Highland Bali was quite the surprise... Whether it's good or bad, I'd say it's a mixed bag of good…read moreand things to improve. It is tucked in the beautiful province of Nueva Ecija in the Philippines and presented itself as an amazing place to commune with nature while enjoying a pleasurable luxurious "high-end" stay.
Check-In:
Check-In was a breeze, having the bookings made online while we were still in the US, confirmations were emailed and all we have to present when we arrived, the young lady at the reception was quite lovely and cheerful, she was very thorough explaining to us all that is included with our stay and also informed us of the breakfast hours and gave us our breakfast stubs, she also booked our spa/massage schedule as well as our activities for the days we're staying at the resort, Impressive front desk service!
The Resort:
A beautiful Balinese Inspired Resort surrounded by dense forest, a perfect place for some good R&R, lovely architecture and landscaping with beautifully laid out Suites and Rooms catered to your liking and budget, the place advertise itself as a high-end resort so make sure to save as even the junior suites could cost you + food cost & beverages (Breakfast is inclusive).
The Resort boast a beautiful view of Pantabangan Lake and also a lush forest. The main reception lobby is nicely adorned with Bali inspired pieces from ceiling to floor. Beautiful cobblestone serves as your pathway as the bellhop takes you in his golf cart to take you to your suite while greeted by a well manicured vegetation and a clean spacious grounds which provide a peaceful and charming instagrammable welcome to your stay. They have (2) Swimming pools, one is literally just a few steps away from our suite and a lovely infinity pool located near Soraya Restaurant (which is the only restaurant in the premise - I have a separate review for the restaurant) They have a gym and a huge banquet hall/ballroom for special gatherings.
The Room:
We stayed at one of their Executive Suites which provided a comfy, spacious living space for us for 3 days and 2 nights. High ceilings with living room, work space, fridge, mini-bar, a king size bed, a beautiful bathroom with a modern tub and a balcony overlooking the lake and forest which is a wonderful place to chill in the morning with its beautiful and spectacular views; nature's splendor and the calming sound of the birds.
So here are the CONS:
On our 2nd day, we have requested to have our room cleaned while we were out ATV'ing and kayaking, however, the room never got cleaned, this was requested to the front desk when we checked-in. Trying to call the front desk leads you to nowhere as there is no reference # on the phone in the room. All the while, we saw several employees just outside our sliding glass door (in white tops and black pants) giggling and starstrucked with their cellphone cameras on, apparently a celebrity senator and his family was staying right next to us. I do not mind them being excited or wanting to hopefully have a selfie with a celebrity but they are seriously congregated in front of our suite therefore disturbing our stay. We booked the place with peace, quiet and privacy in mind not to mention paid good money for some peace and relaxation, but it seems the employees weren't properly briefed on proper hotel etiquette.
The disregarded request to clean our room was a big let down to their service and what seems to be a lack of respect to their guests privacy. Also on our last day, the AC went bonkers spewing water in our room and on the flat screen TV, their service techs went in our room after we have reported it, which again imposed in our stay all the way to early noon just before the posted check out time, we cannot shower nor finish our packing, one of their employees gave us the extension # to call the front desk to request a late check out, the lady who answered our call was almost hesitant to extend the checkout time having mentioned why we needed our checkout extended, she initially gave us 30 mins!!! seriously??? I have stayed at the Ritz and Four Seasons and at the minimum they will give you an hour or longer especially for a shitty situation not of our own doing, needless to say, I was infuriated and in disbelief which I HAVE NO PROBLEM EXPRESSING, they did extend our checkout for a ludicrous 1hour in the end - BS.
Highland Bali has tons of potential to be a real nice destination, the location and architecture are already there but if they want to keep their "High-End" Resort image, they better improve their SERVICE in some department, have QUALITY & BETTER tasting lunch & dinner menu, it's seriously beyond mediocre, REVIEW and UPDATE their "High End" operations policy as employees seem to lack basic HRM knowledge & etiquette, otherwise, it's just another sleazebag hotel hiding behind a lovely facade. There are so many good things going for them but the bad service is just hard to ignore.
