We stayed here in July this year, and during this time, they were on soft opening, so not all facilities were open. Still, as they already had a pool and allowed pets, we chose this for a quick getaway after a busy month at work.

The Accommodation
Rate per night: Php 4,500 with breakfast for 2
Inclusion: room and breakfast for 2

We wanted the villa, but pets were allowed only at The Dome, so we ended up in this room category. Still, I was surprised at how spacious it was. Our room had two beds and was fully air-conditioned.

The bathroom was also spacious, and it had a separate toilet and bath. This was indeed glamping at its finest, as I tried ‘glamping’ before, but the tent had no adjoining personal bathroom.

The Dome even had a mini-ref and writing desk.

The Pool
Only two rooms were occupied during our stay, so we had the pool to ourselves most of the time, especially since the other family stayed only for a night. 

The pool was not deep, maybe about 5 feet. It was open from 7 AM to 10 PM.

Come night time, I decided to go swimming. The pool was well-lit and there was a lifeguard so I felt safe.

A full moon on our first night
It was a pleasant surprise to see the full moon during our stay. I would have loved to just stay by the pool and swim to my heart’s content, but I also didn’t want to lose the opportunity of seeing the moon from various parts of the resort.

This was favorite full moon shot taken that night.

Isn’t the moon above La Joya’s domes so pretty?

While I was satisfied with the above shot and my Samsung S23 Ultra’s nightography capabilities, it was at this point that I decided to buy a tripod for better night shots.

Sunrise, Day 2
Despite sleeping late after my night swimming and moon-chasing, I woke up early to catch the sunrise.

I followed the colorful skyline and found out that the best sunrise views could be seen from the pool.

So pretty, especially because of the well-defined clouds.

I so loved the views here that I spent almost an hour watching the clouds change colors from light yellow to white, the skyline reflecting beautifully against the water.

Breakfast, Day 2
Set breakfast for 2 was included in the room rate and for my first breakfast here, I had tocilog (tocino, singangag, itlog) and pancakes with bacon.

Their pancakes were good, but the tocino tasted bland, and the bacon wasn’t as crispy as I would have liked. The coffee was good, but the juice seemed powdered.

Random day shots
I spent most of the day napping and reading a book, so I had only a few photos.

Did you notice how most of my photos are of Hobbes? Ha ha! I have more, actually, and he’s so funny because in each one, he’s smiling! All the staff thought he’s so cute.

Later in the afternoon, I had a massage and it was good I slept halfway through my treatment.

Good thing that by this time, we had the whole resort to ourselves, so it was fine to have my massage outdoors. Otherwise, I would have it done in our room.

Sunset, Day 2
The sunset wasn’t really clearly seen, but the skyline did change color late in the afternoon.

I chanced on these views, too.

I followed the skyline, and the closest I could get was this.

Nightography, Day 2
These were taken on my way to the restaurant.

For some reason, I felt tired on this day, perhaps an effect of my very relaxing massage, so I slept early.

A rainbow on our last day
It rained heavily on our 3rd day so I couldn’t watch the sunrise, but was rewarded with these views of the rainbow.

I love how on this vacation, we experienced all sorts of weather (sunny, cloudy, rainy) and phenomena (a full moon and now the rainbow).

Breakfast, Day 3
I had Adobo and, again, pancakes with Bacon. Again, the pancakes were good, but the chicken in the adobo was tough.

Food was my biggest disappointment of my La Joya experience. I don’t mind paying a premium for good food, but for its price, it wasn’t worth it, as I will detail in my next blog about my dining experience in this resort.

Other facilities – Dragon Fruit Farm
This was one interesting feature of the resort and guests could even pick the fruits if they liked.

Known as “pitaya” or “strawberry pear,” the dragon fruit grows on a climbing cactus plant and can live for as long as 2 decades.

Other facilities – Gameroom
This was located adjacent to Umani, the resort’s restaurant. They had billiards, table tennis, foosball, and darts.

Other facilities – Children’s Playground
Outside the Gameroom was the children’s playground with slides, a couch, and a small house.

They also had a gym and a wellness center that I didn’t get to visit. Soon, they said, they would unveil The Zony Garden and their Petting Zoo and Poultry Farm.

Other facilities – Bonfire
A group of friends or family would also be happy to know about La Joya’s bonfire facilities.

Service
The staff were kind, especially my therapist and all the Housekeeping personnel we met. Those assigned at Moni-Moni Bar+Tapas were also commendable, but the ones at Umani badly needed training. They were not sensitive to the needs of their guests. For example, they knew it was so hot but did not turn on the aircon. They turned on the fan but had it focused on them, not the guest. I kept raising my hands for what I needed, and this would have been unnecessary if they had focused on their customer instead of talking with each other.

The arrival process can also be improved because we got held up at the gate for 10 unnecessary minutes because the guard still had to verify with the Front Desk if we had a reservation; it took longer because the Front Desk he radioed was not at the reception. I showed the guard my booking confirmation, but he insisted on checking with the Front Desk. Wouldn’t it be simpler to just give the guards a list of all arriving guests for the day?

During our check-in, a staff brought 2 welcome drinks and noticed I was alone so she asked how many persons would be staying. I said just one and a dog. This information was already given upon booking and I even reconfirmed my reservations a week prior and was not really a big deal, but I was amused when the staff promptly removed the second glass of welcome drinks. So much for a warm welcome.

La Joya is located on Jose G. Escario Street, Sto. Rosario, Aloguinsan, 6040 Cebu. Visit their official Facebook page or website for more information.