We noticed that you're using an unsupported browser. The Tripadvisor website may not display properly.We support the following browsers: Windows: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome. Mac: Safari.
Nice cottage view of the seashore. The accommodation is good. The place was nice and clean. The area was near some of the beautiful places to visit like museo de baler. The hammock is the common area was great for relaxing while viewing the sea.
Date of stay: December 2018
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Problem with this review?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Location is good for people who wants a nice area where there are few people around. The rooms are a small, just enough for two people. They do not have hot shower. They have an Indian restaurant but only a few items on the menu.
Date of stay: December 2018
Trip type: Traveled solo
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Ask Rdyu64 about Old Parola Seaside Cottages
2 Thank Rdyu64
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I booked last February as a wedding gift for my friend. However there daughter got sick and wasn't able to go to baler. So i decided to contact them and informed to reschedule the booking. Gladly, the owner is so nice and agreed to reschedule the booking. Me and my friends decided to go to baler last May for my birthday celebration. It was nice. The owner is kind and very understanding. She gave us a room in front of the beach but its raining and hassle to go there. we asked her to change the room to much nicer and she agreed without paying for additional price.
Date of stay: May 2018
Trip type: Traveled with friends
Location
Sleep Quality
Service
Ask adventureawaits03 about Old Parola Seaside Cottages
Thank adventureawaits03
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My partner and I booked a room here for our first visit to Baler and, overall, given the price, we had a good stay. The air-conditioning in our room worked and so did the wifi. Our room was also clean, as was the bathroom. The location is literally right on the beach and there are foamie boards you can borrow which are perfect for beginners (more experienced surfers may want to rent from in town) and most of the staff are very friendly; my partner enjoyed talking to them about surfing! Our only recommendations to visitors would be that the cottages are at the less buzzy end of town. We liked this as it meant it was nice and quiet, and we didn't mind a long walk to the restaurants in town. We also had no idea that the cottages had a restaurant until we saw it when booking.com asked us to review it! We'd love to have tried the food here, but it wasn't advertised to us! Overall, this place was good value for money, although I think if we visited again my partner and I would possible try stay somewhere more central.
Room tip: Room by the sea gets a nice sea breeze
Date of stay: May 2018
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Location
Sleep Quality
Service
Ask MorwennaJones about Old Parola Seaside Cottages
4 Thank MorwennaJones
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Set your expectations correctly. Dont expect even 3star accomodation because the place only provides basic accomodation. Rooms are clean and have A/C. Bring in mosquito repellant. I brought baygon and sprayed our room just to be sure. place is built to relax your mind and unplug(Basic wifi only). Its the cheapest beach side accomodation in baler worth staying. Must try is the indian cuisine in their restaurant The shack. Owner and staff is really accomodating. You can buy seafoods at the market and have them cook it. Buy some tuna in the market for 200-220/kilo and have them cook it. Pair it with their hummus with pita, eat it in the common area and that would be the most chill time you will get.
Point of improvement is their toilet and bath. Also some fans needs to be replaced and some rooms
Date of stay: April 2018
Trip type: Traveled with family
Ask Reginald G about Old Parola Seaside Cottages
Thank Reginald G
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I booked and paid for this place in advance through Expedia. I was aware that the establishment had a non-refundable policy. I did not consider it important - after all - the reviews did not give me cause for concern. I did not know any better - but I do now! Never, ever, have I encountered a more disgusting, dirty, smelly hostelry whether hotel, resort, bed and breakfast, or in this case beachside cottages.
This establishment is a blot on the landscape of Baler. I arrived but I did not stay. The stench was nauseating. The parking area is next to their restaurant, which is nothing more than a wooden hut. Next to it was rotting drying fish under a washing line of hanging clothes in an adjacent property. How anyone could be expected to eat in it is an anathema. For the record it has a predominantly Indian menu.
Such was the overwhelming foul odour that I was unable to communicate with a member of staff. In truth I could only return to my vehicle having remarked that I felt I was nauseated. Indeed the smell was so pervasive that it took a good shower to shake it off.
I left, gladly. But I did make observations. Their beach area is unkempt and uninviting. As for the lighthouse - that’s merely a distressed carbuncle of concrete with a small bulb on the top. It’s no higher than 20ft and nothing more than a folly - the Parola (Tagalog for lighthouse) which gives this disgusting accommodation it’s name.
I did not stay. I did not seek recompense. I swallowed my losses - about £50. I have not made any claim since. I was just happy to escape and go elsewhere. To Somewhere cleaner and much more decent. It cost me much more but when you’ve been to hell, everywhere else is heaven and worth paying extra.
Date of stay: March 2018
Trip type: Traveled with friends
Ask Nostromo about Old Parola Seaside Cottages
6 Thank Nostromo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
OldParolaBaler, Manager at Old Parola Seaside Cottages, responded to this reviewResponded March 16, 2018
Dear Mr Brownlee:
Despite the less than favorable circumstances, we are glad to find you here and hear your side. I was on the second floor of our new building when your party arrived and by the time I came down to welcome you as I normally would our guests, you had already taken off.
I could have explained to you that the ‘overwhelming foul odour’ came from ‘daing,’ a Philippine breakfast staple that local fisherfolk make to augment their income at certain times of the year. As a family that has roots in this humble fishing community, we are not about to deprive our neighbors of their livelihood nor alter the local culture in the name of business.
I could have also shared with you the story of the ‘distressed carbuncle of concrete with a small bulb on the top’ (a folly’ as you have described it) because not a lot of tourists are made aware of its historical value and benefit to the local community. This modest facility has been guiding sea vessels since the Commonwealth period and had been the only known lighthouse to the locals until the construction of a new one recently.
Perhaps, too, had you stayed a bit longer and gotten to know our place better, the initial culture shock would have given way to a more sober description of our place than ‘appalling,’ or ‘disgusting, dirty, smelly’ or ‘unkempt, uninviting’ and again, ‘disgusting.’
Your comments came as a surprise to us because despite having gone through other guest reviews, you seem to have come to Old Parola with a set of expectations totally different from our previous guests.’ I say this because prior to this review, we were ranked #5 in Baler with an average 4 stars. Sure, we’ve had our fair share of less than flattering reviews, but nothing comes close to how lowly you think of us. This, even if we didn’t get the chance to talk to you nor host you for the night.
With regards to your payment, we are letting you know that any amount paid through Expedia doesn’t go straight to us. The money stays with them and is only remitted to us at the end of each month. Therefore, any matter related to payment should be dealt with Expedia.
The mismatch was unfortunate but we nevertheless hope that you had a great time in Baler.
Lorline Gonzales-Pereira Old Parola Seaside Cottages/The Shack by Old Parola
Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
