A boutique resort in the more quiet side of what is popularly known as Anilao, Batangas. Portulano Dive Resort provides snorkeling and scuba diving services to Anilao/Mabini, Bauan, Tingloy popular dive sites. Wake up to the gentle sound of the waves with rooms directly fronting the sea with a bedside view of the ocean. It's a great place for both divers, non-divers having lots of private space to lounge and relax. Design and architecture is inspired by mediterranean colors accented by local materials and artistry.
Just came back from this wonderful resort last week with my friends. It took us 15 hours (Kuala Lumpur to Clark > Manila > Nasugbu > Lemery > Portulano) to get here, but once we reached our destination, it was well worth it.
The water was and is pristine, the resort itself was, "wow".
Loved the fact that everyone were so friendly, simple great food (and dessert to die for), we left our rooms unlock most of times, left our belongings all over the resort and we even have a personal bodyguard (Snorkel the ever adorable dog).
The resort is really like our home away from home. It was comfortable, it's affordable, it was welcoming, it was the kind of experience you would want to have when you go for a beach retreat.
It was indeed the best vacation so far.
The diving program seems great though. I would definitely come and visit again and will definitely have to get my diving license soon.
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Date of stay: February 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tucked away on the bay in batangas is Portulano Resort, Accessible only via boat, this is the prefect place for a long relaxing trip, or weekend get away(if you're staying in philippines).
Clean Sea facing rooms with hot shower, and great local food prepared daily. Friendly staff and owner makes the stay at portulano even more enjoyable and memorable.
Well stocked dive center with good dive boats and experienced dive master have made diving in the batangas region really enjoyable. The house reef is amazing and I could spend all day in it and never get bored.
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Date of stay: January 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
...because, reading further you’ll absolutely want to visit this place and then friends of you will follow and friends of colleagues of friends of nieces (really nasty people, these ones) of friends of mothers in law,… and before you know, Portulano will have turned into a crowded, noisy mass tourism destination with grumpy staff, disgusting food and lousy diving. My boyfriend and I recently hibernated at Portulano for 3 months and we’ve had a real ZEN experience. Arriving late at night by boat, after 30 hours of travelling, smelling the silt air (despite of my stuffed airplane AC nose) and seeing the invitingly illuminated resort glued to the lush, green hill, we immediately had the feeling we had made the right choice. And indeed we had. As we are both avid divers, a little something on the diving first. Although the house reef is not world class diving, I never grew tired of it and I spent over 130 hours down there: (ghost) pipe fish, nudibranchs and other snails galore, shrimps and crabs, (bobtail)squid, several types of (host)anemones and guests, many different kinds of (sand)eels, turtles, only few soft corals but a vast array of hard corals,… I spent most of my time underwater on the house reef, but I did join boat dives occasionally and I did enjoy these dive sites too, especially the sites that were a bit further out. If you, the experienced diver, still remember what diving is actually all about, then you will enjoy diving at Portulano. The staff is adorable and genuinely friendly. Don’t expect a flawless, cold hospitality machine here. The smiles you get come straight from the heart and you are dealing with real people. To Dory, Daisy, Nene, Elmer, Choy and Henry: We miss youououououou!!!! (sniff, sniff) The resort also boasts of two massage goddesses: Sally and Jolalyne. The ladies will ask you how you would like your massage. Keep in mind that if you ask for force, force is what you will get. See the remains of that hole in the thatched roof of the rooftop massage parlor? That was me, shooting through the roof at the first forceful stroke of Jolalyne on my left calf. Planning on losing a few kilo’s while on a holiday at Portulano? Just forget about that. The food is excellent and there’s a lot of it. They serve a nice mixture of local and western dishes. There’s meat, fish and veggie, soup, fresh fruits and a divine mango or banana float for desert. Mind you though, this is not the place for a burger and French fries. If you want to eat that kind of crap, you’ll have to go somewhere else. Free Batangas coffee, tea and water all day long. The rooms are spacious, airy (full front windows that you can open all the way), full of light and creatively decorated. No box spring beds (remember, you are not staying at a 5* hotel), but a sturdy foam mattress on a concrete underground. Your back will love it and I’m not being ironical here!!!! Imagine yourself dozing off with the surge of the ocean as a soundtrack and waking up with a view to kill for. On top of all that the rooms have their own private terrace facing the ocean. Of course, Portulano wouldn’t be Portulano without the never ending efforts of its owners Arnel and Carmella. Two great people who created a, not surprisingly, great little place. Keep it as it is, guys. It’s perfect.
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Date of stay: January 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Initial correspondance with Portulano was easy and Carmela was prompt and complete in her replies. The room was nice, but a little "plainer" than the pictures would suggest. The overhead fan was broken, but a floor fan was provided. Thank goodness because the small window air conditioner was way too small for the room. In other words, it ran 24 hrs, day and night, but the room was really never....cool. It was also quite loud! The beds were remarkably comfortable for being just a pad on top of a concrete slab. Honestly, I slept very comfortably.
Be aware that beyond scuba diving, there is really nothing else to do but relax, read a book, sun, snorkel or watch a DVD. The beach is rocky (no fun in the sand here), but I understand there is opportunity for trekking, but I do not know where. If you are into scuba diving then this is more catered towards you. They have a so-so house dive in front of the resort and some nearby dive sights (3-5 minutes) by boat called Pinnacle and Cavern that are nice. The best dive for me was around Sombrero Island (dive site Beatrice), which takes about 15-20 by speedboat or 40 minutes by outrigger. One negative was the divemaster never asked where we would like to go, so some dives were not at what I would call "pristine or popular dive sites". My advice is to speak up. Boat dives 3 minutes from the resort are the same price as the ones 30-40 minutes away, so research before you come and hit the sites that YOU want. Overall the diving was good (7.0/10) compared to other sites I have dove in the Philippines (Malapascau Island - Cebu (8.0/10) and Balicasag Island - Bohol (8.5/10). The helpers were always friendly and on the spot to get the heavy gear off your back. Conrad, the dive master was quite good at pointing out special sights of interest. The equipment area was very spacious and clean.
The food was plentiful and good. Not 5 star, but good local food. They have a local home made salad dressing to die for!! As diving can take longer than expected, many times the food was waiting for us upon our return, but it was usually cold. They did have one night where they BBQ'd and that was great. The service was great and they would cater to special requests. They always informed us before they closed the kitchen in the evening, which was nice.
Overall it was a good visit, so give it a try in the future.
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Date of stay: September 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ArnelS, Owner at Portulano Dive Resort
Responded Jan 12, 2011
Thank you for this review, you'd be glad to know that with a little bit more budget we are upgrading ceiling fans (quite expensive but much nicer ones not just in terms of design but resistance to salt water corrosion, having the entire front of the room open up to the ocean has its advantages and costs as we realize) this includes air-conditioners as well. Please do check out our website and FB fan page for updates as there is always something new at Portulano in terms of making things better... just like a work of art, it is never truly finished. We will also remind our divemasters to alway ensure divers are made aware of what to expect, muck sites for example don't offer much to those who are not interested in critters.
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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.
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Date of stay: March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My 9 year old & I had a fantastic few days here: relaxing, diving & chilling out in a superb location. Rooms are right on the shoreline with amazing views from the balcony, even from the bed we could hear & see the waves lapping on the deck. Rooms are basic in a "rustic" shabby chic Mediterranean villa design, some rooms have AC but the units are pretty noisy so leaving the balcony doors open is a cheaper option. Its only a small place which gets busier at weekends with the Manila divers but there are lots of chill out areas with hammocks so its easy to find somewhere to relax and watch the waves or the sunset. Dive team were great and took us on several action packed dives, we even saw a HUGE turtle on the house reef just while snorkelling ! Food is all inclusive, good & plentiful but relatively basic & quite Filipino. The salt water infinity pool which juts out over the sea is a spectacular place to avoid the heat with a beer & a book, already planning our next weekend trip :)
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Date of stay: April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from diveaddiction, Owner at Portulano Dive Resort
Responded Apr 24, 2017
Thanks for your review, and we're glad you enjoyed your stay. Just to let you know, not all the AC units make noise so it would be very helpful if you can send us an email (inquire@portulano.com) if you remember which room you stayed in so we can double check, we've never really had complaints about this except once for 2 rooms in particular, but we've already replaced 1 of them. We are also updating some of the Air Conditioning units. Some brands are more quiet than others and some over time make noise. It's natural wear and tear specially with rooms right at the seafront. We do have Filipino dishes but hopefully next time you visit, depending on your timing you'd be able to sample other dishes. We actually serve only 30% Filipino food. We serve a lot of mediterranean and healthy selections with fresh ingredients. That's why it's quite easy for us to cater to vegetarians, vegan and gluten free eaters. You will find we always have salads, vegetable dishes that are not Filipino recipes, pastas using fresh tomatoes, baked rigatoni, spinach & fish rolls etc. We also don't want to serve a big buffet spread that will jack up the costs, but we'd rather focus on a simple but good selection of healthy and delicious choices for meat, seafood, chicken, vegetables and always with a salad. Thanks again for your feedback and hope to hear from you.
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We went there for the weekend to relax and dive as a couple. The place is right on the sea boarder (but no beach) and diving was excellent with really serious and competent dive master(s). The food was included in the room (you get to there by boat) and for that kind of fare in the Philippines, the food was really good. The dessert was nothing to write about, but compensated by an excellent breakfast. Would go back with older kids when the sea is more quiet and the snorkling will be fabulous!
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Date of stay: August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GREAT RESORT FOR A FAMILY BONDING & DIVING. All of the resort Staff and Ms Daisy, the manager are very attentive and provided excellent service. All rooms are charming, very clean,comfortable and has a beautiful oceanview and a veranda. We enjoyed all the buffet meals provided including the afternoon snacks. The short orders like nachos and French fries were yummy. The kitchen Staff paid special attention to my vegetarian Husband and made yummy options for him. My daughters enjoyed their diving education experience. Ms. Carmela provided thorough yet fun PADI Open Water Certification for my daughter and so as Mr. Choy who guided my daughter w her Intro to diving and my husband and son for their shore and boat dives. Our 2 nights and 3 days stay experience was great and we are looking forward to our next Before the year ends. Thank you Portulano Resort.
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Date of stay: August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It was one of my favorite place. Me and my three buddies really enjoyed our stay. The place is awesome and the staff are all wonderful. Ill definitely come back. Thank you Portulano! We will definitely come back!
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Date of stay: June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My friend and I stayed here last minute and we loved it. It was quiet and peaceful. There is no way in or out except by boat. There is also no beach. Arnel and his staff made our stay perfect. My friend did the Discover Diving course and really enjoyed it. The marine sanctuary is nearby and is a remarkable place to dive. The food was fantastic! We spent a lot of time relaxing in their hamacks. We were able to tag along on a supply run in the nearest town. I would return here over and over again.
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Date of stay: March 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Yes, we offer PADI Courses. Please check out the details in our website, you can also reach us through our website, you can google Portulano Dive Resort as website links and email addresses are not allowed to be posted here.
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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