The rooms are big and spacious but just very tired. Great location right on the water with great views of the bay. The pool and restaurant were both out of commission during our stay and have been for some time I believe. The staff were very helpful and friendly. The hotel needs a big restoration to bring it back to its former glory.
Syshore was the second hotel we looked at in Sogod. The first was in town, and a true budget hotel -- and very easy for me to reject. Second was syshore. Compared to what I was expecting, Syshore was very acceptable. There are various room styles and costs. The 800p room had a double and single bed and a wet bathroom. We were in the 2000p room, which had two queen (?) beds and a Western style bathroom (where the wet area is separated with curtains and raised floor) from the dry area (the toilet and sink). I hate wet bathrooms so I was happy. The room rate was higher than I had anticipated, but I was happy to have a reasonably nice room for the stay.
The swimming pool was "off-color" and no, none of us ventured into it. The previous poster has a lot of accurate comments. One night, the Karaoke played for hours -- but was stopped by midnight. I found the hotel to be relatively clean -- although our room was not serviced for the entire trip.
The restaurant is a danger zone. The kids saw roaches and refused to consider eating here. I tried to buy a "coke" only to be told out of stock until "next week". There is a small store at the gas station across the street where soft drinks and basic snacks are available.
I have no complaints against the staff. They were all very nice and attentive to us.
My biggest complaint was the lack of repairs. We had a private patio for our room, and the patio door was "locked" with a piece of string tied into a bow-knot. The hotel offers free wifi, although it was not working in our room half the time.
Considering what I expected, I was happy to stay here. I did notice a new beach front hotel located about 1000 feet from Syshore that looked nice but didn't bother checking it out -- especially since I have NO plans to ever return.
On another note -- there is a small mall in Sogod (Gaisano capital mall) which has three restaurants (Mang Inasal, a dimsum restaurant, and a dumpy excuse for another restaurant which I can't remember the name, as I hope to forget it). There is also a grocery store in the mall (which was wonderful considering we were visiting people and needed to buy food for the parties) ... I also noticed a drug store and kids games area to kill a few minutes.
In town, there were four banks that had ATMs. On the weekend, NONE of the ATMs would give me any money. On Monday morning however, I obtained money without a problem.
We arrived in Tacloban by air. Taxi to Sogod was 2500p and took about 3.5 hours with the crazy man driving. The trip back was also by taxi, 2800p, early in the morning, and took 2 hours ... and made me think about my last will and testament as crazy taxi man was on a mission and I didn't know if we would make it or not.
I was thinking of staying here whilst visiting Sogod, and glad I didn't. I opted for Villa Catalina a few hundred metres away.
I went to Syshore Beachfront Hotel to take a look. It is a terrible hole of a place. The security guard and other member of staff dossing at the entrance allowed me in.
The swimming pool was green. It might be ok for tilapia but I wouldn't even put my toe in the putrid water.
The outside restaurant is barren with a member of staff eating breakfast only. There were no guests to be seen and I could see why. This place is dark and dingey, grubby and uncared for.
How this place is a "tourist" resort I do not know.
I believe it is used for karaoke at night times. No doubt it looks better in the darkness.
If you are in Sogod, southern Leyte, do not stay here. Go to Villa Catalina instead. It may not be five star there, but the staff are fantastic, helpful, and friendly. I stayed for a number of nights.
