Even the most traveled global visitors readily accept the El Nido Resorts’s greeting: “Welcome to our little piece of paradise.” The winner of a number of awards bestowed by Trip Advisor, World Boutique Hotels and other global bodies, the four island resorts in Northern Palawan offer the widest range of pristine dive and snorkeling sites, secret lagoons and mangroves for exploration, in addition to its luxury accommodations, in Asia.
To encourage domestic tourists, who spend more conservatively to enjoy these destinations, El Nido Resorts annually offers special packages for local residents at the Philippine Travel Agencies Association’s Travel Tour Expo. The 2018 edition will be at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City from Feb. 9 to 11. As in the past, strong demand for El Nido Resorts deals is expected.
According to Joey Bernardino, group director of Sales and Marketing, El Nido Resorts will offer best-value packages for Miniloc, Lagen, Pangulasian and Apulit Island Resorts. The first three, all within the municipality of El Nido in Bacuit Bay, hosts 855 species of marine fish, 400 species of coral and five species of marine turtles. In neighboring Taytay, the less populated Apulit offers the most stunning colorful coral reefs and the unique set of fish that thrive in this habitat.
Apulit, Miniloc and Lagen guests can enjoy a three-day, two-night stay in selected rooms for P21,800 and P23,100 and P29,800 per person, respectively. The deals cover all meals served buffet style, complimentary boat transfers from the Lio Airport Terminal to the island resorts and the use of snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding and other equipment. Travel period is from February 13 up to May 31.
The top-end Pangulasian Island Resort has won prestigious Condé Naste Traveler’s (CNT) Awards two years in a row. It made it to CNT’s 2018 Gold List of “Favorite Hotels in the World” while the magazine’s readers named it among the “Top Resorts in Asia” in 2017. Accommodations in a Canopy Villa for three days and two nights and breakfast will be offered for P33,000 per person.
Unique to all El Nido Resorts is the inclusion into the room rate of popular tours with boat rides, tour guides and required equipment. Guests billeted in its Bacuit Bay island resorts enjoy free of charge visits to the iconic Big and Small Lagoons, Snake Island, secret caves, as well as white-sand beach clubs exclusive to its guests.
Apulit guests look forward to tours of Isla Blanca and Nabat Island in addition to the white-sand coves exclusive to them and swimming with baby black tip sharks just a few steps from their rooms.
The island resort’s guest rooms and clubhouse were recently renovated to provide guests more space and wider picture-window views of their pristine surroundings.
Bernardino notes that the convenience of no longer having to calculate costs and arrange for tours once a guest is in the four island resorts more than makes up for the initial outlay. Guest reviews, nonetheless, tend to single out the service, especially those provided by the tour guides. “Most of our guides count Palawan as their home and have a natural affinity for the area. We further enhance their sense of place by giving them special training in the flora and fauna and natural geological formations of Bacuit Bay,” he explained. “They are trained to make guests fall in love with our piece of paradise.”
With the global rise of ecotourism and a strong preference for nature-based attractions, the stream of both international and local visitors to El Nido Resorts is growing exponentially. This should be a great incentive for Philippine residents to make the most of Travel Tour Expo 2018’s deals from El Nido Resorts this February.