (although technically in Samal). This is the standard of dishes I would like to see from a breakfast buffet. Bombard you with a different but delicious selection. It was also well thought out because they separated the room for non-pork and pork. Even provide options for the bacon texture. Really nice to offer a kiddie station that helps promote a sense of responsibility and freedom of choice for the kids.

Dining at the buffet requires a dress code, though. They discourage coming wet (from swimming), wearing a bikini, bathrobes, and slippers.

The breakfast buffet starts at 6AM and ends at 10AM only. More people dine between 7 and 9AM.

Overall Impression

I honestly spent a good amount of time second-guessing whether to book Discovery Samal, but I’m glad I finally did, because it did not disappoint. Between the two 5-star hotel experiences I’ve had so far, this one easily dethrones my first: Mithi Resort in Bohol.

A lot of people compare Discovery Samal with Pearl Farm. I have not been to Pearl Farm, but so far, I am content with our experience in Discovery Samal. It was PWD-friendly. There are wheelchairs in the lobby. From the port of Davao and back to our return, everything was smooth sailing. The service is also superb!

I also appreciated how inclusive the resort is. Regardless of age, color, gender, or sexual identity, you can tell that everyone is welcome here. Not once did we feel uncomfortable or overlooked. Shuttles were always available, the grounds were spotless, and everyone was so warm and courteous. We never had any bad experience with their staff. When they found out that we were celebrating a milestone, they prepared a cake as a simple gesture, but it was highly appreciated.

Although the food had an expensive price point (as expected for a 5-star hotel), the quality and taste equate to it, AT LEAST for the limited food that we tried. There are lots of things to do. The beach is clean, not rocky, and very enjoyable. They also have DJs at Haribar Lounge and live bands, so you don’t have to leave the resort to party. For non-party goers, you can still enjoy the peace because the restaurants are farther from the villas and suites.

Apart from the service and food, I love that they provide free sunscreens, and they are very conscious of their carbon footprint on the environment. They only use environmentally friendly products like SOAK products. The room was also clean and beautiful.

The only thing I dislike is their bathroom. They may need to improve the draining system of their shower because it was clogging, and as a 5-star hotel, the corners of the shower room are expected to be cleaner. They also need to upgrade their TVs to a smart TV that has streaming software available. The TV channels were not working as well. Their pool could use better lighting, especially at night. The pool area felt too dim.

Room inclusions are great too. They provided free cake as part of our celebration. Prepared the wine we ordered before we checked in, so it was already chilled when we arrived. The coffee is from a Nespresso machine as well and is free. They have emergency flashlights. The whole area is also wheelchair friendly.

It is nice that they have a dedicated arcade/playroom and sandbox for kids to play at.

Rating Based on Personal Metrics

• Lobby and Overall Aesthetics – 5/5
• Pool – 4/5
• Price – 4/5
• Location – 5/5
• Room Design – 4/5
• Room Inclusions – 5/5
• Comfort – 5/5
• Cleanliness – 3.5/5
• Amenities – 5/5
• Services – 5/5
• Breakfast Buffet – 5/5
• In-house restaurants – 4/5
• Airconditioning – 4.5/5
• PWD-friendly – 5/5
• Child-Friendly – 5/5
  
  Total – 69/75 or 92% Rating

If you are like me:

• looks forward to a good breakfast buffet at hotels
• values excellent customer service
• who don’t want to hop on a plane or travel and enjoy the convenience of quick trips
• enjoys lounging by the beach or pool with pretty views
• loves modern design
• likes luxury within a reasonable budget

Then, maybe Discovery Samal is worth considering.

It may not be perfect, but for comfort travelers like me who enjoy a quick dip in the pool, lounge, and unwind by the beach and feel taken care of, Discovery Samal definitely checks a lot of boxes. While a lot of people who have been here will compare their experience with Pearl Farm, I have not personally been there to provide a comparison. But between the other 5-star resort I have been to and Discovery Samal, I have a more memorable and satisfying experience.

Does this help you decide whether Discovery Samal is worth the trip? Feel free to connect, and I’ll be happy to answer your inquiries.