REVIEW: Fort Ilocandia Resort

Moving forward with my reviews of the hotels I’ve stayed in within the Philippines and also I found that the most recent review of the place was in 2013, I present to you: Fort Ilocandia Resort! After we traveled to Palawan, we made a pit stop in Manila for a day or two, then flew out to Laoag City, more specifically Ilocos Norte, a region where some of my family live and where my ancestral family originated. Ilocos is a wonderful region in the province that surprised me with markets, malls, and other sprawling towns. We visited Vigan for a day, which was a small town that delighted me with its old world Spanish colonial buildings that presented rich history and kalesas (horse carriages) clip-clopping on the cobbled streets. At the end of the day we’d regroup at an aunt’s home for a big dinner then we’d drive only five minutes to our interesting resort.

The resort was an extremely short drive away from the airport, although I’m sure it wasn’t just a coincidence. Having been to the Busuanga Bay Lodge just a few days before, I was quite spoiled with modern-day cladded luxuries and infinity pools (read my review on this resort here!), so I was holding this resort to a very high standard before I had seen it. I’m not saying it’s bad, at all! I just wasn’t aware of the age and history of it, but it was still a very nice and seemingly large place. The history of the resort is a bit interesting: It was built in 45 days to house the guests for the wedding of then-President Marcos’s daughter, talk about the pressure right? You can even see that the resort still has a strong connection to the Marcos family with photos lined up along the lobby hallway of photos of President Marcos with significant leaders, although it is now owned by a Chinese business man which would explain the frequent Chinese writing everywhere.

The resort has many amenities such as a beach, olympic-sized swimming pool, golf, spa, small quarter of shops, and even a zoo. During our first ten minutes I walked down to the golf area and found a horse just minding his own business on the grass and I found it funny that there was no one to supervise the area, so I just walked up to the pretty creature and even if someone was there, I doubt they would’ve stopped me.

Our room wasn’t huge, but it was practical and quaint. What was strange though, was while we were walking down the hallway we both noted how we felt a strange ghostly vibe and at that moment the door leading us out from the hallway opened and even closed for us! And no, it wasn’t automatic! From then on, I had it in my mind that the place was haunted. That is probably my only complaint about the place.

For dinner we went to the restaurant from across the lobby and it was also eery because it was completely empty save for a waiter, so dinner was very quiet and awkward. The food selection was totally random, from Filipino cuisine to Chinese food to American. The breakfast buffet left something to be desired, but I was just glad to finally see other human beings in the hotel! I understand though that they probably came for other reasons than lounging around the hotel like I did.

The food wasn’t marvelous and it was very creepy to see very few people until we saw a wedding party, but I actually enjoyed this hotel. I admired it for its history and I imagined notable figures strolling down the red brick walkways. I thought the random smoking room was interesting and I wish I checked out the closed down casino. There was a segment of the hotel that seemed to be closed and peeking in revealed a very dark and mysterious lounge that I wanted to know more about. The service here is just about the same throughout the country, always respectful and the nicest. The hotel had a comfortable lived-in feel, and I loved roaming the halls and letting my curiosity take me from one strange room to the next.

To find more information or book a room for an upcoming trip, visit http://fortilocandia.com.ph/

Address: Barangay 37 Calayab, Laoag City
Ilocos Norte, 2900 Philippines
Landline Number: (+63 77) 670-9001
Mobile Numbers: (+63) 917-599-4863
(+63) 922-850-5473
(+63) 998-845-4064
Email: booking@fortilocandia.com.ph