Birthday Staycation at Puerto del Sol Bolinao Pangasinan

We have always wanted to go to Bolinao, but the 5 hours drive from Manila and often unpredictable weather have been huge deterrents preventing us from visiting sooner ~

We were glad that we finally had an opportunity to finally visit Bolinao and experience first hand Puerto del Sol ~ for my youngest birthday weekend.

We left Manila at 5:30am and arrived in Bolinao at 1pm.

The road to Bolinao is a combination of both paved and rough road. The travel left us both hungry and tired. I checked the trusted TripAdvisor for recommended places to eat and became excited when I saw a signage directing to Sungayan Restaurant.

Sungayan is one of the best recommended places to eat in Bolinao.

(Will write about our Sungayan experience in a separate review), so yes, we stopped by to  re-charge  before our final stop ~ Puerto del Sol.

Finally arrived ~ Welcome to Puerto del Sol!

The staff were nice and accommodating.  Check-in was fast and efficient too.  The receptionist carefully explained our package inclusions, before ushering us to our accommodation for the weekend ~ the Mansion Villa.

Our birthday boy.

Waiting for our room...

The Mansion Villa is a short walk from the resort's entrance lobby and located right in front of the resort's swimming pool. 

I was completely taken with the resort's well kept garden...  

All that green is truly relaxing!

We were billed in a Mansion Villa (see picture below).  

Our room is about 29-30sqm in size with a private patio and seating area. The room is quite small and basic. 

The TV channel selections were limited (with some of the channels were not children friendly) and wifi really bad (there are limited areas in the resort that will give you reasonable wifi signal.  

The bathroom (the toiletries were mediocre).  It was good that the linens and towels were soft, nicely laundered. 

But these hang ups were no biggie, since we were there for the beach and the pool (with the beautifully trimmed garden, a plus)!

Comfortable bed.

Pikachu getting cozy!  

Sad that there is no real coffee maker/kettle inside  the room.  We were just given a thermos of hot water (note: you can request for additional hot water anytime).  There is also a mini-bar though, items inside were quite pricey (a bottle of beer at P100+).

Our private patio... 

If you are not in the mood to go swimming,  the resort has a gaming area that checked-in guests can use for free. They have pool, air hockey, ping-pong and darts.

Just a few meters walk from the Mansion Villa ~ Beach Bound!

The water does not go higher than your knees though  ~ not very good for swimming, but perfect for beach walks!

And since, this birthday boy has been begging to go swimming since the time we left Manila about 8 hours ago, we just had to go NOW!

Obviously enjoying his swim..

Our room package included buffet dinner and breakfast.

Food is served  at Café Del Sol and

La Playa, Al Fresco restaurant by the beach.

Food were good, but with limited selection.  I think the resort can better.

VERDICT:

The beach and pool are enough reasons to visit Puerto Del Sol.  

We enjoyed our stay. 

The kids had fun and the parents got to relax.

For questions and inquiries, please check Puerto Del Sol website:  www.puertodelsol.com.ph

Matutina's Seafood House and Restaurant (the real deal)!

If you are looking for an authentic Filipino dining experience in Pangasinan, I suggest a stop over at Matutina's

(skip the annexes and head to the original branch; we were at  Matutina's Annex I branch last time and we were a bit disappointed).

 

The main branch is beautiful. It's ceiling is adorned with exquisite capiz tile chandeliers. 

 

The restaurant has an outdoor seating next to a small but lovely garden and an indoor air-conditioned room for those who would like to escape the summer heat.

We wanted to keep our orders simple (since I over ordered in our initial visit - for sharing orders are quite big and we were not very hungry, and decided on their breakfast viands).

From L-R, T-B we ordered (a) 2 sets boneless bangus; (b) turon (with generous portions of  saging and langka); (c) complimentary bukayo sweets; and (d) 2 sets longsilog  (not in picture is our pitcher or brewed tea and coffee

Our orders were all spot on.  I especially enjoyed the boneless bangus and turon (yummy). Ambiance is way, way better here than at the annex. Staff here were very amiable and attentive as well.

 

We will definitely drop by the Original Matutina's again in our North Luzon adventure!

 

Marooned in Mabilao Pangasinan for 3days and 2 nights

... the good kind of stranded...

 

I knew I should have just booked a night, I don't know what pushed me to reserve two.  Our trip was on a Holy Week and the resort was a little off the poblacion, so there was very little happenings. 

 

But it was okay, it was fun bonding with my kiddos, who obviously doesn't mind we weren't doing anything so long as we were together (I so love these boys)!

 

We stayed at Happy Ripples Resort, in the far away Magbilao Pangasinan, booked via Agoda (which is how I would normally book hotels). Do keep in mind that this is a basic resort and not a luxury hotel.  For the price we paid (with free breakfast),  this resort is actually a very good find! 

 

Happy Ripples is located right next to the beach, it was perfect for my sand addicted kiddos. The sand, although not powdery white like Boracay, was fine enough for early morning or late afternoon  barefoot (even for my boys) beach strolls.

 

 

• We were welcomed to a studio room with two double beds (fits four medium size adults comfortably). The place was decent and clean, however, there were no standard toiletries offered (just soap and shampoo).

• Beds were just okay, none of my boys complained (but then my boys are cowboys, and I am a queen, so I felt much better using my own linens. It was good I brought one). I think they were so tired with their beach frolicking they automatically shifted to sleep mode, right after they went to bed.

• Electricity was a bit of a problem, fluctuates every now and then affecting the air-conditioning (will not cool in the afternoon, but it was very cold at night - so it was again just okay since we were out beach bumming day time).

• There is a TV in our room, but no cable. Reception was also poor we only get two channels (hahaha)!

• Pool is small, but I think just right for a resort with only 10+ rooms. 

 

 

  Cell signals (Smart, Globe and Sun) were bad from our room, but works well from their view deck, were you get perfect view of the sunset. 

 

 Food was not superb, but was good and plenty. 

 We could take our meal anywhere in the resort we wish, we would almost always have it up the view deck of course.

 

The fact that there only limited rooms was great since there were not very many people. We were there on a Holy Week and were so happy we have the beach stretch just to ourselves (and a very few others) unlike the resorts nearby, swarming with people and hawkers.

 

A 3 days hiatus from gadgets and computers.  

It was just the beach, each other and our  imagination.

  

This resort is perfect for some peaceful family bonding time.

 

P.S. The waves in this side of Pangasinan gets really rough.  I do not recommend for families with very small children. 

 

 

Happy Ripples Beach Resort is located in

Mabilao, San Fabian, Pangasinan.

Landline: (075) 560-2076;  Mobile: 0918.529.6979, 0943.709.1667; Email: happyripplesresort@yahoo.com This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 
 

 

Matutina's (chow stop over)

Dubbed as one of the best restaurants up North of Luzon is Matutina's Seafood Haus & Restaurant in Pangasinan. 

 

I have read very good reviews about this place and the curious cat in me just had to give in and taste first hand what this restaurant has to offer.

 

 

We were on our way back to Manila from  our San Fabian beach frolicking and decided to drop by the well reviewed Matutina's Seafood Haus.  

 

The Matutina's branch we visited is the one located at Barangay Tulong, Urdaneta, which they call Annex I. 

We passed by a much bigger branch in Urdaneta City a few kilometers from their Annex I.   

 

Annex I is a bit cramped. Not sure if the summer heat was just too hot for their air-condition to handle.  We were just 2-3 groups at the waiting table and we were already feeling uncomfortable. 

 

I am glad we reached the restaurant a little early for lunch, since as soon as we finished ordering flocks of hungry guests arrived. 

 

We were offered complimentary "pastillas" as we waited for our order.  Which was a good thing, since it took a while for our orders to arrive.

 

For our group of 5 adults and 2 kids, we ordered:

•  two pieces grilled bangus
• tortang talaba
• ensaladang talong, okra, kamatis
• their two kare-kare versions (beef and seafoods)
• rice and
• drinks

 

 

 

VERDICT: 

 

PRICE

For the price of a little over P1500, I find the servings generous (good for 3-4 pax).

We ended bringing some of our orders "to go".

 

FOOD

Food is reasonably cheap (additional hoorah for the free sweets), but was just okay for me.   There was nothing very special to rave about.

 

I liked their seafood kare-kare, but find the grilled bangus ordinary.   The tortang talaba was good too, but every time I take a bite, I was worried for my dear heart (hahaha).

 

AMBIANCE

I already mentioned that the place is small (at least for the Annex I) and was not very attractive (I felt like eating in a canteen). 

 

A scenic garden or play ground for kids to stretch fatigued muscles from the long travel (not to mention, take time off waiting for orders to come) would be a welcomed bonus.  

 

SERVICE

Service was on the slow side, but that was okay, we were not in a hurry. However, it would have been a more enjoyable experience if the attendants smile more and act as if they are enjoying what they were doing.