Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Life begins where WIFI is weak
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My favourite beach resort

Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa is located in Bingag area just 8.5 km from Tagbilaran city. This is my favourite beach resort, maybe because it's not the usual beach resort style with a big complex of buildings and down the sea front you will find the usual long beach with white sand. This resort consists of a reception, restaurant and some other minor buildings.

Overlooking the pools and the sea with a fantastic view

The whole area is overlooking the pools and the sea with a fantastic view. There are bungalows here for accommodation and they are scattered around the area nicely hidden in the vegetation. And yes, there is a smaller natural beach here as well. You reach it through stairs from the main area down to the actual beach.
Review of Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa Bohol Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa

Review of Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa reception Bohol Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

The reception area

​Suitable for easy snorkelling and swimming

Just outside the resort a few 100 m out  in the sea you have a small island, partly artificial I believe. Around this island it's suitable for some easy snorkelling and swimming. If you prefer to swim in the pools there are three big pools and a smaller bubble pool available, all with different temperatures of the water. The  food in the restaurant is tasty and the service is good. They have a dinner buffet here which also is good, although not comparable to the one you find at Henann Resort, see the previous blog post. WiFi was only working in the reception area. 
Review of Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa 1 Bohol Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

View from the reception area

Review of Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa restaurant and me Bohol Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

The restaurant from where you have a beautiful view over the sea

Review of Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa view over sea Bohol Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

The view from the restaurant

Perfect for a day visit

It's perfect to make a day visit here, you can relax, swim in the sea or in the pools and enjoy some nice food in the restaurant. To enter the resort you need to pay an entrance fee, around 800 PHP per person and most of it is consumable in the restaurant. Access to the dressing rooms and showers is included. Notice, that this review comes from a one-day visitor's point of view because I have never stayed overnight here.  

​Rating: 1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
4 Food 
5 Service
4 Value
5 Atmosphere
I have been here many times over the years, but last time was December 2015. 

Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa
Bingag, Dauis 6339, Bohol, Philippines
Phone: (63-38)510-8495 / 510-8497
Review of Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa view over pool Bohol Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Relaxation in the pool

Review of Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa view from sea Bohol Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

The bungalows are nicely hidden in the vegetation

Review of Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa view sea front Bohol Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Mmm which pool shall I choose today?

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​Heaven for the hungry ones!

This review cover only the fabulous dinner buffet you can eat at Henann Resort. By the time I was there they also offered a lunch buffet. Henann Resort is the biggest beach resort in Panglao Island and beautifully located at Alona Beach. The price for the dinner buffet was around 1000 PHP and definitely worth its price.
You could choose between a huge selection of dishes. One of the highlight was the barbecue section where you could choose between fresh meat, fish and seafood and get it barbecued according to your tastebuds.  Another highlight was the pasta section. Select your favourite pre cooked pasta together with the other ingredients and they will fix it while you wait. There were many other side dishes like different types rice, potatoes, veggies,  delicious sauces etc etc. Last but not least they had a huge selection pastries and other sweets for dessert.
​So be sure you come starved and you will get full satisfaction and value for your money!

Rating: 1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
5 Food 
5 Service
5 Value
5 Atmosphere
I was here December 2015. 

Henann Resort Alona Beach
Alona Beach, Tawala Panglao Island, Bohol 6340, Philippines
Phone: (63) (38) 502-9141 to 44
Henann Resort, view over the pool and beachfront
The chef fixing your choice of pasta while you wait
Some of the ingredients you could choose for your pasta
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Service with a smile!

Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant is located 10 min by car from Tagbilaran city square along the main road. It is a big place with many seats but when we were there it was relatively empty of people. The service was excellent and the food was good with good value for the money.

​Rating: 1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
4 Food 
5 Service
4 Value
3 Atmosphere
I was here December 2015.

Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant
Carlos P. Garcia Avenue, 6300 Tagbilaran City
Phone: +639176588654
Review of Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant (Bohol, Philippines) © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

The entrance

Review of Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant the waitress (Bohol, Philippines) © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Service with a big smile

Review of Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant everybody happy with the food (Bohol, Philippines) © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Everybody liked the food

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​The sleeping beauty

This is Mt Mayon. It's the most active volcano in the Philippines, erupting over 49 times in the past 400 years. Last time was 2014. But for the time being it's just a sleeping beauty. To see this beauty you must come to Legazpi City in south of Luzon. If you are lucky you might be able to hike the summit depending on the volcanic activity. I tried twice but due to the volcanic activity it was not possible to hike the mountain.
Mt Mayon Legazpi Bicol Philippines © LordProduction

Mt Mayon, the sleeping beauty in Legazpi City.

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Ligñon Hill in Legazpi City rises to 156 m overlooking the Mayon Volcano to the northwest and the entire city and Albay Gulf to the east. Legazpi International Airport is located just below on the south side of  the hill.
Picture
Picture
On top of the hill you will find Ligñon Hill Nature Park. The park has a viewing deck with coin operated telescopes, a landscaped promenade as well as restaurants and souvenir shops. Other features include a zipline and a 50-foot tunnel constructed by the Japanese during World War II.
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​Sunset over Bicol

The rolling landscape of the Bicol region, just near Legazpi city in the Philippines. Typical for Bicol, is its delicious pili nuts and the spicy food with ingredients like coconut milk and chili. The easiest and fastest way to come here is by air from Manila. If you are on a tight budget you can take the bus instead but whatever transportation you choose it's well worth it. ​There are much to see and do here.
Rolling Landscape Bicol Philippines © LordProduction

Sunset over Bicol

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​Affordable hotel with central location in Makati

Isabelle Royale is located near Makati Avenue and just a couple of minutes walking distance from A. Venue Mall where you have shops, a supermarket and restaurants. Just near A. Venue Mall they also have a small night market with local food and live performances, nice and perfect for a tight budget! If you prefer a more upscale area like the Ayala Triangle or Greenbelt, you can get there with a taxi within minutes, depending on the traffic of course. As an alternative to taxi and heavy traffic, it felt safe to walk down the Makati Avenue to get there, even in the evenings.

View over the Makati skyline

The room was clean and had a nice view over the Makati skyline at night. WiFi was working good even in the room. The room was equipped with a refrigerator and a water boiler. The AC was the old style but it went fairly good to adjust the temperature. A simple but ok breakfast was included and served at the top floor. The staff was friendly and helpful. I did find some cockroaches in the room and therefore I can only give a 3 for the Cleanliness.

​Rating: 1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
5 Location
4 Sleep Quality
4 Rooms
4 Service
5 Value for the money
3 Cleanliness 
I stayed here in December 2015

Isabelle Royale Makati
4343 P. Valdez Street Brgy. Poblacion Makati City, Makati, 1213 Manila, Philippines
​Phone: +63 2 857 2600
View from room 603
Breakfast
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At the airport when checking in:
Airport staff: Oh mr Lord, your hand luggage is too heavy... 11 kg. You are only allowed to have 7 kg.
Mr Lord thinking: Oh shit not again!
But Mr Lord replying: Ok give me a minute.
I remove a book, put it in the checked in luggage. I remove my giant camera and hang it over my shoulder. I take out my laptop and holding it in my hand. Give my hand luggage back to the airport staff. Once again she checks my hand luggage and now the weight is only 6 kg.
Airport staff: Thank you Mr Lord. You are now good for check in!
Mr Lord thinking: Thank you so much for this wonderful logic!
Airliner, Ryan Air
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Face Mask Filipina girl Philippines
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​The best Blueberry Cheesecake!

There are currently two Bo's Coffee shops in Tagbilaran. One is in ICM, Island City Mall. The other one is strategically located at the city square near the cathedral in Tagbilaran. This review is about the latter one, located at the city square.
This was my watering hole to get real good coffee. They had a wide selection of pastries where my favorite was the Blueberry Cheesecake. They also served complete breakfasts, pasta and savory pies suitable for lunch.

They make me feel welcome every time

I came many times here to work with my computer and drink Café Latte with Blueberry Cheesecake. Good WiFi and electrical outlets for charging your phone or computer were available at some seats. The CR (Comfort Room) was always nice and clean. The staff was friendly and made their effort to make me feel welcome every time.
The only downside was that sometimes it could be really noisy when there were many guests and that they didn't repair one of the electrical outlets despite I reminded them about it several times.

Rating: 1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
5 Food 
5 Service
5 Value
4 Atmosphere
I have been here many times 2015-2016.

Bo's Coffee
Front of Rizal Plaza | Torralba Street, Tagbilaran City, Philippines
Phone: + 63 38 501 9345
A table with a view
View towards the entrance
My favorite, café latte and Blueberry Cheesecake
WiFi was good
My snack