Wooden bridge to the beach in Bolinao
It was more than 5 years ago when I first stepped foot at the beach of Patar in Bolinao, Pangasinan. It was the early days when I was starting out on the outdoors. Not too many people knew about this place before and there were only few established resorts at that time. We only stayed in our tents then but were awed by this beautiful stretch of beach which we had for ourselves. Fast forward to present, I never thought that I get to visit this place again. When, two of my sisters secretly plotted to go home without the rest of the kin knowing, they asked me to find a nice vacation place where the whole family could spend a nice weekend. We are not a very rich family so an exotic locale resort is out of the question so I tried to find a nice place only a moderate driving distance from Manila that’s not too popular but scenic and relaxing enough. Something new and something different, and alas, we found ourselves at Punta Riviera Resort.
Pool, sand and the sea
At first, I was actually booking on another upmarket resort there in Bolinao, but their reservation people didn’t get back to me after several calls. Good thing, Gener, the operations manager of Punta Reviera Resort got back to me quickly with a quotation from the details I gave. And since I booked almost a month ahead, I got a considerable amount of discount from them. They were also able to give the driver I hired his own cabana at the resort.
Our room is on the 2nd floor of this building with a great view of the sea
The travel time from Manila to Bolinao took around 5-6 hours with stops along the way. I noticed that the roads coming from Alaminos, Pangasinan are mostly well paved and cemented now. Last I went there, it was still a bare and dusty road. I guess with some resorts developed and being a part of DOT’s “Rediscover the North” project, they developed the roads to make Bolinao more accessible to tourism.
Nicely landscaped garden with my mom (right) and one of my sister (left)
By noon, we arrived at the resort. When the gates opened, it was as if a hidden garden was revealed to us. Honestly this is one of the most scenic resorts I have seen. The centralized garden is well landscaped, tall coconut trees abound give a tropical feel of the place. Buildings in bright orange Mediterranean theme, strategically arranged to let the incoming sea breeze in and have a spectacular view of the garden, the sea coast and the river. I wasn’t disappointed having chose this resort. And since it was Friday, we had the resort mostly to ourselves and a couple of guests.
The resort’s infinity pool
We got a Familia 8 room on the 2nd floor of a building. The rooms has the basic beds and bathroom. It was also air conditioned and additional stylish ceiling fan. There’s no cable or UHF reception here but there is a DVD player if you want to watch some movies. You may bring you own but the reception also has a large selection of DVDs/VCDs you can rent for free.
statues found around the garden
The room is fairly spacious and comfortable. It just so happen that our room has no lock as it was just removed the day before for repair. But we didn’t have any problems with security and nothing was lost in our room even if we left some things there and had them cleaned. If you’re paranoid, you can leave your important stuff at the reception. Tap water seems to be coming from a deep well as it has a bit of taste. Electricity is ok. There were moments of interruption but it goes back shortly and they have a generator at the area.
Tall coconut trees among the garden
The resort also have a restaurant which serves several Filipino dishes and of course sea foods. We were able to try their cuisines for dinner and all were delicious. We could really taste the freshness of the ingredients. The price for the meals were also very reasonable. They also give complimentary breakfast with their rooms. Breakfast composed of danggit, hotdog, fried egg and fried rice with a choice of coffee or choco or tea. You also have an option to upgrade to more meals but the free one was already good enough.
Dining area with our complimentary breakfast
Punta Riviera Resort is a brian child of couple Dr. Ian Mc-Feat Smith and Aileen Respicio. The former is a Scottish Geotechnical consultant married to Filipina Ilocana Aileen. We were able to meet Dr Ian as he greeted us personally when we arrived. Nice guy and I was able to chit-chat with him several times during our stay there talking about how the resort started and his expansion plans as well.
Morning by the Ilog Malino
Dr Ian told me that originally the place was planned to be their retirement home when they came back from Hong Kong. As it was being developed, Aileen had a more grander plan and soon opened it up as a resort to the public back in 2006. What’s amazing is that they didn’t really hire a professional architect or landscape artist to design the place but had to decide the aesthetics on their own. It somehow gave me an idea that they didn’t really hire a professional since one of their stairs has uneven steps.
kayaking through the scenic Ilog (river) Malino with my big brother ahead
I guess one thing that sets this resort apart from the other resorts in the area is that they are situated in a very scenic spot where the river meets the sea. And I vouch for the scenery. Though we weren’t able to actually see the sea and Ilog (river) Malino actually meet because of the season the scenery is still very good. Dr Ian told me that I should try to Kayak there and I did with my brother and it was a very scenic trail of a river by the sea.
Flags and a hut by the beach
Though the sea coast is very scenic, the sand quality here is not very ideal for swimming. Lots of crushed corals and the waves up ahead are quite strong, more ideal for surfing (and they have a surfboard you can use). But the resort is also a nice starting point in exploring the rest of Bolinao. From there, it’s a good 15 minutes drive to the finer sands of Patar white beach, and to the historic Cape Bolinao lighthouse. In between there are also several in land cave pools you can visit.
Sunset at the beach
All in all it was a fairly enjoyable stay at the resort. The family got to relax and enjoy. If you are looking for something different, something new, where your family or barkada (friends) can enjoy for the summer, make this an option when you are in Pangasinan.
Check out their website: http://www.puntarivieraresort.com
And also my Bolinao Video from my previous post.
You can contact them directly at:
punta_riviera_resort@yahoo.com or
Tel +(63) 756961350 / 756961274 or
Mobile Gener – 09185917148
we went there last 2008 summer and man that place rocks!
one of the most tranquil resort i’ve ever visited.
well, when you arrive alaminos you’ll just have to ask
the conductor from the bus you rode on how to get to bolinao.
cos i think we took another bus ride from victory liner.
then we went to the resort riding a tricycle…can’t remember how much
though. =)
It seems like a really nice place. How much would we need? I’d love to go there this summer. We’re 3 people. Thank you.
wow mare ko guz2 ko nnmn bumalik dyan! mizz ko n dyan! khit sa la marea d tau nag kikita
muzta ka n nga pla?
tinitignan ko nlng sa website mo ang punta reviera resort
ang ganda ganda tlaga
aaaaaahhhhhhyyyyyy sna makabalik uli ako dyan!!!!!!
I just got back from PUNTA RIVIERA RESORT, Bolinao just this weekend with a group of friends who also like to travel but unfortunately, this place is not as good as it looks like. At first we were excited to visit the place because it is our first time to be in Bolinao but after getting there, after we were assisted to our Cabanas, our well-deserved out-of-town vacay turned out to be the worst vacation ever! The place is not that impressive compared to the other resorts in the area, our Cabanas look like underground holding dens, OVERPRICING of services (just borrowing an extra towel is worth P150–non refundable! you can buy 2 towels in SM with that price!), there’s a permanent 2-hr “brown-out” every after 5 hrs, most of the staff are INSENSITIVE AND SARCASTIC, the EXPENSIVE UNREASONABLE food (despite of taking an hour to prepare) was NEVER good and they would always serve them in small amounts.. sobra kaming tinipid!
And we are not the only irate supposed-to-be-valued guests in the resort. We would always see and hear irritated and complaining visitors all the time.. complaining about everything because the service is just oh so bad!
So if you are looking for a place to stay in Bolinao, pls pls pls do not go to PUNTA RIVIERA RESORT. This place will suck the money and energy out of you and will leave you IRATE, STRESSED and BROKE!
We just got back from a long weekend at Punta Riviera at Bolinao and had a great stay there. We heard that two weeks ago the area had a direct hit from a typhoon and expected the roads to be blocked and the power lines down but fortunately the roads were clear. The resort is the only one that has non – generator power already. The staff were very nice to us, smiled a lot, especially Gener their Operataions Manager. The food was a bit pricey but tasted very good. We’ll be back again soon. Thanks and God bless.
Hi! We would like to visit ur place, how much is your room rate?
i’ve been to your resort before i guess it was summer of 2006 and it was an amazing experience. I would like to come back there next year. i would like to ask if how much would a 2 day stay for 5-6 person would cost me?
We went to Punta Riviera last weekend (31st May) and had a great holiday – best ever. The infinity pool sits above the river and the beach front so you can swim and watch the waves at the edge of the coral reef. It was sooo very romantic especially at sunset. The service was great – they are S’MILES BETTER and the food was international and good pinoy. The rooms are modern and clean and we’ll be back asap.