ASTORIA PALAWAN - Peaceful gem!

Dear Fellow Travelers, 

It is time to introduce you to one of my favorite hotels during my trip, as you know, I spent 4 weeks in October in the Philippines.

My first island destination was Palawan, which totally surprised me, it was much more versatile than I ever anticipated. Also, much bigger and way more challenging as I imagined... Which is a good thing when thinking about the journey afterward but at the moment struggles may feel overwhelming - but always so rewarding once everything is sorted.

Ok, so far our trip had lasted 5 nights (3 in the city of Puerto Princesa and the weekend in Sabang). Again, we were driving around the island (well, if you can say that as there's is only one main road and some side roads) with our gigantic rental car, SUV 4x4 Mitsubishi Montero Sport. We decided that this trip will be more of a spontaneous journey rather than having it all well organized and all prebooked kind of trip.

After the weekend in Saban and returning thereof we got back to the main road, we again got our internet connection back, YAY, and since we had no place to stay the following night and not hoping to drive all the way to Port Barton that night, it was time to start browsing again. I soon found out that there aren't actually that many hotels with good quality after the Puerto Princesa that would be reasonably priced. Problem? No, just a challenge to be overcome.

Besides, I've always been a strong believer in things happening exactly the way they are supposed to happen, therefore, I felt confident that something will come up. All of a sudden, I see this beautiful hotel on the internet, called Astoria Palawan.

This was a 4 star hotel, part of Astoria Hotels and Resorts. Its former guests had written some amazing reviews so all good so far. ...checking out Google Maps I realized that it's only 8 km away. However, we had already learned that not everything is what it seems to be. Therefore we decided to check out the hotel first before booking anything.

Right before we turned to the hotel premises we noticed that there's also a waterpark in the area. This has to be a sign, this might be the one.
It is always such a relief to find a place to stay (that meets my standards I mean, of course, you can find hotels but I prefer hotels with a bit higher quality).

You couldn't just drive into the hotel area. There were gates and security personnel that checked you and the car out before you could enter, which was assuring, operations here are well organized - always a positive sign.
They let us through and there we were, blocking half of the front of the hotel with our huge car and we weren't even guests yet. However, by the looks of the patio of the reception area, it was quite promising, we got our hopes up quite quickly. Also, the actual reception lobby area was really nice and I absolutely loved the white-blue colors, after all those are Finland's colors too!

I walked up to the reception area and explained that we would like to check out few room types before making the decision and also wanted to hear their prices for their rooms as depending on the hotel, in comparison to OTAs' (Online Travel Agencies) charge they can be heaps better or worse.

We checked out a couple of room types with one of the receptionists and got back to the reception area. We really had good, positive vibes and felt like this really could be the place for us as we were looking for a clean, high quality, peaceful resort and this certainly met our expectations.

While we were chatting with the staff, this lovely, smiling lady comes from the back office to the front desk to greet us, and turned out that she was the hotel's General Manager, Ms. Joy Suarez.

Yes, her name was Joy and she really was that. She must be the most positive person I've ever met. So genuine and kind, and even though she was in a manager position, everyone seemed to love and respect her. I wish I could work with or for someone like her one day. Positive, supportive management is one of the key components to success.
She really brought joy to every day and every time I met her, I was filled with joy! Such a lovely person, I truly hope I meet her again when I - hopefully - return to the Philippines one day.

I introduced myself to Joy, told her about me being a travel blogger and an avid traveler and after some chatting, we ended up having an opportunity to stay in their One Bedroom Suite by the beach, which in my opinion had the best location, which I was naturally very grateful for.

While we took care of all the check-in proceedings, we were offered welcome drinks as well as lovely gifts; hats, Astoria Palawan beach bag and handheld weaved fan, which I particularly enjoyed in the heat and humidity of the Philippines' monsoon season.

We were told that the beach is under some nourishment at the moment but it didn't bother us at all. Registered guests get one-time access to the waterpark next to the resort, but we actually didn't even go there, don't even know why, I guess time just flew anyways in this lovely place.

Our stay was so pleasant that we ended up staying 3 nights instead of just one!

You may find out more about this lovely hotel here:
ASTORIA PALAWAN WEBSITE - click this to open


ABOUT THE HOTEL

Astoria Palawan is located on a 5-hectare mango orchard. 

Nature plays an important role all over the resort and as an eco-friendly resort, they have also modern Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) to recycle the wastewater, which I personally appreciate, knowing how some resorts really don’t care about the environment at all. Also, while building the resort green, sustainable building materials, practices and methods were implemented.

The style of the hotel is rustic in a way as wood combined with concrete has been used a lot, on the other hand, its design is very colorful, which makes it all look fresh and clean. Stones found in the area have been used also as a building material, which creates a very natural feel. I specifically loved the bathroom floor, I’ve never seen anything like that (And hey, I’ve visited over 260 hotels around the world!) - stones in the concrete but not leveled, stones were above the concrete, so that when you walk there you can feel each little round stone underneath your feet!

Astoria Palawan is part of AVLCI – Astoria Vacation and Leisure Club Inc. leading holiday ownership in the Philippines. If you are interested in finding out more about this, click here:

Information about the AVLCI (click here to open the link)


ROOMS

Astoria Palawan has 40 luxurious rooms. Their studio rooms are 38 m2, our 1 bedroom suite is 56 m2 and their 2 bedroom suites are 91 m2.

All of their rooms have either king size beds or two queen size beds. Suites have separate living and dining areas and of course all the modern conveniences, such as A/C, LCD tv, DVD player, internet access, kitchenette, complimentary coffee & tea making facilities.

Further, in our 1 bedroom suite had also microwave oven, induction stove, refrigerator. Of course there was also a bathroom, which was beautiful by the way! It had separate toilet nook, shower nook and bathtub as well as his and hers sinks.

I truly enjoyed our room, it was fresh, colorful, clean, spacious, it had its own kitchen, which I always appreciate due to my many food allergies. Also, the beds were excellent quality. We shared the patio outside with the other suite in the same building but we didn’t mind at all, you don’t really even think about that while there. Also, it was pretty calming to see the ocean when just chilling on the couch. 

BREAKFAST
Breakfast was served in the main restaurant, which provides Al fresco dining and indoor dining.

The buffet-style breakfast was quite good based on what I saw there and I'm pretty sure if there isn't something you want, it can be arranged. I didn't get anything from the buffet though as I got my very own breakfast serving, specifically prepared to meet my needs in terms of food intolerances etc.
I have to say I was particularly happy and impressed by the fact that my breakfast was exactly the way I wanted it to be every single morning. We even chose to sit in this same table everytime as you know me, if there is an ocean view table, that's mine!

I wanted egg white omelet, plain yogurt, some crispy bacon, fresh fruits and got them, delivered to my table every day, I didn’t even need to ask, also a pot of hot water was always brought to me without having to ask for it as I told them that I drink many cups of tea every morning. This may sound like a small deal but for me, who stays at hotels a lot, having a breakfast just like I wanted it is a big deal. I always say that one of the main things guests appreciate is effortless stay and that is exactly what it was over here.

The entire staff was always very attentive, always smiling and not once did we feel like something was missing. If there was something we needed, it was delivered to us within minutes from asking for it.

The resort itself is quite intimate, the area isn’t that big and you learn to recognize the staff members serving you. I like that, it gives you a boutique hotel type of feeling.


ACTIVITIES:

When traveling I prefer hotels that can provide activities to their guests, even on a rainy day. Lucky for us though, it didn’t rain that much while we were there. We like to play pool/billiards so it was such a pleasant surprise to find out that they have a specific games room in one of their maintenance buildings. The room itself I think requires a bit attention, there's really nothing else there other than pool tables; it's got white walls, big windows and that’s it, but it was fine being just a room for the games. However, since the climate is quite humid, I’d set up some type of A/C instead of just a fan,  as the room gets a bit hot after few rounds. …or maybe it was just me as I lost every single round…

(Unfortunately, I just realized that I don't have a photo of the pool table!)

On the beach, you can go kayaking and paddle boarding, although might be best to do that when it's high tide until the beach nourishment process is done. After that, I'm sure, the beach is going to be spectacular, I hope I get to try it out one day!

There is a small golf course (not miniature golf though) green there, and since we are both quite competitive, we naturally had to had to try that one too. I loved the fact that the surroundings were so lush and green. 

We met with a local fellow after our little golf tournament. We were just wandering around and admiring all that impressive flora and all of a sudden I noticed the biggest grasshopper I've ever seen. It was way bigger than my index finger. It just kept chewing those leafs while we photographed it. I managed to even film its long jump to get away from us when it finally spotted us sneaking behind it. 

There was also children's playground next to the golfing area, I'd say quite conveniently located, maybe part of the family can play some golf when the younger ones are having their own fun.

The 39 m infinity pool area is just fantastic. I spent one entire day just swimming, floating and relaxing there. Very clean, well taken care of and easy to access. It also had beautiful view as it’s right next to the beach. 

Pool area is at guests' disposal from 6 am until 10 pm.

There was also very well equipped gym there. 

(Apologies for the poor quality of the photo, taken with another phone, not mine.)

They also had a nice little spa in the resort, very quiet though, maybe it needs more advertising so that guests realize it’s there. We realized it on our last night, I didn’t have time to try it but my partner in crime did and he loved his treatment there. 

You can also book various island and ocean-related excursions via front desk so life certainly won't get boring here!

Joyful Joy also offered us a boat trip together with another couple to the nearby sand reef but since that would’ve been our first morning we simply had to skip it as we woke up the minute we were supposed to be going already. It did rain quite a bit later that morning so maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

One more thing; I have to say kudos to room service here. I tried in-room dining and everything was always spot on, which is not self-explanatory in every hotel. I can see this hotel aiming to the 5th star in the future. 

Our days in the beautiful resort were over sooner than we realized. It was time to check-out and head to towards new adventures. When we headed to our car we noticed that there were wonderful welcoming ceremonies taking place as there was a big summit about to begin in the resort. 

It was easy to tell that in this place everyone participates and does one's best in order to make guests happy to stay and sad to leave.

I want to thank you, Joy and your wonderful staff from the bottom of my heart. After staying at this lovely resort and getting wonderful recommendations for the rest of our time in the Philippines, I ended up co-operating with two other Astoria hotels as well. I will tell you all about them later, probably in January as the rest of the year is very busy travel season in Lapland.

If you ever feel like you'd be interested in staying at this lovely mangrove surrounded resort, make sure you say Hi to Joy for me. I'm sure you get some nice special attention if you stay as a guest in Astoria Palawan based on my recommendation.

Thank you, everyone for reading my introduction.
I also want to apologize for not presenting any meals. Unfortunately, #TRLT chat's FB group (click to open the link)our camera suffered some damage and our food photos were ruined. Not to worry though, there will be plenty of delicious Astoria hotels' dishes in my next blog when introduction Boracay's hotels!

Wishing you all very blessed holiday seasons and happy days!

Let's keep traveling, sharing our experiences and supporting each other.

Let's be kind and considerate of each other, the world is a much better place with kind people in it.

Take care!

Love,
Mia

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


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