A beachside oasis near Laoag

After spending a busy day in the city of Laoag, the capital of the province called Ilocos Norte, we got exhausted from the heat and the hustle and bustle of the city and decided to spend the night at this massive estate not too far from Laoag. We’d known already that the resort was also a casino, so we expected it to be crowded and noisy but we were told upon arrival that the casino, which is located on the second floor, had been closed. It was actually surprisingly quiet, although we did see a lot of other guests later on (most likely because of how big the resort is, it didn’t seem crowded at all). To get to our room we had to walk through the gardens and spacious red cobblestone hallways which reminded me of something you’d find in an exotic palace, with a very middle eastern vibe (think Aladdin!), a giant fountain in the middle of the grounds (unfortunately it wasn’t on) and the sound of an early tropical evening surrounding us. The swimming pool was open until 9:30 in the evening, the room was clean and spacious, with a very nice balcony, and the only downside was the air temperature in the room. It was freezing and since the air conditioning system is centralized, there was nothing we could do about it. The following morning breakfast was served in the restaurant near the reception area, and to be honest it was a bit disappointing. There wasn’t a wide enough choice of dishes, but there was plenty of fruit, which was a good thing for me. The service was very good though and their coffee was black and strong, just the way I like it. We spent the rest of the morning at the pool, and left around noon. All in all, it was good value for money. We were under the impression that the resort used to be spectacular in the past, but unfortunately must have seen some hard times and was definitely not in its prime anymore. It would have been amazing to experience it when it was newly opened.