My review of the Scent of Green Papaya Resort/Hotel in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines. If you're looking for a great hotel to stay at that's economical and modern, look no further than this hidden gem of a resort. It's basically just a few blocks from the beach in the Alona Beach area of Panglao, Bohol in the Philippines. I stayed here in February, right when Covid was flaring up and they were shutting down borders.

I booked the room using Agoda.com and paid about $60USD/night for a Superior King Room, which included a custom made breakfast every morning. The resort/hotel is about a five minute walk from the main road where the hustle and bustle is of Alona Beach, but if you don't feel like walking, they do have a shuttle taking you back and forth from the main road, which is lined with American-style restaurants (including McDonald's if that's your thing), as well as souvenir shops, tour kiosks etc.

The front desk staff was super cool and reminded me to choose my breakfast each evening so they could prepare it fresh for me in the morning. Also, they helped me call a ride for the ferry and also were amazing helping me book tours, including a snorkeling tour.

I had a great stay and highly recommend this place if you're looking for something different. This place even had a Balinese feel to it. There are lots of hotel options in Alona Beach, many of which are five times the price of this hotel. So if you're looking for something quaint, quiet and cool, give Scent of Green Papaya a try! I would definitely stay here again if I were ever to return to Alona Beach.

Feel free to check out my channel if you would like to see a video walk-through of my room and the hotel grounds.

We would not stay here again - mainly due to location.
Pros
Nice pools which are well maintained
Good sized balcony with table and chairs
Lots of loungers around the pool with towels supplied
Breakfast is brought in from elsewhere, so need to advise night before what you want
We had some problems with our rooms and maintenance guy was there promptly to try to fix it.
Only 2 small bottles of water in the room - not replaced daily. Water cooler in restaurant for refilling.
Cons
Plumbing - Our room had no consistent hot water - despite maintenance man working on it; also foul sewer smell in bathroom
Location - walking distance to Alona Beach is about 30 minutes- 10 minutes by free shuttle; Part of road is very rough for walking especially in the dark.
Safe in both our rooms was not working until we advised them.
Overheard manager arguing with another guest. The issue was discrepancy between Agoda and their website about free breakfast for a child who was 3rd person in the room. She was telling guest it was up to him to get it changed on Agoda. Poor customer service in my opinion.

We were traveling in a group of 5 friends and rented two rooms from this hotel. I lived in upstairs suite with two of my friends and the room was perfect for us. Large enough balcony to host all 5 of us and the bedrooms were very clean and pretty large. Beds great and quiet place to sleep. In our room the AC was located perfectly so you really can't have a flu even if you forget it a bit too cold. That's a huge plus from my point of view :)
Pool was clean and you could start sunbathing first thing in the morning because the sun is shining right from the morning till evening. Off course there are shade options also.
Breakfast was well organized and good.
Staff was very friendly.
Location was nice, about 7min walk to the beach and there is even a free shuttle service that leaves every 30min.