Dusit Thani Cebu: Is it really lux and 5-star?

Dusit Thani’s photos of its infamous infinity pool on its website and all over social media made me curious so I wanted to go visit and see if it looks just as nice as it is in photos. I love resort staycations and it’s my son’s birthday so I thought it would be a great time to book a home away from home.

It’s been a while since we last had a staycation. I think the last was still at Solea in December 2020 so I booked a two-night stay on Booking.com and couldn’t wait to experience Dusit Thani!

Dusit is situated towards the tip part of the island so it’s a bit farther than other resorts in Mactan. One advantage of this is it’s less busy and more secluded, and it feels more private in a way.

Coming from the south, it took about an hour and a half to reach via taxi. When we got there, we were greeted by a huge, grand lobby – and their receptionist of course. The reception area where you check in looked like a makeshift space – I think because they were still making fixes due to typhoon Odette. This was back in April of this year.

Nonetheless, check-in was fast and easy. My online booking was a reservation only so I had to pay upon arrival. There was a PHP 3,000 incidental deposit and although I already knew this is typical in most hotels, I appreciated that the receptionist went the extra mile to explain what the hold was for and how it would affect my credit card.

Okay now – read more to find out what I love about Dusit Thani and what I think could still be improved for a better experience.

3 Things I Love About Dusit Thani

First – accommodating and friendly staff

The hotel personnel who assisted us to our room was very polite and accommodating. He asked permission to walk us through the room and give a mini-tour and I thought that was a nice touch.

On our first night, we had a buffet dinner at the resort. There are also lots of restaurants to choose from. The selection was decent and the food was good, plus the waiters were accommodating and quick, especially that one waiter who kept asking how we were doing or if we needed anything.

I normally want to be left alone while eating and don’t like being served at all when I can get up and do it myself, but that time I felt kind of tired so I gladly accepted the attention.

Second – the infinity pool!

I think it goes without saying that their infinity pool is the highlight of the resort. Because it’s huge, it feels like you can still have your own private space. There weren’t that many people when we went so it felt private. I also loved that the pool was overlooking the sea. It was a sight to behold that provided a feeling of calm and quiet.

I took these photos when it was still a bit brighter. It became gloomy after so we just went back inside the room.

Third – our lovely room with a view of the pool & the sea

The only downside of this is that it can disturb the peace and relaxation in your room because you can hear people in the pool talking.

Here are other services and amenities they have.

3 Things That Can Still Be Better

I don’t intend to be nitpicky but I think what’s unique about writing your experience is that you get to share what feels good to you and what you feel can still be improved. I felt like there were a few things that would have made the stay even better for us.

First – the response time

Our bathroom door wouldn’t close properly. Normally, this wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for me except that the water would splash out the door when we’d take a shower so it was an inconvenience. We called the front desk to see if they could do something about it. They acknowledged but no one came to check even after calling 3 times. So we just let it go. 🙂

Second – the beach

I’m not sure if it’s because it was raining recently or they didn’t have enough staff to clean up – but the beach was not clean at all. Unfortunately 🙁 And I don’t mean the seaweed only but there’s actual garbage in the water. Obviously, the pool is the highlight of the resort but it would have been nice to swim at the beach without all the floating trash.

Here are some beach photos. It would have been a nice place to relax too. Do take note that this was back in April and it’s highly likely they have already addressed this now.

Third – it would have been nice to have sanitary napkins available upon request (even if I have to pay extra)

Not mad, maybe they really just ran out – but I just thought that if the public toilets in malls, for example, are always stashed, I see no reason why a 5-star hotel is not. TMI – my period came in a week earlier than expected so I didn’t bring any.

Good thing I was able to enjoy the pool on our first day of stay. Ughh – to be a woman can be such a pain I know.

Other than what I mentioned, we truly enjoyed the pool and the sea view room. It was refreshing to see the ocean from our balcony. The room felt lux despite the inconvenience with the bathroom door that was never resolved. Lol.

Overall, the customer service was great and very much appreciated. They were also very considerate when I told them that Reiko only eats eggs and hotdogs so it would be a total waste of money to pay for the breakfast buffet for him. Thankfully, they were okay with it. I mean he could just sit there with us and not eat or they could allow him to just eat eggs for free. Right?

Every experience is different and as a frequent ‘staycationer’, I’m very patient and considerate. I acknowledge that some things don’t go as planned and expected so whatever happens in our staycation or my workcation, I always do my best to enjoy, relax, and take advantage of other amenities available.

My overall review ⬇️