Our stay at Fort Ilocandia began splendidly, had a murky middle, then ended well.

The place is certainly beautiful with an elegance to it. Although built in the 1980’s, it has an old world charm to it. Decorated for Christmas, it became more pleasant up close.

Check in was quick & we were accommodated even though we arrived earlier than their usual check-in time. Reception was okay. Shout-out to our porter who had to carry our luggage almost two flights of stairs.
(Note: Hotel is only 2 stories high.)

Mishaps started once we started to unpack. First, the safe was malfunctioning. Upon inspection, the battery had no power. We waited 30 minutes, no maintenance. Eventually, after 2hrs, we had to go out. We left word with concierge about it. It was fixed when we returned.

When we got back after dinner, we found out that the telephone inside the room was no longer functioning. We had to go down & look for someone to help us. (Remember, this place is sprawling & lobby is far from the rooms). It took 40 minutes for someone to come & fix it.

“Massage” written in the guest handbook but when we called to inquire, they informed us that they no longer have massage services. Oh well.
Since there was no massage, we decided to just maximize the bath tub. Alas, it wasn’t functioning. The drain could not be closed.

That was the last straw, we asked for a room transfer. We were accommodated after 1 hour. We called concierge about the inconveniences we experienced & were told that they will bring it up to the management. However, after 20 minutes, we didn’t get any follow-up so we called again. We were then informed that our room transfer was granted & they’re just making sure we will not have any problem with our new room.
(Note to Management: Don’t wait for your customer to call again. It’s advisable to call after 5-10minutes to update them especially when all they’ve been experiencing in your estsblishment are problems).

Of note, our First room DID NOT have bath robes, bath mat, vanity kits, hair dryer, comb, slippers, etc. Our second room had everything in it. What a difference!
Both rooms did not have anything inside the mini bar.

When we ordered room service, we were surprised that we had to immediately pay it in cash.
(Note to management: Please inform guests about this. Not everyone has cash with them)

If you order soda in can, they’ll give you a straw, no glass with ice. The sofa was not cold. I guess you need to specify if you want a glass with ice. But that might take another 30minutes.

Be ready to wait for 3 pcs of beer for one hour because that’s how long we waited. We ordered at 9:45pm but according to them, room-in services are 24hrs.

Carpets along the stairs may need replacement as it smells old already.

When eating for the breakfast buffet, be sure to bring your breakfast stub. Although, the staff are very understanding if you do forget it. The spread is not as varied, but it’s ok to get you through the day.

Check out was a breeze. Housekeeping checked the room immediately & the porter was there within 10minutes of calling for one. He did forget to give me a claim stub for my luggage.

Will we come back here? Yeah We probably will. We’ll just make sure to ask front desk to assure us that everything in our room is in order.

I stayed for three nights with my father and we liked almost everything about the place espcially the sprawling grounds and we enjoyed venturing out the premises in the morning to simply enjoy the fresh air and observe the daily lives of local folks. We also like the food at the restaurant. The breakfast is simple but they prepare a sumptuous spread and on the times we ate our meals there, the food they served us were always delicious. The downside is the difficulty in getting transportation to ferry you out and back to the hotel. Taxi is apparently scarce and because there was a conference going on (my father being one of the attendees), this was really a challenge. The staff could have been more helpful and the hotel more prepared. Other than that, we enjoyed our stay.

Forget the rooms--it's just standard for 5-star hotels. Take notice of the big swimming pools, the long beach over-sized ground for leisurely walk in the morning or evening.You have privacy since it's far from Laoag City, the capital of Ilocos Norte. There are only few trips by jeep from the bus terminal near the capitol.If you commute, you have to hire a motorcab on a special arrangement at P150 per trip.
The design of the facade including the furniture in the rooms are of Spanish-time vintage. It's the common bahay na bato design. We were participants in a 3-day convention at the hotel thus it had the fiesta atmosphere. The function room was full for the dinner. So we took some food on a table at a pool side where few of our companions were swimming.By 10 p.m. the lights were switched off and we were told to move somewhere else since the poolside should be free of guests before 11 pm. We moved a few meters from the poolside under a tree. We drank until midnight and just the same the lights on the post were switched off. We moved inside the hotel.But the function halls was full. We transferred to the lobby bar and sang to our hearts content with the accompaniment of the in-house pianist.
Because you have several activities to do and stories share you would not get bored staying in this hotel. The staff members are friendly and very courteous even though we were making noise past midnight.