Cocotree Resort

Cocotree Resort: a family-oriented pool resort near the airport

Cocotree Resort positions itself around proximity to Panglao International Airport, listed at roughly two kilometres away, rather than direct beachfront access — its own materials put Alona Beach at about six kilometres, a distance the resort bridges with a free shuttle service running guests to and from the strip rather than leaving them to negotiate tricycle fares each trip. It carries a Very Good 8.5-out-of-10 score on Booking.com from 43 reviews and has picked up a Booking.com Traveller Review Award, a recognition tied to sustained guest satisfaction rather than a single good season.

Built around families

The room product here is explicitly family-oriented: air-conditioned rooms with private bathrooms, a TV, an electric kettle, and free WiFi, set around a year-round outdoor pool that includes a separate kids’ pool and a sun terrace. The restaurant runs a child-friendly buffet alongside its regular menu — breakfast spans fruit, American, à la carte, full English/Irish, and Asian options, while lunch and dinner lean toward local and Asian dishes with vegetarian choices available. Free private parking rounds out the practical amenities for anyone touring the island by rental car.

What guests report

Recurring guest feedback describes the property as super clean and well-maintained, with reviewers specifically citing value for money relative to nearby competitors — a claim that lines up with the resort’s mid-range price point and its fuller-than-average family amenity set (kids’ pool, child buffet, airport proximity) for a property in this bracket.

The airport-first trade-off

Being close to Panglao International Airport rather than to Alona Beach suits a specific kind of trip: families managing young kids through a flight who want a short transfer on arrival and departure, or travelers doing a one-or-two-night stopover before or after a longer stay elsewhere on the island. The free shuttle to Alona closes most of the gap for guests who still want beach and reef time during a longer stay, though it runs on the resort’s schedule rather than on demand, worth confirming at check-in.

Local context worth knowing

Panglao International Airport, which Cocotree sits close to, opened on the island in 2018 and shifted the bulk of Bohol’s air traffic away from Tagbilaran’s older mainland airport — a genuine turning point for exactly the kind of airport-adjacent property Cocotree represents, since before 2018 there was little reason for a resort to market itself on airport proximity at all. On the water side, every property on Panglao, this one included, depends on an underground freshwater lens rather than a river for its supply, and dry-season over-extraction has pushed chloride levels in some wells well past safe drinking thresholds, which is why bottled or filtered water is standard practice here rather than tap water. For food, the island’s own signature dish, kinilaw na tanigue, raw Spanish mackerel cured in coconut vinegar produced on Panglao itself, is worth seeking out even from a resort restaurant that otherwise leans international and child-friendly.

Day trips arranged around the shuttle

Because the free shuttle handles the Alona Beach run, most Cocotree guests structure their days around it: a morning shuttle out to book a snorkeling or dive trip to Balicasag Island, about 20 minutes further by outrigger from Alona, where the municipality caps access at 150 divers and snorkelers a day with a roughly ₱250 environmental fee per person, and a return trip in the afternoon back to the resort’s pool. Inland countryside circuits to the Chocolate Hills and a Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary, usually paired with a Loboc River cruise, run about 45 minutes to an hour by van and are typically arranged as a separate full-day booking rather than combined with a beach day.

Fiesta season

Late August brings Hudyaka sa Panglao, the municipality’s biggest calendar event, held around 28 August for the feast of St. Augustine of Hippo. Parade contingents from all ten of Panglao’s barangays converge on the town’s Poblacion for a day of dance competitions and streetside food built around the island’s seafood specialties. Guests staying at an airport-adjacent property like Cocotree during that week should confirm the shuttle schedule in advance, since transport demand spikes island-wide and the usual timetable can shift.

Who should book here

This suits families with young children who value pool time, a child-friendly menu, and a short airport transfer over beachfront immediacy, along with travelers using Cocotree as a short pre- or post-flight stay before basing themselves closer to Alona for the rest of a trip. Divers and travelers who want the reef on their doorstep every morning should look at a Tawala-based property instead.

Getting There & Booking

Book on Stay22 or Booking.com for real-time availability and confirmed rates; confirm the free shuttle’s schedule to Alona Beach in advance if beach time is a priority during the stay.