This is a pretty late review since we had an overnight stay at Hijo Resorts/Banana Beach on July 30, 2019. It was my sister's wedding so some party decided to book a few rooms in advance to rest after the event. Since the premium rooms were all fully booked on that date, we opted for the casitas - booked 3 rooms. The room was decent, it has 2 double-sized mattresses placed on the slightly elevated wooden floor and has its own bathroom. What disappointed us were the following: 1. The room smells of an old house but that's understandable because it's made of wood. There were some dead insects in the bathroom. 2. The blankets provided were thick fleece blankets that are really uncomfortable to use. My uncle requested for a 'normal' blanket because the fleece blanket triggered his allergy only to find out that they charge extra, about P100-200, for a 'normal' blanket. They eventually provided one for free due to health reasons. As for us, we continued sleeping using the same blanket since we don't want to pay extra. 3. MOSQUITOS! MOSQUITOS! MOSQUITOS! Alright, since we booked the casita, we thought that it already includes the mosquito net as per the advertised photos. Uh oh! No, it's not provided and requesting for one will incur another P150, or was it P200? Hmm. Anyways, I was taken aback when I was informed about this. But not to worry, Ma'am, Sir, they have complimentary Off lotions which was not placed in your individual rooms. They keep it at that restaurant near the casitas. So if I didn't ask for the mosquito net, we wouldn't have had the repellent and we just settled for that. This review is for their casitas only. Their premium rooms might have given us a better experience only if those were not fully-booked. Nonetheless, since they are charging more than the average amount for their casitas, they could've provided much better amenities and ensured that the rooms were tidy before allowing customers to enter.

We arrived at about 10:30 a.m. on a beautiful Monday. After registering and reviewing activity options, we proceeded to the pool. The pool is big and visually appealing. Trust me when I say that if you are there on a typically-hot southern Philippine day, the pool looks extremely inviting. There are plenty of tables and upright chairs around the pool, but not enough beach chairs for lounging. We brought our own towels, so I am not sure if the resort provides them. There is plenty of natural shade, and there are clean bathrooms nearby. The food and drink options were fine, and the prices were reasonable given the circumstances. Due to heavy winds, the beach was closed for swimming, but we were able to take a nice walk along it. The sand was dark. At about 1:30 p.m. we took a tour of the property. A nice member of the staff drove us around in an open-air vehicle. We went through a jungle path that was teeming with monkeys, boar, and monitor lizards. At the end of the path was a series of 9 hanging bridges, which are wooden plank pathways high up in the trees. It was a lot of fun being able to take such a long walk on the bridges. The view from up there was fantastic - a true trip into the Philippine jungle. At the end of the bridge section, there is a shooting range. For something like one thousand pesos, you can fire 50 bullets at a bunch of targets. I recommend that you get into the local spirit and go for it. It isn’t every day that you can swim in such a nice pool, view exotic wildlife, walk amongst the tops of the trees on hanging bridges, and fire some weapons! Since it was just a day trip, we did not look at any of the overnight accommodations. If you are looking for a relaxing day trip away from the city, this resort is a good option.