I booked a last minute getaway from Manila, literally last minute, like I was already on the 3 hr bus ride who U sttarted contacting dive resorts. Portulano respondd promptly. The resort is vertically bult into a hill so there is a lot of up and down steps, especially being on the top floor. But the room was a great value for te money and the view was stunning. The service was gracious and my dive guide Toi was well-versed wit the dive sites.
I only was there 2 nights and the meals were fine, but they really never inched into delicious threshold. If I had to stay there much beyong a couple of nights, I think I would have been a bit stifled by the lack of menu choices, and the only other option being a boat ridde to the village. So, to be clear, the food was more than satiisfactory but not worty oof all the oter 5 star aspects of the resort.
To get to this resort, you must arrive by boat, which is about 15 mins from the end of the road. Getting to the resort was a piece of cake. We got there and Daisy assigned us to a bottom floor rood. Very nice room but soon it was obvious that the AC would not handle the room size. So without a hiccup they moved my son and I up to a second floor with new AC. The room was excellent, but the mattress pad was a little thin for me with my back. There is no TV or internet. Also this is not the kind of place for beach goers. This is strictly a dive resort. They have a shop for rentals. I always bring my own stuff. My old dive master from Coron worked there now and we went for an afternoon dive right away. Great dive masters there. Nothing big or plush about the dive boat. We only had to go 15 minutes to the dive site. Got back and dinner is served in a smorgasbord style. The whole time I was there, I really enjoyed the stay, even if it was just for 2 nights. Made a lot of friends. So what I am saying is that if you want a nice quiet, peaceful place to stay and dive, this is it. It is so isolated that we did not even have to lock the doors.
Experience 3.5/5
The resort is for people who are looking to experience
a relaxing getaway while learning to master Diving.
Though I did not try my hand at diving and do not have
any experience at all, I can see that the resort comes
quite equipped for the basic necessities of diving.
Location 3/5
From Manila, it took us about a 2-3 hour drive which makes
this place very convinient. We had to park our car on the other
side of the beach as riding the boat was the fastest way to
get to the resort.
The Boat while very capable of bringing us to and from the place
may not be for children but once you get across, the experience is
worth it.
Room 4/5
The Rooms here are beautiful even though there was no wifi and no tv,
the design and ambience was nice.
Though realisticaly, people should come here if they want to disconnect and relax.
Food 2.5/5
The food was good, lightly salted and was filling. Though I wish
that there were more variations to the food and that they room service past 5pm.
Amenities 3/5
The place has a Salt Water Dive Pool which is well maintained and is used to train.
A Game Room for those who wants to hang out though some of the games are no longer
well maintained i.e. Table Tennis and Billiards.
Staff: 4/5
The Staff takes care of their guests, does their best to provide all the needs of everyone.
Overall:
I think the place is good for Divers and Guests, Smart LTE Signal here is not very good but
Globe seems have better coverage here.
Our room was facing the bay. Excellent friendly staff. We snorkeled, swam, relaxed, read, played pool/table tennis, exercised in the morning, met people from different countries. Overall, great experience!
Not only was the diving surprisingly good but in all five dives we did my friend and I did not see a single other diver. The rooms are nice and comfortable though not luxurious. There is a small pool and several shaded hammocks and lounge chairs. The staff is friendly though one needs to ask to get your room cleaned or to get a fresh towel. When we arrived at the Portulano parking lot to catch the 10 minute boat ride to the resort the boat was not ready and we had to wait over 30 minutes. There are not facilities of any kind at the parking lot so it was not the most welcoming spot to wait. All in all Portulano is a quiet spot -particularly on weekdays when the weekend crowd from Manila is not there- and a good location to spend a few days diving.