We stayed at Discovery Shores from Feb 12-15 and had a truly wonderful time. Unlike the previous reviews our booking was handled efficiently by the resort staff (I emailed them directly) and we were picked up on time at the airport. We did have to wait around 15 minutes for the boat ride but for me it was a minor inconvenience.

We booked the two bedroom deluxe suite and it was truly an amazing suite. We all loved the jacuzzi spa on the balcony, it was amazing to sit in the jacuzzi looking out on to the beach! I highly recommend getting a room with the jacuzzi, it's worth it. The beds were comfortable although a bit awkward for couples since they're two double beds put together, but perfect for families with children I think. The design of the resort may be a bit too 'modern' for people used to native style cottage resorts, and thus it does feel a bit 'soulless' and not as charming as other resorts... as for me I do prefer the modern Filipino interior design used in the rooms.

The service was amazing, especially room service and the service on the lounge area by the beach. I have visited boracay for over ten years now and have gotten to expect the slow, 'island life' service (no one's in a hurry in paradise) but Discovery Shores service was up to "city" standards.

Fortunately for us, none of us got food poisoning nor did we have problems with hot water, unlike the other reviews. We did only eat at the resort for breakfast and lunch and would go out for dinner. My only complaint perhaps is that guests aren't allowed to get massages by the beach lounge chairs, and can only get one at Discovery's own (overpriced) resort spa (I have a regular Boracay masseuse and I was looking forward to having a massage by the beach, we had to get one inside our suite instead).

Overall we had a great experience. It is comparatively a pricey resort for Boracay but I think it is worth it. We'll definitely come back!

From the air conditioned transfer from Caticlan airport to the complimentary foot massage awaiting us as we entered our room, we knew that we were going to have a very good experience within minutes after arriving at the airport. The junior suite we stayed in was large and comfortable, equipped with a widescreen TV, iPod dock, two large queen-sized beds (where a native bag with complimentary beauty products awaited her, while a hat and sunblock awaited me), a large bathroom with a separate, outside sink, and small native snacks suddenly awaiting us almost every time we returned to the room from the beach.

The staff was very courteous, and the service, particularly when you're at the pool or beach front, was impeccable. If you toss your shirt on the beach chair before running into the water, when you glance back, you'll see it has already been folded and placed neatly on the table beside your chair. When you're lounging in the sun, they periodically come around to serve you complimentary fruit juice, iced water, cookies and sherbet.

The food is excellent, although the selection could be wider and the serving time could have been a little better. Still, when with good company, that second problem really isn't a bother.

Would I go back? Absolutely. In fact, I've already scheduled my return visit for this March. I can't imagine going back to the places I used to stay at in Boracay now that I've been to Discovery Shores.

At the hotel, the rooms were beautiful and the service great. I grant that. But I agree with the previous review that the entire experience starts with booking.

When I booked my vacation with Discovery, I also had a difficult time getting a response from the reservation officers. After I had confirmed the reservation and supplied all the information, I never received my statement of account.

When I contacted them myself to make my payment, I was informed that their rates had increased and were about 20% higher than quoted. This was two weeks before my trip and it was too late to make other arrangements.

The transfer to Caticlan was very confusing. Upon landing in Caticlan, we were pretty much abandoned to unidentified men. We had no idea if the people passing our luggage around were still Discovery staff becuase they looked like street people in T-shirts, shorts and slippers. Then they asked us to walk to the airport since their vehicle was not available.

The worst part of the vacation however was the food poisoning 6 of us got from the hotel. Their response was to say they were investigating the incident and encouraged us to go to a doctor and have tests. After 2 days of hell and wanting to die, we did NOT feel that was good enough, especially from a hotel that is charging more than $300 a night.

My husband and I enjoy frequent travel and pleasants resorts. We anticipated to be staying at Fridays but do to our reservation being lost we checked into the new Discovery Shores. We were soon very sorry to have done so as the hotel is very soulless. The staff are also less than friendly and on two out of three nights there was no hot water in our room. I am sorry but when you are paying over $500 a night for your stay this is simply unacceptable. When after the second night of not being able to have a hot shower I requested a discount of the full price I was treated very poorly by the staff who made it clear that 'guests who normally stay there do not require discounts' and there was nothing they would do. I was basically made to feel like I was asking for a discount of a room for no reason. My husband and I checked out after the 3rd night and after a lengthy argument (so that we would not be charged for our remaining 4th night) the hotel agreed to only refund 50% off the nights that we were not staying for! We were tired of arguing on our holiday and so paid it so to not waste any more of our holiday time.

We found a wonderful (much nicer!!! and with great service) hotel just down the road where we enjoyed the rest of our holiday! Boracay is truly paradise.