道戴蒙大飯店(Dao Diamond Hotel & Restaurant)

When I booked the Dao Diamond Hotel, we had to call them on the phone, as they don’t do online booking. They suggested using Facebook Messenger in the future. We booked a Superior room with a microwave, sink, and refrigerator. When we checked in, we asked to see one of their refurbished Deluxe rooms while our Superior one was being prepared. The Deluxe appeared to be a larger and much better room, though it didn't have a microwave or sink (they both had refrigerators). We'll try the Deluxe room next time. This hotel has mostly-deaf staff, though the girl at the front desk hears; I believe the organization that runs the hotel is right next door. A bulb inside the door of our room and another over the bed weren't working. The lighting in our room was dim. The WiFi didn’t work on my girlfriend's phone, but the desk agent was able to get it working. The safe was too small for a laptop. The bed has a sheet, which I prefer to the heavy comforters you usually get in the Philippines. The only water in the room is paid. We couldn’t find a way to turn off the bright TV, with no signal, so we unplugged it. The satellite receiver was still lit up, however. The AC is fairly noisy, and there’s some street noise too. I found a bug on the paper I was using as a mouse pad. There were more towels here than at other hotels we stayed at on this trip: face, hand, and shower ones. There was lots of counter space in the bathroom, but it was otherwise tight. The toilet paper was rather weak. A la carte breakfasts were 200 pesos each. I liked my girlfriend's hot dog with rice: it tasted a bit like an English/Irish breakfast sausage. When we ate dinner at Kahiki Café the food was well prepared and the fries were outstanding. You have to write out your order for the waiter. We didn’t try the pool, but it looked nice. My impression is that this is a superior hotel by Philippines standards, at least if you get the refurbished Deluxe room. When we checked out of Dao Diamond, they only charged us 1,812 pesos, $33 at the time, not the $41 their website indicated. They had a tuk-tuk there to take us to our next destination. We ended up rating Dao Diamond the 3rd and 6th (me and her) best hotel of the thirteen hotels we stayed in in the Philippines on this trip, and it was the favorite in Tagbilaran for both of us. It is a ways from the town center, of course, but not too far from ICM mall.

It was very nice. Someone directed us to it, before phone service was restored, and I didn't realize that they employed deaf people, until we were in the dining room. I'm starting a small tourist place, where we plan to have some positions for PWD. So I was very pleased to stumble upon this place, that I see functioning so well. A few people in our farming community, have suffered accidents. I will attempt to create positions for those with mobility issues. I'm also making the whole place very accessible for guests with mobility issues.