A 4–5 hours drive in a private van from Manila to western part of Lingayen, in North Pangasinan led us to El Puerto Marina Beach Resort. A resort that seemed to be at its lonesome on the western end of Lingayen Beach. Secluded and far-flung. Within its gate and fenced property is a fairly large area. There’s enough parking space for at least 5 vehicles. There’s a fishing pond, a pavilion for dining and if you look closely by the reception counter, a small pond with an arapaima.
Accommodations
There’s a good variety of rooms to choose from here. There are bungalows with stilts overlooking the pond, a two-story building with rooms designed for large groups. The ground floor has a dorm. The second floor has family suites. There’s also a new modern-style building nearer the beach with rooms also for large groups as it has bed rooms, a living area and a kitchen.
We stayed in a 2-bedroom family suite in the old two-story building with a nice cogon roofing and vintage style windows. The interior is a mixture or earthly tones from cream-washed walls, wooden furniture and other use of native bamboo materials. Aircondition worked fine though I wish they indicated that they don’t have complete toiletry kit here. Better bring your own dental set here.
Dining
Since El Puerto Marina Beach Resort is quite away from the town proper, their restaurant is the only choice to eat. Their food is quite good, mostly Filipino dishes and flavorful. I especially liked the local dried espada fish (beltfish) for breakfast.
Activities
The whole resort area actually have pleasant breathing space and greens. There’s a small pool for kids with a theme straight out of a Temple Run game. A billiard table and darts can keep some of the guest occupied. A spa for that much-needed pampering. There is at the pavilion Wifi to keep techno-heads connected. The resort is also a good jump-off point for 100 Islands hopping tours. ATVs are available for road exploration, a speed boat and kayak for water adventure or simply bum around the expansive Lingayen Beach under their many tropical beach huts. The beach is just a short walk away and the resort has a line of beach cottages for guest use.
The Aquatica Marina water park on the next page…
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
