Anaya Inn and Restobar

Anaya Inn and Restobar: 21 Rooms, Six Minutes From the Sand

Anaya Inn and Restobar sits on Anos Fonacier Circumferential Road, about a six-minute walk from Alona Beach. On Booking.com it carries a 6.1 review score from 28 reviews, and Stay22 benchmarks rates from around PHP 2,000 a night against comparable Panglao properties at a similar score — placing it at the lower-rated, budget end of this batch.

Twenty-One Rooms

The inn runs 21 rooms, each air-conditioned with a private bathroom, free toiletries, a shower, a balcony, and a TV — a straightforward 2-star setup without a pool or the fixture upgrades found at pricier neighbors. A complimentary breakfast of local Filipino dishes is served daily from 7:00am to 10:00am, and the front desk operates 24 hours. Free Wi-Fi and free parking cover the property.

The Restobar Itself

Unlike many of its Alona-area neighbors that run a generic hotel restaurant, Anaya’s name puts the bar-and-grill function first — the on-site restaurant functions as much as a standalone eating and drinking spot for the surrounding street as a hotel amenity, a common model along the Circumferential Road where several small inns share the same stretch with independent restaurants and sari-sari stores.

A Six-Minute Walk to the Reef

That six-minute walk lands guests at Alona Beach’s dive-shop row, fronting a house reef that drops from shallow coral gardens to a wall around 20–30 metres, with visibility running 8–15 metres depending on season and weather. Boat dives to Balicasag Island, roughly 20 minutes out by outrigger, remain the standard day trip for guests staying anywhere in this cluster, with municipal access there capped at 150 divers and snorkelers a day.

Church and Watchtower, One Compound

Fifteen to twenty minutes away by tricycle, Panglao’s Poblacion holds three separate structures on a single compound: the 1851 Panglao Watchtower, a five-storey hexagonal coral-stone tower declared a National Cultural Treasure in 2011; the active St. Augustine Parish Church, built mainly from 1894 with its nave finished in the 1920s; and the stone ruins of an earlier 19th-century church dated 1858 or 1859. It’s a rare stop where three distinct building phases sit on one small lot, free to visit from the grounds.

The Water Underneath Everything

Like every property on Panglao, Anaya draws domestic water from a freshwater lens rather than any river — the island has none. Chloride levels in some wells have been measured well above the World Health Organization’s 250 mg/L threshold due to dry-season over-extraction, which is why tap water isn’t safe to drink anywhere on the island; bottled or filtered water is the standard for guests and residents alike, not a resort-imposed rule.

A Cheaper Dinner a Few Minutes Away

For guests wanting a change from the restobar’s own menu, the Larsian-style barbecue stalls along the Tawala road grill pork, chicken, and seafood skewers from late afternoon, priced per stick — an informal, low-cost dinner option a short walk or tricycle ride from the inn.

A Strip Built by Backpackers, Not Developers

The dive-shop row Anaya’s guests walk to in six minutes has a shorter history than the crowds suggest. Organized tourism on Alona Beach began in the early 1980s, when backpackers travelling through the Visayas started building small huts and dive operations along what was then undeveloped shoreline; growth continued through the 1990s and accelerated after Panglao International Airport opened in 2018, redirecting much of Bohol’s air traffic away from Tagbilaran’s older airfield. A budget inn on the Circumferential Road, a few minutes’ walk back from the water, sits closer to that original small-operator model than to the branded resorts that have filled in the beachfront itself since.

An Inland Day Trip

Guests looking to combine beach time with a countryside day typically book Chocolate Hills, roughly 45 minutes inland and workable as a half-day hike or quad-bike tour, alongside the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella, a similar distance away, where the small nocturnal primates are viewed on raised walkways. Local operators along Tawala road run both as a single combined tour, leaving early mornings and evenings free for the beach.

Practical Details

Tricycles to Tagbilaran run roughly PHP 150–250; the airport run is shorter. Ferries connect Tagbilaran to Cebu in about two hours.

Who Should Book Here

The 21-room count, straightforward amenities, and lower price point suit budget travelers who want proximity to Alona without paying for a pool or upgraded fixtures. Given the modest 6.1 score from a relatively small 28-review base, travelers with higher service expectations may want to weigh this against better-reviewed neighbors in the same price range.

Getting There & Booking

From Tagbilaran City, tricycles reach Panglao in 15–20 minutes over the Tagbilaran–Dauis bridge. Book through Stay22 or Booking.com to confirm current rates against the PHP 2,000 benchmark.