Puerto Galera has always been one of the
top summer destinations in the Philippines. It’s proximity to Manila as
well as its relative affordability in contrast to the more popular and star studded Boracay,
makes it the perfect spot for those short weekend getaways that most people in
the metro find most desirable.
And true to its nature as a beach hotspot,
Galera has gazillions of bars, restaurants and resorts all usually filled with
tourists and vacationers. And if you’re not careful, you might get lost in the
midst of all those choices and end up with an unsatisfactory vacation.
Well, the good thing is that the TFL team
just went on a weekend getaway at Puerto Galera and I’m here to give a short review
of Sunset at Aninuan Beach – one of
the many beach front resorts found in the Puerto Galera area.
Getting
There
Getting to there is just like going to any
other place in Puerto Galera. You just have to take a one hour boat ride from
Batangas port and alight at White beach. You can also have the boat directly
drop you off at the resort itself. But just do note to ask the crew to drop you
off at White beach in case they also drop people off at Sabang beach.
Once you’re in White beach, you just either
wait for the resort’s funky looking jeepney to meet you and accompany you to
Sunset at Aninuan beach, or you can hire tricycle/s to get there. Or better
yet, if you’re feeling adventurous, you can do a 10-15 minute hike from White
beach to reach the place.
First
impressions
Sunset at Aninuan beach (yes, the name can
sometimes really be a mouthful) is different from most places in Galera. For
starters, it’s located at a considerable distance from White beach and Sabang
beach, far from all the noise of the various bars and restaurants in the
vicinity.
It’s also quite unassuming. The main
entrance of the resort is almost unnoticeable. Except for a black gate and a
big signage with the name of the resort, the façade of the place is as minimal
as it can get. But once you have descended the stair case from the entrance, it
leads to the very pleasant and quiet beach of the resort.
The place is very quiet and serene,
primarily due to the fact that the resort as well as its next door neighbour –
the Tamaraw beach resort only accommodates a small number of guests. In
general, Sunset of Aninuan beach resort conveys a peaceful and a more high-end
type of place compared to what most of Galera has to offer.
Ambiance
(Rating: 4 out of 5)
As I stated earlier, Sunset at Aninuan
provides a quiet ambiance for its guests. There are numerous places within the
resort where people can lounge and sit around. The resort is filled with
different kinds of cushioned outdoor furniture for sun bathing, eating or just plain
old lounging. There are also quite a few sun bathing beds as well as hammocks
scattered all around the place in case you want to lay around.
There are also numerous umbrellas placed
around the resort to provide ample amounts of shade to guests. Almost every
table in the resort is decorated with a bowl of water with a floating Hibiscus
(Gumamela) flower. There are two public restrooms, two of which are located in the new wing while the other 2 are located in the old wing right beside the kitchen.
In terms of the rooms, we were checked in
at one of the old wing’s standard family rooms. The room is quite big and has
two twin size beds as standard. Our room has its own bathroom with hot and cold
water. The hotel also supplies its guest with white bathroom towels that can be
replaced every day, as well as a bottle or two of shampoo/conditioner, a few
rolls of tissue paper and a few bars of soap. The resort also provides its
guests with orange towels that can only be used outdoors and just like the
white room towels, guests can only request for it once a day.
Moreover, each room has its own air
conditioner, one to two ceiling fans, a TV set with cable service and a built
in cabinet as standard. The beds are lined with white sheets that can also be
replaced each day. And the rooms are decorated by oil paintings and functional
side table lamp shades. There are also mirrors placed in each room as well as a
clothes and towel rack for each guest’s convenience.
If you’d like to stay in the main
building’s new rooms, you’ll have the privilege of having interconnecting rooms
that works best for families on vacation. The rooms in the new wing are also
provided with their own balcony some of which faces the beach and the sea.
The only thing that I didn’t quite like
about the resort’s ambiance is that there is a clear division between the old
and new wing. Especially if you’re staying at the old wing’s rooms, you can
clearly see the difference in the room’s design and build quality. It would
have been nice if they made the look of the rooms consistent throughout the
entire resort.
Activities
(Rating: 4 out of 5)
Although Sunset at Aninuan is a little bit
far from White beach where most of the worthwhile activities are found, the
place offers some extras to compensate for the lack of in-house entertainment.
For starters, it is the only place along White beach that has its own swimming
pool. The pool is lined with blue tiles which make it quite a joy to look at.
The pool is also surrounded by bamboo shaped water features. It also sits
beside a bar where you can order drinks and liquor shots right of the bat.
There is also a Jacuzzi with water jets that sits beside the bar for everyone
to enjoy.
If you’re looking for a relaxing treat,
there is also a spa found within the resort that offers various massage
services to resort guests. Do note though that spa services and treatments
doesn’t come free of charge, in fact, it’s not cheap.
The consolation though is that other
amenities in the resort can be used for free. There’s a beach volleyball court
that can be used by all guests anytime of the day. There’s also a dart board, a
ping pong table, a billiard table and foosball if you fancy doing activities
indoors.
If you want to get some outdoor fun, you
can use the kayaks in the resort free of charge. You can either kayak your way
along the shoreline or you can explore the lagoon at the side of Sunset at
Aninuan. But if you’re feeling mighty adventurous, you can try your hand at
scuba diving that the resort offers at a price. At around PHP1,300 – PHP 3.500
per person, you can now enjoy the thrill of scuba diving at Puerto Galera. The
said amount includes the use of diving equipment as well as a short crash
course into scuba diving provided by a foreigner dive instructor.
Parasailing, banana boat rides, snorkelling
and jet skiing are not readily available services of the resort, but if you
really want to experience these activities, you can have the staff of Sunset at
Aninuan to contact the providers of these services for you.
Food
and Services (2 out of 5)
Food and services is usually the pocket
burner when it comes to vacationing. And Puerto Galera is not an exception. Prices
of food at White beach alone are already double the usual prices of goods in
local stores in and around the metro.
Sunset at Aninuan beach resort takes it
even higher by offering food at astronomical prices. Food and beverages at the
resort are prices so high that majority of its guests would prefer to dine in
White beach restaurants and bars than eat offerings from the resort’s own
kitchen.
A 237ml Coke sakto which sells for about
less than 10 pesos in your local sari-sari store would cost around 45 pesos at
Sunset at Aninuan. A regular serving of cheese burger and fries cost around 160
pesos. Moreover, the resort’s kitchen doesn’t offer service water to its
customers. Instead, people who desire to drink mineral water will be forced to
buy a 250ml bottle worth 30 pesos. So if you’re the type of vacationer on a
limited budget when it comes to food tripping, Sunset at Aninuan may not be the
best place for you to stay while you’re in Galera.
Service wise, the resort falls in the
“iffy” category. I’d like that the resort staff was very friendly and courteous
but I don’t like that the service they provide isn’t at par with the price they
charge people. Our breakfast took almost an entire hour to be served (although
it was a group order). Even single and small group orders take quite some time
before you can enjoy eating it. And to make matters worse, the kitchen staff
weren’t really accurate in taking your orders which can bad for you in case
they make a mistake when charging your orders to your final bill. In the end,
we ended up overpaying for the food which was very bad L.
It’s
the small things that count (Rating: 3 out of 5)
Most of the time, it’s the small things
that make an experience quite memorable for someone. And yet again, Sunset at
Aninuan is quite halfway between good and not so good. First is that for a
resort that charge foreign tourist prices, the welcoming committee are quite
below average. The jeepney that was supposed to pick us up at White beach took
almost an hour to reach us. And the lady who greeted us, although smiling
wasn’t quite warm and welcoming (in my personal opinion).
There’s also a time limit to most resort
services. The kitchen is not open 24 hours and closes at 9pm. The pool cannot
be used beyond 8 or 9 in the evening. And if you’re a videoke fanatic, be
prepared to get disappointed because they do not offer this service reasoning
that it would cause disturbance to guests who sleep early.
I also don’t believe that the resort offers
room service as I wasn’t able to find a menu in our room and there is no phone
or even an intercom that guests can use to ask for help from the staff.
Although I am not that sure if the communication service is available to guests
in the new wing. Also, wi-fi connectivity is not available throughout the
entire resort complex but is only available to a specific area.
On the plus side, I was very impressed upon
seeing the ceramic jars filled with water scattered all around the resort which
is placed at major entrances. At first I wasn’t sure what these jars were for
and thought of them as just an aesthetic element to the place’s design. I only
got to realize its use when I saw my friend use a wooden ladle to pour water to
his feet to remove sand. It was the first place I’ve visited to think of that
idea. So on that note, Sunset at Aninuan did very well.
The
Beach (Rating: 3 out of 5)
The beach at Sunset at Aninuan beach resort is very average. Compared to White
beach, the beach in front of the resort is quite stony and less sandy. There
are some spots where sand is more dominant than stone but nevertheless; the
sand is not that fine. In fact the sand at this part of Galera is not find and
somewhat less fine than that of Laiya in Batangas.
Furthermore, pollution is very rampant even
on this side of Puerto Galera. We’ve found small plastic bags floating in the
water near the beach as well as junk food wrappers not far from the area where
we kayaked. We even found a sanitary napkin that drifted into the beach.
The
Verdict
Sunset at Aninuan beach resort is one of a
few places in Puerto Galera that offer a nice accommodation at “relatively” affordable
prices. It is most advisable for honeymooners and family vacationers who want
to stay in Puerto Galera because of its convenient location from Metro Manila
but still wants a peaceful and relaxing vacation. It is the best place to be if
you don’t like the noise of all the partying and other activities of White
beach or Sabang beach.
Except for the super expensive food in
their kitchen, Sunset at Aninuan provides guest with a reasonable host of
services and amenities that’s quite remarkable taking in consideration the type
of customers the resort is targeting. So all in all, although the resort is far
from being the perfect place for a summer getaway, it is quite recommendable.
OVERALL RATING: 3.5 stars out of 5.
