Eileen Watkins

Review of Crimson Resort & Spa

We stayed at Crimson from May 28-31, 2018 with my ...

We stayed at Crimson from May 28-31, 2018 with my husband and 2 kids, 12 and 7. It's very worthy to note that when I first made a reservation, I made an error in headcount of adults and children (I was counting my 12 yr old as an adult like other resorts required), making our first reservation $200 more. I reached out to their team to ask if I could cancel and redo my reservation, knowing that per their website, cancellations are subject to a fee. Their team allowed me to redo without penalty. That was my first encounter, and it left me with a positive impression.

We chose the package that included the airport transfers (you have to email your flight details to them prior to arrival so they can include you on their list), breakfast and dinner, also called the half-board package. For kids 12 and under, they eat free if dining with an adult.

Arriving at the Cebu Mactan airport, the Crimson personnel held up a very clear placard of the hotel name. We came up and had our name checked on his list. Checking in, they do take VISA credit cards. They required a Php 3K deposit per night for incidentals. They took us and our luggage to our room by golf cart. Each and every person knew the signature welcome gesture of placing their hand on their heart, bowing slightly and greeting us either good morning, afternoon or evening. Arriving to the room, the air-conditioning was awesome. My kids and I live in the US and we are used to good quality AC. This room exceeded their expectations, they wanted to stay the full week (we didn't). There are 2 pools, and a private beach. My husband and son did parasailing and for the pair, it was Php 7221. They also offered snorkelling with regular snorkel masks and the Easy Breathe mask. The first hour EACH day is free. They're not very strict with time so you could go over without charge. The beach has a lifeguard, the pool has 2 lifeguards. To manage meals, we would do a brunch around 9:30-10:30 am (buffet closes at 10:30), and then go to dinner when the buffet opens at 6pm. The breakfast and dinner buffet are all served at the Saffron Cafe. There are different entrees each night. Sushi is available. Breakfast is pretty heavy, with rice and entrees like adobo, fish fillets, omelets made-to-order, fruit, French toast, champorado and pastries. In between meals, we would just order milkshakes and fruitshakes. My 7 year old is a picky eater, but she always found something she liked from the buffet. I suggest taking some bread after breakfast and feeding the fish on the beach. They come up to the surface and chomp on that bread. Some hotel personnel would take some bread, I'm guessing from the kitchen, put it in a bucket and throw it out to the water and entertain the hotel guests with the fish-feeding. My husband and son raved about the snorkelling. They said the variety of fishes surpassed that of Shangri-la Cebu. We would recommend this to everyone and would certainly be coming back here in the future.