Dakak Beach Resort Experience

For two nights last week, I spent them at the Dakak Park and Beach Resort, somewhere in southern Philippines. To get there, you fly to Dipolog domestic airport and take one of their resort shuttles for a 40-45 minute drive, on rough and bumpy road (they're fixing the roads).

We got there around 6PM and I immediately noticed the restaurant and the beach, whilst we were checking in. The beach staff served us with drinks whilst the front desk staff was attending to our rooms. The staff was efficient -- by the time you finish your drink, you will be ready to go to your room.

I thought that our rooms will be fronting the beach but we got one of the standard rooms. Had to trek for 2-3 minutes before we reached the rooms in one of these 'huts'.



The interior of the room is unique -- native motif but fully air-conditioned and with hot & cold water in the bathroom. You even get your own refrigerator in the room. Not bad, huh? Unfortunately, it seems outdated already. The TV needs to be upgraded to LCD and the cable service needs to be upgraded, too. In my room, I only got 4 channels! That is ok, since I was seldom in the room anyway. :)



I always look for a safe for my stuff so I won't be lugging everything with me when I leave the room but there was none. Good thing I did not bring my Macbook with me. Anyway, overall - I'd rate the room as 3/5.

For your meals, you go to the resort cafe. The cafe has a full view of the beach. So, whilst having breakfast, you can plan your day -- spend it in the water or just hang out by the beach.



Food was another matter. I was expecting lots of seafood but their menu has limited options - oyster, crab, squid and fish (two kids, if I remember correctly). They don't even have an outdoor grill for those charcoal-grilled fresh catch from the sea. At least their fruits are fresh.



Their breakfast menu had boiled and fried rice, stir-fry noodles, hotdogs, corned beef, fried milk fish fillet, fresh fruit juices, cereals, fruits and pastries. At least they have an egg-station for your custom-made omelets. :)

If you are not the beach-type, they have three different swimming pools. I did not try any but they have a kiddie pool, a standard pool for everyone (4 feet deep) and another one for dive-training, I guess (8.5 deep with no parts shallower than 7.5 feet).



Anyway, my stay there was pleasant but there are lots of room for improvements. They should have an area with free wifi internet access, an in-room safe, and perhaps another restaurant for more options for food considering that the resort is so isolated. If you are looking for a resort for business and pleasure, this probably isn't one. In a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest, I'd rate this a 3.