Portulano Dive Resort Pool
Portulano Dive Resort Pool Pictures & Reviews (Bauan, Philippines)
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The Portulano Dive Resort is not accessible by car. I had to take a short 5-minute boat ride to get there. The resort is very well designed - down to the smallest details. The owners Arnel and Carmela designed and built it. It is rustic in appearance but in reality it is a very comfortable place. It is a perfect place for meditation and relaxation - just to get away from the big city. There were several local guests there for exactly that reason. The resort has a large recreational area and a huge game room with a pool table and hammocks on the terrace. A large TV and a well stocked library. There was never any problems with wi-fi. All the rooms face the ocean. It was nice to wake up in the morning with the soft sound of ocean waves and cool breeze. This is the closest thing to Shangri-la.
I cannot say enough good things about the staff. They were all very attentive, helpful, friendly and competent. That's more than one can say for many resorts. Arnel was there for a couple of nights and Carmelia was away. Daisey ran the place in their absence with a firm hand and a smile. The kitchen staff was incredible. All the meals were excellent, fresh and tasty. They even cooked my favorite dish pancit for me one day. The dive staff was helpful and made sure I had everything I needed for my dives and they handled all my dive gears. Choy was my dive guide and he was finding things (nudibranchs, etc) that I would never have found in a million years. We had fun looking for the elusive glowing nembrotha under my fluoro lights during our night dives .We did find it couple of times. Choy is the BEST dive guide ever and i have been diving for almost 40 years. The boat dive sites are all very close to the resort and the shore dive was easy with plenty of small creatures for my macro camera.
The cost is very reasonable and the staff arranged the land transportation for you. The best thing is that there are no hidden charges. You know upfront how much you are going to pay. Many dive resorts in the area have hidden fees.
I would highly recommend this resort to anyone who needs to relax and get away from it all. It is only 2 hours away from the Manila Airport. As I said, it is about the closest thing to Shangri-la.
I cannot say enough good things about the staff. They were all very attentive, helpful, friendly and competent. That's more than one can say for many resorts. Arnel was there for a couple of nights and Carmelia was away. Daisey ran the place in their absence with a firm hand and a smile. The kitchen staff was incredible. All the meals were excellent, fresh and tasty. They even cooked my favorite dish pancit for me one day. The dive staff was helpful and made sure I had everything I needed for my dives and they handled all my dive gears. Choy was my dive guide and he was finding things (nudibranchs, etc) that I would never have found in a million years. We had fun looking for the elusive glowing nembrotha under my fluoro lights during our night dives .We did find it couple of times. Choy is the BEST dive guide ever and i have been diving for almost 40 years. The boat dive sites are all very close to the resort and the shore dive was easy with plenty of small creatures for my macro camera.
The cost is very reasonable and the staff arranged the land transportation for you. The best thing is that there are no hidden charges. You know upfront how much you are going to pay. Many dive resorts in the area have hidden fees.
I would highly recommend this resort to anyone who needs to relax and get away from it all. It is only 2 hours away from the Manila Airport. As I said, it is about the closest thing to Shangri-la.
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Room Tip: All rooms face the ocean. The bed in Hillside #1 was very comfortable.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Me and my girlfriend were planning to go out of town to somehow celebrate her birthday. Then I was thinking of going to Tagaytay City but it was so common nowadays for the ones who's living in Manila. So, I did searched for a resort and saw Portulano Dive Resort. At first I was hesitant in booking the hotel for I didn't know anything about diving. But when I saw the pictures and the reviews here in tripadvisor, I immediately booked the resort for it has limited slots. The website was very informative as well as they gave specific instructions on how to get there. I was communicating with sir Arnel via email that time and gave me a very quick response and also did reminded me of what to do. Friday came and we're on our way to Portulano. When we passed by cannon woods, we called Ms. Daisy the resort manager and she informed us that she will have the boat waiting for us at the dock where there is also a private parking lot for my car. We arrived around 11:30am and there they were waiting for us at the parking lot. The staff immediately greeted us and guided me parking my car. Then they helped us with our bags and guided us as we get on the boat. The boat going to the dive resort is clean, and well maintained. after a 5-min boat ride which is fun because you get to see the other island and other dive resorts as well as with the nice view of the whole area. We arrived at the resort. All of the staff were very accommodating including Ms. Daisy. They brought us to our room and there is nothing we can ask for. The room and its view is so amazing. The food is excellent. Not that many dishes to choose from but who cares? As long as its good and healthy, its completely okay. Coffee as well is good as Batangas is known for this. We enjoyed the recreation room together with its view. The room is well maintained. Then we talked to Ms. Daisy about the activities that we could possibly do but unfortunately, that time, low pressure winds has been coming in for the resort is facing the china sea and with that, we cannot do any water activities at that time. So we just used the salt water pool in front of the resort and it was great! We also got the chance to talk to a lovely couple steff and ann who where certified divers and same as we are worried about the weather. Also we met sir Arnel who is the owner of the resort. We talked almost all day and we were treated like family. Shared experiences and everything. Then, night came and it was so relaxing. We played billiards while drinking raspberry tea which is good. Then the following day we had a wonderful breakfast and did snorkeling. Although the waves are big, we managed to see the beautiful corrals in front of the resort and again it was amazing. Then we finally ended our stay and we paid the bills and amazingly there were no other charges and the billing was very clear. We were again assisted by the staff from the resort to the parking lot. We went home via star toll and SLEX. which took us 2 hours from Portulano to Manila. We will surely come back soon! too bad we didn't meet Ms. Carmela to talk to. We will comeback and have ourselves trained and hopefully be a licensed diver. An overnight is not enough, we should have stayed longer like 3 days 2 nights maybe. Overall, this is one of the best places I've ever visited in Luzon. Thanks to sir Arnel whose very accommodating and fun to talk with and keeps on saying that its not about the money, Its about the safety and quality service that he and Ms. Carmela is up to. Thank you as well to his wonderful staff for the warm welcome. It's like we're just home. See you soonest Portulano.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
After searching online for the best place to go snorkelling, I chanced upon reviews of Portulano resort. It is mainly a dive resort but they claim to have an excellent house reef so I booked a weekend with the hubby for our monthly beach trip, do not regret it one bit.
Reservation:
Did ours via email, Arnel (the owner) was quick to reply and answers all your queries. A 50% reservation was required which can be paid via Paypal, BPI or BDO. Got a confirmation of reservation from Arnel on the day I paid the fee.
Getting There:
The map they have on their website is precise with number of kilometers per landmark/s. Just use the odometer of your car. Commute instructions are also available. The drive would have taken us less than 2 hours had there been no traffic. Arnel also gave the instruction to send an SMS when you exit the tollway which we did so that they can send a boat at the dock where you can park your car. Our boat arrived just as we entered the parking area. Parking fee by the way is PHP100 overnight, you pay before you leave. The boat ride takes about 5 minutes.
Check In:
As they already know you'll be there, the room was ready. We just had to fill out a registration form and deposit slip (downpayment) and we were handed our keys.
Room:
The room we booked was a hillview seaside room. It is a fan room that has a double bed, veranda and a sufficient bathroom with a hot and cold shower. The first room they gave us (Hillside 2), the bathroom door locked on it's own and no one could get it open with keys or blunt force so they had to transfer us to the other room (Hillside 1). Some bad points, as they were cleaning the other room before we transferred, we noticed that they did not get new sheets for us to use. They made the bed and gave us new towels, I know because I was watching while they cleaned. This was proven further when that night as we first lay down, we could feel sand/tiny pebbles and were bitten by bed bugs. The bed could have been comfortable enough had there been no insects to bite us and wake us up, suffice it to say, we did not sleep well at all.
Food:
One of the good parts of this resort. The per person rate comes with full board meals: 3 buffet style meals. You get lunch when you check in, dinner and breakfast the next day. You can opt to have lunch there upon checkout but the price of PHP450 per person is not good value in my opinion, I can have a buffet meal in Manila for the same rate with a lot more options to choose from. The food is good though, they do not give the usual swimming in oil array of nasty food but always serve decent meals like pork kebabs, stuffed grilled fish, portuguese chicken and the like. May I just commend how well they cook their rice! There is soup, salad and desert for lunch and dinner.They served made to order pancakes and omelletes for breakfast. I only wish they brought out desert earlier as when we had our first lunch there, I didn't know they served mango tapioca which I love. At around 1:30PM my hubby went down to get coffee and saw that but there was almost none left, bummer! Desert is always good. Coffee is free flowing all day. Breakfast should be served earlier than 8AM, We woke up at 5AM (due to bed bugs), went to the dining area by 6AM and found it was not cleared at all. Dirty dishes on the table, no coffee available, we made the first pot just so we can have some.
House Reef:
Very good, lacks color (maybe because of the season?) but there were a lot of fishes, I even had an encounter with a sea snake, scared me half to death.
Internet:
Wifi is available wherever the pocket wifi is (usually the lounge), when it works it's fast.
Facilities:
Salt water pool, it was always dirty with dead bugs and leaves. I would not have minded the leaves but bugs are just icky, It is not tiled so the sides of the pool actually have snails living on them.
Billiards, board games and a tv and dvd combo in the upper deck area. We played billiards while watching some Friends episodes here. There is also a bathroom in this area. Outside are 3 cabanas with 2 hammocks each and big pillows for lounging. We loved this part of the place.
On the second floor, near the dining area is a sort of living room where there are books and magazines and a lot of lounge chairs we can chill on. The only issue I had in this area had nothing to do with a resort but a woman who had the nerve to ask us to turn down a very soft sound coming from my husband's phone, we were atleast 2 meters away from them and the sound system and rain (there was a storm) were both loud enough. We kind of felt that since we are not divers like them, she discriminated us. Anyway, it would have been a perfectly relaxing spot.
Check Out:
Before I had lunch, I went to the front desk, paid the remaining balance and told Daisy that we would leave right after we eat. Paying was quick and easy.
Over All:
This resort is perfect if you really want to get away from it all and if you are a diver, isolated and peaceful. We kept feeling like outsiders though as those checked in were mostly divers and hubby and I were just there to relax - period. I would maybe go back if I'm already a certified open diver.
Reservation:
Did ours via email, Arnel (the owner) was quick to reply and answers all your queries. A 50% reservation was required which can be paid via Paypal, BPI or BDO. Got a confirmation of reservation from Arnel on the day I paid the fee.
Getting There:
The map they have on their website is precise with number of kilometers per landmark/s. Just use the odometer of your car. Commute instructions are also available. The drive would have taken us less than 2 hours had there been no traffic. Arnel also gave the instruction to send an SMS when you exit the tollway which we did so that they can send a boat at the dock where you can park your car. Our boat arrived just as we entered the parking area. Parking fee by the way is PHP100 overnight, you pay before you leave. The boat ride takes about 5 minutes.
Check In:
As they already know you'll be there, the room was ready. We just had to fill out a registration form and deposit slip (downpayment) and we were handed our keys.
Room:
The room we booked was a hillview seaside room. It is a fan room that has a double bed, veranda and a sufficient bathroom with a hot and cold shower. The first room they gave us (Hillside 2), the bathroom door locked on it's own and no one could get it open with keys or blunt force so they had to transfer us to the other room (Hillside 1). Some bad points, as they were cleaning the other room before we transferred, we noticed that they did not get new sheets for us to use. They made the bed and gave us new towels, I know because I was watching while they cleaned. This was proven further when that night as we first lay down, we could feel sand/tiny pebbles and were bitten by bed bugs. The bed could have been comfortable enough had there been no insects to bite us and wake us up, suffice it to say, we did not sleep well at all.
Food:
One of the good parts of this resort. The per person rate comes with full board meals: 3 buffet style meals. You get lunch when you check in, dinner and breakfast the next day. You can opt to have lunch there upon checkout but the price of PHP450 per person is not good value in my opinion, I can have a buffet meal in Manila for the same rate with a lot more options to choose from. The food is good though, they do not give the usual swimming in oil array of nasty food but always serve decent meals like pork kebabs, stuffed grilled fish, portuguese chicken and the like. May I just commend how well they cook their rice! There is soup, salad and desert for lunch and dinner.They served made to order pancakes and omelletes for breakfast. I only wish they brought out desert earlier as when we had our first lunch there, I didn't know they served mango tapioca which I love. At around 1:30PM my hubby went down to get coffee and saw that but there was almost none left, bummer! Desert is always good. Coffee is free flowing all day. Breakfast should be served earlier than 8AM, We woke up at 5AM (due to bed bugs), went to the dining area by 6AM and found it was not cleared at all. Dirty dishes on the table, no coffee available, we made the first pot just so we can have some.
House Reef:
Very good, lacks color (maybe because of the season?) but there were a lot of fishes, I even had an encounter with a sea snake, scared me half to death.
Internet:
Wifi is available wherever the pocket wifi is (usually the lounge), when it works it's fast.
Facilities:
Salt water pool, it was always dirty with dead bugs and leaves. I would not have minded the leaves but bugs are just icky, It is not tiled so the sides of the pool actually have snails living on them.
Billiards, board games and a tv and dvd combo in the upper deck area. We played billiards while watching some Friends episodes here. There is also a bathroom in this area. Outside are 3 cabanas with 2 hammocks each and big pillows for lounging. We loved this part of the place.
On the second floor, near the dining area is a sort of living room where there are books and magazines and a lot of lounge chairs we can chill on. The only issue I had in this area had nothing to do with a resort but a woman who had the nerve to ask us to turn down a very soft sound coming from my husband's phone, we were atleast 2 meters away from them and the sound system and rain (there was a storm) were both loud enough. We kind of felt that since we are not divers like them, she discriminated us. Anyway, it would have been a perfectly relaxing spot.
Check Out:
Before I had lunch, I went to the front desk, paid the remaining balance and told Daisy that we would leave right after we eat. Paying was quick and easy.
Over All:
This resort is perfect if you really want to get away from it all and if you are a diver, isolated and peaceful. We kept feeling like outsiders though as those checked in were mostly divers and hubby and I were just there to relax - period. I would maybe go back if I'm already a certified open diver.
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Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Response from diveaddiction, Owner at Portulano Dive Resort
Responded Jul 4, 2013
In response to this review:
1) BEDSHEETS ARE ALWAYS NEW AND CHANGED and also regularly replaced for long staying guests. It would be quite unfair to say it wasn't changed because it was not seen since the beddings are usually set up earlier during the day, before guest arrival. Additional cleaning and checking is done prior to room turnover so this is what was seen. The keys need to be addressed though, so that for sure will be fixed.
2) I DOUBT THERE WERE BED BUGS since beds are regularly sun dried and cleaned, there could have been insects that could have fallen on the bed since those rooms are quite close to the trees, it was a stormy, rainy weekend so yes, lots of insects flying around and probably some landing on the bed is possible. A little "pag pag" or dusting could have worked. You could have also had SAND IN YOUR CLOTHES or feet. Normally bed bugs bite, so bites are the proof of bedbugs, not sandy feeling beds.
3)"ICKY" BUGS AND SNAILS IN THE POOL are not at all bothersome, it's part of the natural environment, like I said, it was a rainy weekend, so pardon some insects that could have fallen from the trees into the pool, it's just that the area is so close to a very healthy natural environment which houses a lot of insects, including fireflies that could end up in your room at night.
Strange, I always thought falling leaves and flowers on the pool or the ground look pretty.
The pool is not dirty, the color is just different from chlorinated fresh water pools. It's saltwater so doesn't look as clear. It is also intentionally not tiled so that it has a more rustic, natural feel to it. And it is easier to manage being a scuba training pool.
I'm now seriously considering a notice that says: WARNING! POOL IS NOT TILED! : )
4) BUFFET MEALS AT THE RESORT should not be compared to Manila, first off Manila buffet prices should be obviously cheaper because it is not near the beach. Common sense dictates that supplies and workforce are more expensive if you have to transport everything by boat. Secondly we focus on QUALITY not QUANTITY, it is not a buffet for gorging but rather for enjoying a good quality selection of non-greasy, healthy and flavorful dishes. That is our definition of a good buffet.
5) OUR GUESTS, specially our regulars are wonderful people I must say, they are not discriminating at all, they treat our place as their second home. In fact we have a lot of regulars who are not divers but just enjoy the peace and quiet and snorkeling.
Now that is an interesting idea, I did not think there exists a diver - non-diver discrimination. I can only imagine that if one is asked to turn down the volume, then it was probably too loud.
1) BEDSHEETS ARE ALWAYS NEW AND CHANGED and also regularly replaced for long staying guests. It would be quite unfair to say it wasn't changed because it was not seen since the beddings are usually set up earlier during the day, before guest arrival. Additional cleaning and checking is done prior to room turnover so this is what was seen. The keys need to be addressed though, so that for sure will be fixed.
2) I DOUBT THERE WERE BED BUGS since beds are regularly sun dried and cleaned, there could have been insects that could have fallen on the bed since those rooms are quite close to the trees, it was a stormy, rainy weekend so yes, lots of insects flying around and probably some landing on the bed is possible. A little "pag pag" or dusting could have worked. You could have also had SAND IN YOUR CLOTHES or feet. Normally bed bugs bite, so bites are the proof of bedbugs, not sandy feeling beds.
3)"ICKY" BUGS AND SNAILS IN THE POOL are not at all bothersome, it's part of the natural environment, like I said, it was a rainy weekend, so pardon some insects that could have fallen from the trees into the pool, it's just that the area is so close to a very healthy natural environment which houses a lot of insects, including fireflies that could end up in your room at night.
Strange, I always thought falling leaves and flowers on the pool or the ground look pretty.
The pool is not dirty, the color is just different from chlorinated fresh water pools. It's saltwater so doesn't look as clear. It is also intentionally not tiled so that it has a more rustic, natural feel to it. And it is easier to manage being a scuba training pool.
I'm now seriously considering a notice that says: WARNING! POOL IS NOT TILED! : )
4) BUFFET MEALS AT THE RESORT should not be compared to Manila, first off Manila buffet prices should be obviously cheaper because it is not near the beach. Common sense dictates that supplies and workforce are more expensive if you have to transport everything by boat. Secondly we focus on QUALITY not QUANTITY, it is not a buffet for gorging but rather for enjoying a good quality selection of non-greasy, healthy and flavorful dishes. That is our definition of a good buffet.
5) OUR GUESTS, specially our regulars are wonderful people I must say, they are not discriminating at all, they treat our place as their second home. In fact we have a lot of regulars who are not divers but just enjoy the peace and quiet and snorkeling.
Now that is an interesting idea, I did not think there exists a diver - non-diver discrimination. I can only imagine that if one is asked to turn down the volume, then it was probably too loud.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed in Portulano for 3 days and overall had an okay experience.
Plus:
The staff is really friendly; especially Daisy was very helpful. Quality of the food is surprisingly good for such a small scale, remote resort. The diving opportunities are great and not too expensive. The place is quiet and relaxed also because of its isolation.
Minus:
Rooms are very basic and not clean (including the linen). Very basic and dark bathroom. WiFi connection is hopeless and only accessible in the lounge, but even then not very stable.
Avoid this place if you do not like dogs: there are two big ones roaming around the property freely and although harmless they do seek your company even if you do not want them to. And they smell awful; you can smell them at the pool, during meals and if you are 'lucky' one of them will sleep outside your door and you can smell it in your room.
Overall we had an okay stay, but we would not go here again. If you are into diving and do not care too much about your accommodation: by all means go there. But if you expect some comfort (and the place is not cheap mind you, so you would expect some) you should consider other options.
Plus:
The staff is really friendly; especially Daisy was very helpful. Quality of the food is surprisingly good for such a small scale, remote resort. The diving opportunities are great and not too expensive. The place is quiet and relaxed also because of its isolation.
Minus:
Rooms are very basic and not clean (including the linen). Very basic and dark bathroom. WiFi connection is hopeless and only accessible in the lounge, but even then not very stable.
Avoid this place if you do not like dogs: there are two big ones roaming around the property freely and although harmless they do seek your company even if you do not want them to. And they smell awful; you can smell them at the pool, during meals and if you are 'lucky' one of them will sleep outside your door and you can smell it in your room.
Overall we had an okay stay, but we would not go here again. If you are into diving and do not care too much about your accommodation: by all means go there. But if you expect some comfort (and the place is not cheap mind you, so you would expect some) you should consider other options.
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Value
Rooms
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Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Response from diveaddiction, Owner at Portulano Dive Resort
Responded Jan 2, 2013
Dear reviewer,
Thank you very much for your feedback which is much appreciated. To be honest, this seems to be the final straw since we have been having trouble with our dogs and have already decided to house them away from the resort grounds and guest areas. We are even seriously considering for them to be adopted. While it's sad for us and other guests, they have been becoming a nuisance because one of them is already quite old and is hard to maintain unlike before. I suppose it was also hard for us to determine this because they are very well liked by most of our guests and are often concerned when they are leashed or kept.
We've recently added 4 new rooms with very high ratings and commendations from our guests, we have found them to be so much better than our older rooms since we have had a bit more budget in setting it up. The next step happening this January is upgrading the rest of the rooms to catch up with the new ones. This includes linens, towels etc. So it seems we are on the same page on this one.
Overall, we have still received exceptional reviews from our guests staying this long holiday so we are hopeful that we can only get better as we move in to 2013.
Thank you very much for your feedback which is much appreciated. To be honest, this seems to be the final straw since we have been having trouble with our dogs and have already decided to house them away from the resort grounds and guest areas. We are even seriously considering for them to be adopted. While it's sad for us and other guests, they have been becoming a nuisance because one of them is already quite old and is hard to maintain unlike before. I suppose it was also hard for us to determine this because they are very well liked by most of our guests and are often concerned when they are leashed or kept.
We've recently added 4 new rooms with very high ratings and commendations from our guests, we have found them to be so much better than our older rooms since we have had a bit more budget in setting it up. The next step happening this January is upgrading the rest of the rooms to catch up with the new ones. This includes linens, towels etc. So it seems we are on the same page on this one.
Overall, we have still received exceptional reviews from our guests staying this long holiday so we are hopeful that we can only get better as we move in to 2013.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
just got back from one week here. Great reef, best for smaller critters, not much large fish, except for turtles, which we saw on our very first dive! one big one and one small one. Staff is very friendly and accommodating. Pool table and lots of movies if you need a break from diving. good food, simple but always enough to go around. Amazing soups every night too! Great shore dives. I watched the seahorse, who lives right off the dock, for 20 minutes one day…great trip.
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Room Tip: lower rooms have air conditioning if you like that…but mostly it wasn't needed when we were...
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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