Where to stay in Oslob: Lagunde Beach Resort

For our trip down South, my family and I stayed at Lagunde Beach Resort.

About a week before our trip, I contacted several inns and resorts in the Oslob area. Malonzo Pension House, the top-rated Oslob accommodation in TripAdvisor, “seen-zoned” my Facebook message and ignored my SMS, which pissed me off at first. Even if you don’t have room, you could at least do the decent thing and say “no,” right?

But that actually turned out to be a good thing because Lagunde Beach Resort was perfect for us.

They have a beach house, separate from the rest of the resort rooms, that has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and can easily accommodate 10-12 people. The beach house also has a spacious living area, a big dining table, a large fridge, a water dispenser, and a kitchen where you can cook/heat your own food. No corkage fees. The nightly rate of PHP 5,950 (for 10 persons) was absolutely worth it.
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There’s a beach and a pool. The kids in our group (which may or may not have included me, haha) loved wading in the sea, playing in the sand, spotting hermit crabs, and looking for pretty rocks and seashells. When high tide came and the waves became too strong, we simply transferred to the pool, which had deep and shallow areas, a diving board, and steps where even toddlers can play and wade. The recreational facilities were very useful because, as it turned out, not everyone wanted to go swim with whale sharks and they opted to stay and swim in the resort.
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The service was great. Hannah, the owner’s daughter, was very friendly and answered all our pre-trip questions promptly. When we arrived at the resort, there was a handmade sign welcoming us (and other guests) to the resort — a nice touch. Ate Mol helped us with our whale shark watching arrangements and the other staff were also helpful, friendly and courteous.
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The only drawback I can think of was that the water pressure was sometimes low, but I suspect that this is true for many other places in Oslob, and Lagunde had a water tank to help cope with the problem.