I am the first person to admit that while I have been around (most of) the world, I have not explored the Philippines as much as I really should. What a shame, I know. This year, I decided to make it a point to make an effort to prove that #itsmorefuninthephilippines.
As part of my quest, I accepted an invitation to join my friends Karla and Tina of “Karla Around the World” and “Hungry Travel Duo” on a weekend trip to EAGLE POINT RESORT in Anilao, Batangas. Eagle Point is one of the pioneers in the area. This dive resort sits on a long property that hugs the Anilao coast. The video above shows you most of what we did while we were there.
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| View of the ocean from the main veranda of Eagle Point Resort |
Meanwhile, here’s a closer look at the experience:
ACCOMODATIONS:
Like, I said, the 6-hectare property is fairly big. We found ourselves on one end of the resort, where a block of hotel rooms called the “TERRACE HOTEL” is situated. This is the main “hotel” area, but the other end of the property has several villas/cottages. If you’re coming as a big group, it might be a good idea to stay in the cottages. As the name suggests, all the rooms have sea-facing terraces.
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| Twin bedroom good for 4 pax |
Our room had two queen sized beds. Four people can comfortably stay in the room. Everything seemed to be newly updated, which was a pleasant surprise. the bathroom also looks like it was freshly refurbished. The toiletries were basic, but I never really use hotel toiletries anyway. If you need then though, the basic necessities are available.
The room had cable TV with the usual local and English channels. The biggest issue I had was the WiFi. The signal was very weak for both SMART and GLOBE data. The free Hotel WiFi does not reach the room either. For a group of content creators, this did not go over well with us. We spent a lot of time at the lobby area or at the restaurant just to get internet service. This area definitely needs to be improved.
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| The resort's rocky coastline |
RESTAURANT
The Eagle’s Nest restaurant was very spacious. You can also enjoy a view of the ocean from almost every table. There were ceiling fans but sadly, those did not do enough to shoo away all the flies. One of the other guests at the resort told me about how much this bothered him and his family. Basically, as soon as the food is laid out on the table, you will be bombarded with flies. I know that this is probably more because of the location itself but I think the resort could do more to prevent this.
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| Eagle's Nest Restaurant |
Let’s talk about the food. Breakfast was really good. We enjoyed our typical Filipino set meals which included beef tapa and my favorite tocino. Definitely nothing to complain about here.
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| My favorite tocino |
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| An extra serving of beef tapa |
Lunch and Dinner was mostly a la carte food. The Filipino options were ok but not great. The salpicao was very tough. Nothing to write home about and it’s unfortunate that you really have just one dining option in the property.
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| Beef Salpicao |
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| Bulalo |
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| Salmon with Garlic Butter |
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| The sad pizza |
AMENITIES
There were four pools in the property. all of them were kept fairly clean. The freshwater pools all had a depth of around 4 feet, which is a nice safe depth for recreation. We spent a lot of time at the pool because the ocean was choppy and we were not able to go out to Sepoc beach. Eagle Point is located along a rocky shoreline so you can’t really swim in the ocean. The waves are strong and it’s quite dangerous to swim near the shore.
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| The pool at the end of the property. Very private |
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| One of the two pools near our room at the Terrace Hotel |
Sadly, there was no bar by the pools. It would have been great if we could chill with a few cocktails and snacks. We could have spent hours doing that. There seems to be a small bar structure but it was unmanned.
Other than the pools, there was one pool table which was not exactly in good condition. There was a table tennis setup beside the pool table but there were no cues, balls, paddles and such. I assume you would have to walk all the way to the reception to request for those.
DIVING
The best part about Eagle Point Resort is the saltwater pool and diving facility. This is a dive resort first and foremost. If you are a beginner, you can have your lessons here. They have dive masters in the property and you can practice safely in the saltwater pool. Once you feel confident enough, the resort can arrange a trip to one of the nearby diving spots in the Anilao area.
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| Diving lessons at the saltwater pool |
If you are an experienced diver, you can also come here and enjoy diving in the area while having a place to stay for the day or overnight. You can rent boats and equipment before heading out to the best locations accompanied by in-house guides.
For us, because we could not head out to Sepoc beach due to the strong waves, we had some fun snorkelling and swimming with the fish inside the saltwater pool.
SERVICE
The staff was friendly and accommodating. They always made it a point to attend to all of our requests. My only issue is perhaps the fact that the place is undermanned. For such a large resort, the staff was concentrated mostly at the reception and at the restaurant.
1. No Lifeguards: I am not sure if there are any laws against this but for international resorts, it’s a big issue is there are no lifeguards by the pools.
2. No towel service: We had to go all the way to the reception to borrow towels for the pool. Other guests who were swimming told us that they were forced to bring the towels from their rooms because they didn’t know where to get towels since there was no one by the pool area.
3. No staff by the recreation area: Again, there was no staff that we could ask if we can borrow billiard balls/table tennis equipment. There was also no one to order drinks from etc.
While I understand that the place was not full and hiring a lot of staff costs money, it was definitely a downer to the overall experience. Even just one person in the main pool area who had a radio to call other staff members would have made a big difference.
Overall, it was a pleasant stay. I would definitely come back for a chance to visit Sepoc beach.
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