It was nine in the morning when we woke up. The sky was finally showing some colors and the beach looked inviting—quite far from the previous night’s seething waves. At last, the weather seemed to be clearing up. I stripped off my shirt, unmindful that I haven’t even had breakfast yet, and ran to the sandy shore of Guimaras’ Guisi Beach.

Coming from Iloilo City, we decided to head to Guimaras to spend a couple of nights before pushing through to Boracay. Alubihod Beach is the usual beach of choice when in the island, but we want none of that. We want something more secluded, a place where most tourists find too far to stay in. Guisi Beach was the obvious choice.

► CHECK OUT: BORACAY TRAVEL GUIDE

And when in Guisi Beach, there really aren’t that much options when it comes to accommodations. As of this writing, it has only two lodgings for tourists; Guisi Clearwater Beach Resort and Kenyama Resort.

We chose the former since they have more affordable rates and have a beachfront property.

►CHECK KENYAMA RESORT RATES & AVAILABILITY

Rates start at ₱700.00 for their two-person fan rooms. With that kind of rate, I knew we really shouldn’t be expecting much. And we were quite right. Guisi Clearwater Beach Resort is a basic, no-frills accommodation for the not-so-picky traveler.

►EXPLORE: GUIMARAS TRAVEL GUIDE

The rooms were furnished by nothing but beds; no bedside tables, no closets. The walls are unpainted, the floor was laid with linoleum, the doors are made from woven sawali reeds and there were no electrical outlets inside for charging our gadgets.

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Like any modern travelers, we’ve got loads of electronic stuff to charge, good thing there’s an electrical outlet at the common area right outside the rooms. When we’re not charging there, we’re doing it at the restaurant at the ground floor of the resort.

There are eight types of rooms at Guisi Clearwater Beach Resort, each one varying in capacity. A few are air-conditioned, but only one of them has an en suite toilet and bath. For the rest of us cheapskate travelers, there is the common toilet at the far end of the second floor. It’s clean enough, but improvements are definitely welcome.

Guisi Clearwater Beach Resort’s published rates as of March 2014:

Fan Room (2 Pax) ₱700.00
Fan Room (4 Pax) ₱1,200.00
Fan Room (6 Pax) ₱1,700.00
Family Cottage (10 Pax) ₱1,300.00
Dorm Type Cottage (10 Pax) ₱1,800.00
Aircon Room (4 Pax) ₱1,600.00
Aircon Room De Luxe (2 Pax) ₱2,000.00 with Breakfast
Aircon Room (6 Pax) ₱2,200.00

Breakfast is not included in the resort’s rates, so you have to shell out at least ₱80.00 per meal at their open-aired restaurant at the ground floor. You can eat there, but during our stay we requested to have it served at the huts right beside the beach.

There are no nearby eateries and sari-sari stores in the area, so better bring your own snacks if you’re the snacking kind of traveler. I heard that you can bring some food in, but they do charge a hundred bucks for corkage. We brought in a bagful of homemade chicharon from the Guimaras market, which was really, really good by the way, and they didn’t charge us for that. I’m guessing snacks are corkage-free.

Would I recommend Guisi Clearwater Beach Resort? If you’re looking for luxury and pampering, this resort is definitely not for you. But if you’re on the hunt for a no-frills, backpacker-cheap accommodation while in Guisi Beach, then this one rightly fits the bill. Plus, the iconic Guisi Lighthouse is just a stone throw’s away from the resort, perfect if you want to photograph it during sunrise and sunsets.

 

UPDATE 2022

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NEWLY RENOVATED GUISI CLEARWATER BEACH RESORT

I haven’t been back in Guimaras for quite a while and while browsing through Facebook, I found that Guisi Clearwater Beach Resort has taken major renovations in their resort. The no-frills rooms are now all beautifully done!

Definitely looking forward in staying in their new rooms the next time we visit Guimaras!

PHOTOS FROM THEIR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

Here are their latest rates as of February 11, 2022, note that these are Pandemic Rates so it may change once the pandemic has been lifted.

 

Beach View Rooms:
₱2,200.00 Couple Room A/C for 2pax
₱1,800.00 Fan room for 2pax

Other Second Floor Rooms:
₱4,000.00 Family Room A/C for 6pax
₱3,500.00 Fan Room for 6pax
₱3,000.00 Family Room A/C room for 4pax
₱2,500.00 Fan Room for 4pax

Ground Floor Rooms:
₱1,800.00 Aircon Room for 2pax
₱1,500.00 Fan Room for 2pax

Guisi Clearwater Beach Resort
Address: Brgy. Dolores, Nueva Valencia
Contact Number: (0999) 887-0038
Email: guisi_beach@yahoo.com | Facebook
GPS Coordinates Map: 10.484505, 122.476373
Guimaras Tour Guide:
Cherald Pajodenog (0908) 474-8122

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