THERE’S more to Palawan than just the Puerto Princesa Underground River, which is a world-famous attraction that packs in tourists from different parts of the world. Well, it certainly is worth visiting, as many of its stalactites and stalagmites and other wonders will surely leave you in awe. If you’ve seen it before and you want to experience the unique and breathtaking wonders all over again, you can do so, of course. But if you’d like to explore other parts of Palawan, which is touted to be the country’s Last Frontier, there are still quite a number of nature’s havens that are just waiting to be discovered.
Truth is that even if you simply stay in the city proper upon arrival in Puerto Princesa City, you can actually get to explore Palawan quite effectively. This I found out for myself when my husband Raff and I joined a group of media friends who visited Palawan last December (specifically December 20 to 22, 2013) and stayed at the new resort in Puerto Princesa called Aziza Paradise Hotel.
PRIVATE AND EXCLUSIVE
Aziza Paradise Hotel is located along BM Road, Brgy. San Miguel, in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. Just a few minutes’ ride from the Puerto Princesa International Airport, it stands right in the heart of the city, and yet when you enter the hotel property, you feel transported to an exclusive resort and feel no need to go elsewhere.
It’s a cozy and comfortable place which makes you feel instantly at home. The hotel lobby leads right to the beautiful 375-square-meter swimming pool surrounded by huge fish fountains. In the evening, when the fountain is switched on, the fish ‘sculptures’ spew water whose color turns from red to blue to green in segments so fleeting that the colored water looks like it’s dancing as it jumps, twists and turns. Lovely spectacle, indeed! During the day, it is so blue and still and peaceful that it calms you. Even if you don’t swim, you’d be enticed to dip into the pool, sit in one of Jacuzzi corners of the pool, lie down half-submerged in the water on one of the sunken lounge chairs, or just relax on one of the regular lounge chairs right by the pool.
From the pool, you can already see the two- to three-story clusters of glass-walled buildings that house the guest rooms. They’re strategically located around the pool, so there’s easy access to the pool. All around, there are greens, as pocket gardens have been incorporated into the resort layout, whose design was done by a Manila-based architect in the modern minimalist theme. The owner, Benedict Dy Tecklo, originally planned on having only 89 rooms for the entire resort, but after careful inspection of the property, he and the design team realized that there was a three-meter elevation in one part of the property. So, they decided to add a lower level and thus more rooms that eventually totaled 125 rooms. Further down, four multi-level villas are being finished, each with two rooms, living room, dining area, kitchen, private pool, grill/barbecue area, driver and butler. Services of a private chef can even be arranged for guests who want one.
Aside from the four villas, the other rooms are divided into Superior Premier (one Queen-sized bed), Superior Twin (two Single beds), Deluxe Room (one Queen and one Single beds), Family Room (2 Queen-sized beds), Presidential/Honeymoon Suite (one King-sized bed), and Family Suite (two rooms with one King and one Queen-sized beds). Pool View rooms are slightly more premium than Non-Pool View rooms.
Aziza Paradise Hotel, which is named after a supernatural race who lives in the forest according to West African mythology, is actually the first resort venture of the Dy Tecklo family, who are based in Naga. Benedict’s main business, really, is construction, which eventually evolved into a hotel business as well. One time, he decided to talk to officials of a bank that he does business with, and he asked what business opportunities he could invest on elsewhere. Bank officials suggested that he go into the resort business and to choose between Cagayan de Oro and Palawan as places to invest his resort in. He decided on Palawan, but finding a suitable property didn’t come easy. He made several trips to Palawan and talked to a number of property owners, but nothing came of the exploratory talks that he had. He was about to give up when he finally found the property where Aziza now stands, got to talk to the owner, who turned out to be based in Manila, and sealed the deal in 30 minutes.
Construction then got underway, and, on July 27, 2013, Aziza had its soft opening. Personally managing the property, with his daughter Maechelle handling the finance, Benedict was even surprised at how good the reception was to Aziza since it opened. It’s been enjoying good occupancy despite being only a few months in the business.
HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS FOOD
Perhaps part of the reason why guests are truly enjoying their stay at Aziza is because everything – every detail that makes a good vacation – has been taken care of by management. Aside from the cozy accommodations, which include free WiFi access, plus welcome drinks and round-trip airport shuttle transfers, the food at Aziza is incredibly good. After all, it has Chef Eugene Del Rosario Fernandez on board as executive chef. Chef Eugene, who specializes in Chinese, Filipino and international cuisines, has served long years in prime properties in Boracay. He thus brings to Aziza long years of experience in kitchen operations and first-hand knowledge of what guests look for in their food when vacationing in a resort.
What Chef Eugene introduces at Aziza is haute cuisine for 2014. It’s healthy and delicious dishes that capitalize on the bountiful ingredients found in Palawan. So everything is fresh, inexpensive, delightful to the palate and, yes, even healthy and good for the body.
On our first lunch at Aziza upon arrival last December, for example, he served us Laing Pasta with Tinapa Flakes paired with Stuffed Chicken, and for dessert, we had Ube Halaya Mousse topped with cubes of Ube Maja Blanca. He then prepared Puso ng Saging Burger with Camote Fries for us that afternoon, when we visited Estrella Falls in Estrella Village, Narra, Palawan. Imagine! We were at the nature enclave that was Estrella Falls, and we were having burger and fries with Fresh Buko Juice, Aziza style, over at one of the picnic huts.
We had Hawaiian Luau Dinner by the Poolside that evening, and Chef Eugene made us feast on Crab Meatballs with Tomato Concasse, Seared Tuna with Kangkong Pesto and Cream, Hawaiian Chicken, Tuna Cordon Bleu, Pineapple Fried Rice with Shrimps and Mango Cinnamon Ice Cream.
On our second night, we had dinner at Demeter Diner, which is Aziza’s main dining facility and is named after the Greek goddess of harvest, and Chef Eugene once again impressed the group with his ‘buffet’ of plated dishes. It included Malunggay Tempura, Fish Tacos with Mango in Wasabi Mayo Dressing and Paradise Tuna with Pineapple and Honey Mustard for our shared appetizers. Then everyone was served a plated main course of House Braised Pork with Pineapple Salad Served with Brown Rice. Since Raff and I do not eat red meat, Chef Eugene served us both Grilled Shrimps with Brown Rice in place of the House Braised Pork. Then dessert was Halo-Halo Crepe with Homemade Ube Ice Cream.
I cannot quite define Chef Eugene’s cuisine (I suppose haute cuisine would indeed be a good term for it), but whatever name it goes by, I like it. I honestly like it. It’s my kind of food and he is my kind of chef. I loved his Laing Pasta with Tinapa Flakes with Stuffed Chicken on the side, his Puso ng Saging Burger, the Seared Tuna with Kangkong Pesto and Cream, Tuna Cordon Bleu, Malunggay Tempura, Fish Tacos with Mango in Wasabi Mayo Dressing and Grilled Shrimps with Brown Rice. Hats off to you, Chef Eugene!
And speaking of Demeter Diner, which stands right by the lobby and fronting the pool, this is where guests take their breakfast, which comes with their room package. Though breakfast is not served buffet style, guests have a lot of plated breakfast options – Aziza Breakfast (choice of marinated fish in garlic and vinegar a.k.a. danggit, milk fish, tapa, tocino, pork longganisa or crunchy bonitos, served with garlic fried rice, scrambled egg, fresh fruit, and coffee or juice); American Breakfast (choice of honey bacon, pineapple ball ham or corned beef, served with wheat bread, sunny side up egg, butter and mango or pineapple jam, and coffee or juice); European Breakfast (choice of chicken chipolata sausage, chicken sausage, frankfurter, veal bratburst or Hungarian sausage, served with multi-grain bread, whole wheat , muffin, buter and mango jam, sunny side up egg, and coffee or juice); Continental Breakfast (choice of multi-grain bread, wheat bread, plain muffin, butter and mango jam, and coffee or juice); Healthy Choice Breakfast (choice of homemade muesli with Philippine dried fruits, corn flakes, milk or homemade yoghurt, fresh fruits, and coffee or juice); Plain Pancake (2 pcs. pancakes served with creamed butter and pancake syrup); Fruit Pancake (2 pcs. pancakes served with butter, choice of mango or banana, and pancake syrup); Spanish Omelette (eggs with tomato, mushroom, onion and cheese, served with plain toasted wheat bread); and Cheese Omelette (eggs with tomato and cheese, served with toasted wheat bread).
For our first breakfast, Chef Eugene put together a special platter of danggit, longganisa, eggplant omelette, garlic rice and fresh fruits for each of us. On our second morning, we opted for our own Aziza Breakfast preferences. Mine, of course, was daing (milkfish). So was Raff’s.
At other times of the day, Demeter Diner serves traditional Filipino dishes, authentic Chinese cuisine and international dishes presented fusion style. Friday nights are special, though, with Themed Buffets for only Php399 per person, whose themes are Barbecue for first Fridays of the month, Filipino for second Fridays, Italian for third Fridays and Mexican for fourth Fridays of each month, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Preparing our coffee was Kahve Brew, the al fresco coffee shop located right outside Demeter Diner. It prepares enticing hot and cold beverages, and delights guests with a good cup of freshly brewed coffee – from the simplest espresso to the most sinful frappe – at any time of the day.
Then there’s Voda Bar in a private, all-glass two-story compact nook fronting the pool. It’s where a professional DJ puts together a mix of upbeat, heart-pounding music, weaving magic with his kind of music and interacting with the playful stimulating lights that comes with the latest state-of-the-art technology. Voda Bar has its Chill Out Nights from Mondays to Sundays, 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., featuring music by DJ Kid Andro and DJMC Carl, acoustics by Unplugged Kast and stand-up comedy acts by Paloma & Rocky, for a consumable entrance fee of Php150. Daily themes at Voda Bar are Happy Mondays (Mondays), Acoustic Tuesdays (Tuesdays), Ladies Night/Lock ‘n Key Party (Wednesdays), Throwback Thursdays (Thursdays), Flaring Fridays (Fridays) SaVODA Nights Fever (Saturdays) and Chill Sundays (Sundays).
PLACES TO VISIT
While staying at Aziza Paradise Hotel makes guests feel no need to go elsewhere, hotel management still suggest trips around the city and beyond to explore Palawan and get to know it better up close.
One of the places where guests can go is Estrella Falls in Estrella Village, Narra, Palawan, for those who love nature and swimming. Unlike other falls in other places which are difficult to reach, Estrella Falls is just an hour’s ride from the city and a few minutes’ trek by foot. You can swim close to the falls itself or by the stream connected to it. Local kids come in jeeploads for a swim, and they like hanging by a rope from a tree and swinging in the air before plunging into the waters. Picnic huts are also available by the falls, so you can have a relaxing, enjoyable meal with the view of the waterfalls as backdrop and the sound of the falls as background music.
Another place you can visit if you feel like island hopping and swimming is Cowrie Island in Honda Bay. It’s a 150-hectare island privately owned by the family of Rey Felix Rafols. It’s open to the public for day tours only, where visitors can swim, go banana boat riding and engage in other water sports activities, have a picnic with the family or just plain relax and enjoy the island lifestyle. Visitors can either bring their own food or partake of the buffet in the restaurant on the island for a surprising Php200 per person. The buffet includes crabs, shrimps, fresh fish and squid. There are also massage areas for those who wish to have a good massage.
Cowrie Island is actually accessible via the Honda Bay Wharf where arrangements can be made for ferry rides on either a 3-cylinder engine motorized boat (at Php600 minimum fare for six persons, with an additional rate of Php100 per person in excess of six, plus Php75 entrance fee to the island) or a 4-cylinder engine boat (at Php700 minimum fare for six persons, with an additional rate of Php116.60 per person in excess of six, plus Php75 entrance fee to the island).
Island hopping and scuba diving trips can also be arranged at the Honda Bay Wharf.
We could have gone on a river cruise and floating restaurant lunch in Brgy. San Carlos, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, but we ran out of time. It’s either we skipped this or completely miss our flight back home to Manila. Well, there’s always a next time.
(Aziza Paradise Hotel is located along BM Road, Brgy. San Manuel, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, 5300; with telephone numbers 048 4342405, 0917-5801198 and 0998-9833220.)
