Drifters Guest House and Apartelle
Get your trip off to a great start with a stay at this property, which offers car park free of charge. Conveniently situated in the Lanang part of Davao City, this property puts you close to attractions and interesting dining options. Don't leave before paying a visit to the famous Davao Crocodile Park. As an added bonus, outdoor pool is provided on-site to conveniently serve your needs.
Car park
Luggage storage
Swimming pool [outdoor]
Bar
Laundry service
Room service
Safety deposit boxes
Poolside bar
Highest reviewer score in Davao - and well earned!”
About me: 28 year old Canadian MD traveling with my father and his GF. Why drifters: I found drifters because it had the highest review score on Agoda - Davao. OVERALL SUMMARY: Small/minor issues (as listed below) do nothing to detract from what is overall a fantastic hotel at an exceptional price. Value for money here cannot be beat. I would recommend to anyone and if I return to Davao I would stay here again. General: No frills kind of place, very simple decore, nothing elaborate. Value for money = exceptional The owner is super nice / friendly The staff is the same Small place, only 7 rooms, inside of a gated community ~10km from down down. Very close to SM Lanang mall, Grocery store, gas station, drug store. Pool is decent, nothing special Motorcycles for rent are new model, plenty of power, in mint condition. Price for motorbike rental is very reasonable. Pub: The pub is the highlight of this hotel. Draft San Miguel 45p/glass Bottles 55p Food is excellent in quality/quantity Price for a meal 180-320p, super reasonable The restaraunt was good enough we would often choose to eat there rather than go out. Plus it's cheaper than the vast majority of places anyway. Room: Spacious room with a kitchen/fridge Plenty of storage place Comfortable bed Air conditioning, television What more do you want? DOWNSIDES: The A/C unit in my room would struggle to keep the room cool during very hot and sunny days. It was never uncomfortably warm, but this might bother some. Limited storage/shelf space in bathroom. In my room the shower didn't drain great and would flood a bit over by the sink. Like the AC, this didn't bother me, but it might bother some Other than that, can't say anything bad about this place. I'm a world traveller and this would be my second favorite hotel overall. But even #2 overall is still abdolutely fantastic praise!
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Excellent hospitality”
Arrived at Drifters after a 21 hour flight. They are located in a quiet suburban area just a 10 minute taxi ride from the airport, which is a good thing when you are jetlagged and just want to stop traveling and rest. The standard rooms has a fridge, no cooking facilities, unlike the deluxe rooms which is a fully laid out apartment with all you need for making your own food. The courtyard pool is clean and has a shallow part, good when you have small children like we did. Bert and Marnita are excellent hosts and will also recommend you where to go - or not. Absolutely recommended, unless you want the downtown hustle and bustle - stress, to me - on top of all you do, this is a quiet "base" where you can venture to about everywhere in Davao in 30 minutes by taxi. Thankfully they do not have a videoke... so if you want to RELAX after a busy day sightseeing, you cannot go wrong with Drifters.
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The jewel of Tiera Nova”
I'll start with the one negative... We had a small ant problem, but that is like that in the Philippines, so store food in the fridge..... ALL FOOD. Beauty is subjective so I will skip aesthetics. The area that the hotel is located is in the heart of the Tiera Nova subdivision. This means that you don't hear the traffic of the city which provides a relaxing stay. A cab is but a phone call and a few minutes wait away; staff calls cab upon your request. For the fitness enthusiasts, BeeFIT gym is a few Kilometer/Mile walk (30-45 minutes) one way from the Apartelle (one-way) which is a perfect cardio session on its own. The rooms... They are big... Simple, but big in comparison to most rooms in many hotels in the Philippines. The staff they are very friendly and accomadating. I really wish i can expand on the last two but the shirt statements trully explain the all. The bottom line is that i would recommend the stay and it was worth every last penny.
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My favourite hotel in Davao City.”
This is a great place. Good location - less than 30 minutes from the airport. Is located in a quiet residential area. Real nice feel about this place full stop. Nice places on the grounds to sit outside and eat or talk or relax. Has a small pool. The food I think is nice (really good hamburgers). The rooms are large and possibly the most comfortable beds I have slept in. Aircon is real sweet. Bathroom nice and nice hot showers. Absolutely love their television package. Reasonable TVs in the rooms, with one of the best Cable/TV packages I have experienced in almost 2 years of traveling in the Philippines. Premium Movies, and as an Australian the best thing is they have Setanta and Australia Plus - so I can watch both the NRL and Australian football. This is rare in the Philippines. They also have a sports/games lounge where you can watch your sport on genuinely large TVs. Only one negative. During my last visit their internet was not upto the standard it has been in the past. The upstairs wi-fi internet I was not able to access - the poolside internet was usable only some of the time. If they fix this problem in the future will be the perfect place to stay. This place is the place to stay in Davao. Much better than the so called fancy places like Insular Waterfront or places like that and much more reasonably priced.
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Very pleased”
Me and my family really enjoyed our stay here. The airport pick up was great as we had a lot of bags, being 5 of us altogether. The place is small but very well laid out. It is finished to a very high standard. The pool is great for kids. The staff were very helpful and always pleasant. Its very close to the airport so a bit of a distance to city centre from this place. But we really enjoyed taking the jeepneys and tricyckes for the experience plus it was a hell of a lot cheaper that way. Got a taxi from the staff a few times and it was very reasonable rate to the city evertime. If you have young kids on your trip and are going to davao i cant recommend this place more highly. Kitchen facilities in the room were very good also. I will be going back to this place for sure.
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Nice sleeper ”
this was our first time at Drifters - it's a nice little place to stay. The owner was very kind, and we loved her cooking - great food. Our son really enjoyed swimming in the pool. It's a little bit of a walk to the shops outside the gate, but they are quite close to the airport - we will definitely stay again. Family sized rooms are a real plus.
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Cozy! ”
Davao can be so busy that u need a place like drifters just to get some sleep. Its near enough to the city yet far away from the hustle and noise that a big city brings..
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Best Place in Davao by Far ”
Very impressed with my stay here Excellent motorbikes avaible for hire not a hotel more of a home from home nothing ever to much trouble for the staff and owners A huge thankyou espically to bert the owner for all his help and advice throughtout our stay Will deffinatley return for me the only place to stay in davao Thank you again (The lollipop man fom the uk)
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very good value”
Incredibly friendly and polite staff. Definitely got more than I expected for the price. Only thing that should be improved is a loud aircon in room. Location is quiet and looks safe. Quite big selection of tasty food. Clean room and bathroom.
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CONFERENCE STAY”
The hotel is remote from the city and from the SMX Conference Center where we were attending a Congress. The Apartelle is in the middle of a housing estate. The taxi drivers had difficulty in finding it despite (or maybe that should be because of) the signs that are on the roads. If you don't have a car of your own, then it is difficult to get to restaurants. The motorbike taxis are frequent, but not set up for hotel guests to go to anywhere other than the main road. If you want to see central Davao then this hotel is not the place to stay.
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hidden gem”
Other than the occasional drop out in power (for everyone not just this hotel) can't speak highly enough of this place. Great friendly staff. Facilities and service are both well above the asking price per night. Value for money..
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Repeat customer”
I have visited many times in drifters even suggested to many others to stay. This last visit was less then expected, with added frustrations from the staff as well. The net was unusable in the evening, could not stay on long enough to have a conversation on skype, the room took hours to get cool, then the staff argued with me over my the fact that mu breakfast was not included, when I booked a room including breakfast. Then they wanted to say it only was breakfast for 1 included. On top of that we had to ask for our included juice with breakfast and then they charged extra for that because she gave us a canned juice. After i asked twice this is included in the breakfast? To say the least, this place has really diminished in my eyes. And not sure I will be returning now.
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Excellent”
I got an upgraded room when I got there. The room was very spacious. It was really more than what I paid for. The staff were also kind and accomodating.
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Great place, very affordable!”
My daughter, my wife and I loved the place, big cozy clean room with small kitchenette. Very relaxing place. Staff was very courteous and polite. Big english breakfast was huge and delicious. We will be back.
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a very pet friendly place”
The staff are great, we originally planned to stay only for 2 nights but the place and staff were great and very accommodating especially when we brought our darling pet dog with us. We extended for another night. ;)
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Budget accommodation”
It a good price accommodation, basic but thats all I needed. Off the beaten track in a housing subdivision, nothing happening in the area, nice and quiet.
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Nice place Ant problem is not an issue for me.”
Great!!!! Ambiance is very nice and comforting. Friendly staff. Cute and friendly tiny dog, Valentino, adds attraction to the place.
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Better than hotels”
Great place Great staff All great Only 4 out of 5 cos if give 5 Nowhere for them to go
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Second time to stay here;has gone downhill”
First time we stayed here it was really good in the bar and foodwise as well as service.The room was basic and about the same but the waitress was really too busy playing with face book to serve us and even then brought out a cold pie...and we were the only two customers in the restaurant..
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A great place to stay.”
Great place to stay, the staff are wonderful!
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