Sunday, December 30, 2007

A scam in Boracay?!


Has anybody heard about “Diniwid Beach Resort” in Boracay? I bet nobody does, nor most people in Boracay. But try clicking their websites (here and here) and you will see a very enticing place supposedly just beside the beach. Well, it’s supposedly a “beach resort.” So my architect friend booked and paid here in Manila hoping she could bring joy and warm welcome to a sister who came from Canada. Upon landing in Boracay, they were surprised that nobody knows about the “beach resort” and were shocked to learn it’s not located beside the sea but an interior, almost like a squatter’s area. In her blog, my friend Louise recalls:

"Imagine to our surprise when we arrive yesterday at Diniwid Beach, looking for the Diniwid Beach Resort, and there was no Local who can point to us where's it located... After almost 30 minutes of asking around, she finally found where it was, only after she mentioned the owner's name.

And there we saw our place, after being led to an alley. A shack of a house [see picture], absolutely different from what was advertised on the web. Ano to, squatter's area?, my Ate was furious. The steps leading upstairs was only about 18" wide, too steep, my folks would sure slip any time, if they can even manage to climb it at the first place. The other cottage showed to us was more deplorable. Instantly, we decided to transfer to a better location…"


Refund! That’s the only solution when you are misled but the operator, a british national, wouldn’t return the money. Says Louise:

"Negotiating if we can get a refund for the deceit the Owner did to us, we were met by her rough British husband who flatly declared a NO REFUND policy. It seemed that he owns the place and uses only the local as his front."

The gall! Louise said she is going to file complaints at the local tourism office and I hope she gets her money back soon.


The local tourism office, nay the entire local government should act on scams like this before it destroys the image of Boracay

So let everybody be warned about this “resort” (kuno).

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well I guess that's a lesson learned. You could never be too sure about this kind of things. SO, when traveling, be sure to check it out, double check ... have feedbacks from someone you trust.

If you just want to have a cheap travel, I guess ... what I had was the best of it:
www.intiendes.com/boracay-on-a-budget/

The Baeay hotel is owned by the Terol's .. the same owner as the seawind :)

Anonymous said...

We almost booked there. We just decided not to when they couldn't tell us exactly how far they are from the beach. We booked at Boracay Terraces instead.
If you are in a budget and wants to stay in station 1, I suggest you go to Cottage Queen. It is very basic but very very cheap (it is a hut). It's just next to Fridays.

Anonymous said...

there is a Diniwid Beach. It's located in the southern part of Boracay. We stayed in Microtel located in Diniwid beach last month and the place is awesome. You could have double-checked the rooms online before you booked because there are indeed lots of small residential areas there at the back of diniwid..

Boracay Hotels said...

Grabe naman, pati ba naman hotel nasscam pa. Kung sa bagay kung ako siguro yun baka pinakulong ko pa siya.. hahaha



Tanya Gemarin

Boracay Hotels said...

Ba careful next time. tsk sama nmn nun.

Anonymous said...

There is certainly a scam in diniwid when it comes to land grabbing..let me know if you need more info..

caledfwlch said...

Boracay Luxury Homes Property Scam

It beings me much sadness to inform you all that an even worse kind of fraud is operating in Boracay.

Visitors are being scammed out of as much as 30,000,000 Pesos in a scheme that appears as if it is a real estate agent.

The fraudsters have been mentioned in several newspapers already and we must do our best to bring them to absolute justice.

Here you can read the most recent and shocking newspaper article:

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/news/top-stories/25795-vampires-in-boracay

Beating Of Your Heart said...

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