Avis !!!New residential complex on the way from Kalibo Airport to Boracay !!!

this a disaster for us. arrived at the property 330pm 14january2023 philippine time. the property manager rejected our paid reservation as the property owner had never received notification from expedia or vrbo about this particular transaction. since it's getting late, we negotiated with the property owner/manager to proceed with the transaction with us paying cash anew with their new price rate. we were let into the property 630pm where we found the property hardly prepared for guests: debris/dust, faulty aircon, absence of clean linens. we asked for a full refund of our advance payment.

We stayed at Jean's house in Aklan for 10 days (in mid-January) and the home is conveniently located in Numancia. For those who want to stay close to Kalibo but not in the city proper, or for those who want to live like a local, this area is perfect! The house was very comfortable, clean, and brand new in a private gated community with a 24-hour guard. There is shuttle service from the neighborhood to Kalibo center that runs every 30-60 minutes. I felt safe walking around inside and outside the community during the day and within the neighborhood at night is fine also. My family and I were able to enjoy Kalibo Ati-Atihan and Ibajay Ati-Atihan, as well as a side trip to Boracay in between the festivals. Overall, our stay was comfortable and pleasant. There are a few areas of improvement though. First, there is no air conditioner in the house. There is an air cooler which was just as effective as a fan. I was able to borrow fans from my family members which helped us tremendously at night since we have an infant. It took us a couple of days/nights to get acclimated to the weather. In the summer months, I could not imagine staying anywhere without air conditioner, but that's just me being "spoiled". Second, there were dishes, but nothing to cook with. Again, we borrowed (from our family) basic cookware such as pans/pots and cookware utensils. We went into town to buy basic things like drinking water, coffee, paper towels, snacks, dish soap, rice, breakfast items, etc. - not a bad experience since we had a car to get around and knew where to go for these things. Even if you didn't, the shuttle service is readily available. Third, there was no hot water. Since it's hot in the Philippines, cold showers are tolerable but can get old after awhile. Fourth, since this is a new community, there was construction next door. The workers worked reasonable hours so it didn't bother us. This is totally out of Jean's control but thought I should just mention. Overall, I would recommend staying here - great location, comfortable enough, and inexpensive.