Azalea Hotels & Residences is a 3.5 star property located in Station 2, only 200 meters away from the best beach in Boracay. With large rooms and a homely feeling, this hotel is a great choice for families and everyone who likes the Airbnb style of vacation. The affordable rates also mean this is one of the better choices for people who are on a budget, but still want to stay at a nice hotel and close to the action.
Azalea is by no means a luxury hotel, and its major downside is its distance from the beach. That said, we included it in our portfolio thanks to its very unique characteristics – an apartment style accommodation right at the heart of White Beach’s busiest section. If you want to feel like you have a second home while in Boracay, then Azalea is certainly one of the better choices out there.
This is a fairly large property, and the serviced apartment style also means special services are limited. It is not the place to expect a personal service at. With that in mind, the staff are always friendly and helpful, especially if something is broken in the room and needs fixing. We never heard any complaint from our clients regarding the level of service at this place.
One of the best features of this place is how clean and well maintained it is. Everything is brand new and working well.
Even the most basic room option is significantly larger than you usually get in White Beach. The larger rooms are very big and can easily accommodate a family of 4 or 5. Everything is new and the beds are very comfortable. A particular highlight is the WiFi – it's very rare to find a place that offers reliable signal in Boracay.
The biggest downside to this place is the fact you have to walk for 3-4 minutes just to get to the beach. At least the walk is comfortable and goes through a relatively wide paved road. There's a very nice and large pool on the roof, with a separate area for kids – so that at least somewhat improves the situation.
Even though its a bit far from the beach, the location is very good. Reaching the hotel is easy, especially since they have their own pickup service directly from Caticlan airport. You'll be staying at the very center of station 2, the most active area in Boracay – so bars, restaurants and shops are always just a few minutes walk away from your hotel.
Azalea has a very specific clientele who will enjoy its services. For families, this is an excellent choice and there's no chance they will feel disappointed. For a relatively low amount, you get a large modern room with all possible amenities being at the highest standard. Considering the usual rates for hotels on White Beach, this one is a real bargain.
Station 2 is the most strategic location, right in the middle of Boracay’s White Beach, and Azalea is situated at one of the best parts of that area. Being a part off the beach is slightly less convenient, but it also you means you get to enjoy more peace and quiet. If you’d like a more fancy hotel which is right near the action, our top recommendation would be the COAST resort. While Azalea can’t compete with those standards, it offers a cheaper alternative. People who want a similarly priced beach resort in station 2 should check out either Pinjalo or Nigi Nigi.
Over the last 2 years Azalea residences has enjoyed an impeccable reputation among its guests. We have never received any complaint from anyone we sent there, apart from the fact is too far from the beach. That is why we make a real effort to emphasize this detail as much as possible throughout this review, and repeat it constantly. Still, we felt like it would be useful to also go over the major booking sites and see what users there had to say about the hotel.
We found 125 reviews at Tripadvisor, with an average score of 4 out of 5. Most people really liked the place, with only 8% rating their stay as below average. Guests enjoyed the inroom kitchen and other facilities, and many mentioned how comfortable and clean the rooms were. The view from the rooftop pool was also mentioned several times. The few complaints we noticed were about lack of attentiveness by staff members, and the fact there are added charges for many services.
Booking.com shows 395 user reviews and an average score of 8.6 – one of the highest ratings in Boracay. People really loved the rooms and the breakfast, as well as the service and overall family friendly vibe. We were surprised to see the WiFi got such bad feedback though, because we never had any issues with it while staying there. It's worth mentioning that Booking show Azalea as a 4 star hotel, which is completely false. The fact people still gave it a high score is very impressive, as we would expect many to be disappointed by the misrepresentation.
There are also 498 reviews on Agoda, where the score is 8.4 – again, one of the better ratings for any station 2 hotel. Again, the hotel is featured as a 4.5 stars estate, when in reality it's closer to 3.5 stars only. Still, almost all guests really liked their stay there, with the rooms and breakfast getting special praise. We did notice some people complained about long waiting times for checking in and out, as well as slow service at the hotel restaurant.
Here is why we think this hotel is worth staying at:
However, there are also a few reasons to rethink booking a room here:
Breakfast is included in the price and so are a few other services. The most important one is the free transfer service from Caticlan airport – it’s much nicer to have your own private boat and a comfy van taking you to all the way to the hotel’s doorstep. Apart from that, Azalea also offers free shuttle services to other beaches in Boracay such as Bulabog and Puka beach.
All in all, the Azalea Hotel and Residence is a great choice for those who want to take a few steps away from the crowds of White Beach but still stay close to the action. Combined with the extremely affordable prices, it’s a perfect solution for families who don’t want to break the bank sleeping in the most popular area of Boracay. As long as you understand the limitations which are inherent in such accommodation type, we are certain you’ll have a wonderful time there.
This is the most basic room category and it’s the only one which has a more standard hotel vibe to it. Still, with 30m2 its almost twice as big as most standard rooms in White Beach hotels. The room comes with 2 queen size beds, so it can comfortably fit a family of 4.
This is a 40m2 apartment with a kitchen, living room and a separate bedroom. The bedroom has 1 king size bed, and there’s also a sofa bed in the living area – so this is a good choice for a family of 4.
These are 60 and 72 square meters respectively. Each bedroom has 1 king size bed, while the living area also has a sofa bed.
