Beach Getaway in Ora Beach Resort, El Nido Palawan

Imagine white sand beaches, summer sea breeze and great limestone cliffs for a view outside your hotel room. This is what El Nido is all about. My husband and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on this piece of paradise, situated at the northern end of Palawan in the Philippines. Palawan is an extremely popular tourist destination thanks to Coron, Puerto Prinsesa and El Nido. Since we are both beach lovers, we opted for going to El Nido instead of the other two. 

Ora Beach Resort in El Nido, Palawan

We stayed at Ora Beach Resort in Brgy. Corong Corong, and fell in love with our stay there. The coast line wasn't crowded, you have a breathtaking view of limestone cliffs and clear blue waters on a white sand coast. It turns to mini sand bars in front of the resort when it's morning plus there's a couple of shaded areas to stay in the sands and watch the sunset- and that's just the start! 

While you can book a direct flight to El nido, most flights to the island land in the main city of Puerto Princessa. We opted for the 5 hour road trip from Puerto Prinsesa airport, with airport transfers fixed up by the hotel. 

Ora Beach Resort Amenities

Once we got dropped off, what welcomed our sights was the big limestone cliff to the right of the resort, as well as their stunning outdoor swimming pool. To the side, you will see a space for a shaded jacuzzi as well as showers. 

Straight ahead the pool is their restaurant where guests go to for events and their breakfast buffets. Inside, there is also a bar, a space to do darts and billiards with a scenic view of the beach. There are two buildings filled with rooms for guests to stay in. The first building also houses their Gym facilities. They also have a Karaoke Room you can rent for a consumable fee.

I would definitely be more interested in finishing my ten thousand steps on the treadmill with such a gorgeous view!

One thing that distinguishes Ora Beach from other resorts is their Wine Cellar. You can try out different types of wines and whiskeys and the dome is filled with beautiful murals. The murals are also present in each room and their restaurant. 

Their lobby is adorned by the grand staircase, going up to more rooms as well as a common dining area where you can eat outside with a full view of the beach and limestone cliffs. They gave us welcome drinks of ginger and calamansi juice to start off our vacation in El Nido.

Our room and price at Ora Beach Resort El Nido, Palawan

 

We got a spacious Deluxe Room with around 29 sqm of floor space, a giant king sized bed with outdoor seating. The room also has a flat screen tv, a closet with hangers and safe for your belongings, heated showers, water closet with bidet. They have a mini coffee station and have a regularly refilled water bottle with glasses for sustainability. Their water is of course, mineral water, perfectly safe. 

The Deluxe room in Ora Beach resort is usually priced at 8,125 Php when we booked it. It fluctuates depending if it is peak or non- peak season.

Food in and around Ora Beach Resort 

Ora Beach Resort serves a buffet style filipino- american breakfast. It has a soup station, bread and salad and fruits station. You also have an egg station where you can have your eggs cooked the way you want them, The viands vary from day to day, with one day having beef tapa, pancakes and waffles with dried fish, sinangag and pancit the next. The drinks available are juices and coffee.

There are also lots of neighboring restaurants, as Ora Beach Resort is right beside Sunset Avenue which is a street filled with different types of restaurants, as well as travel and tours agency where you can book an inland or island tour. It is also walking distance to Seafood Island so if you're craving for some fresh seafood, no worries.

What to do in Ora Beach Resort

You can have an island hopping tour directly booked via the hotel for less hassle, with tours starting at 1500 Php, with included environmental fees and food to be served for the day. 

Ora Beach Resort is also nearby Vanilla Beach, the nearest landmark for El Nido's inland tours, just a 5 minute tricycle ride.

Or you can stay in the resort, take a dip in the pool, play a game of beach volleyball at their court, play darts, billiards or have a drink by the bar. Or you can ask to have a night of fun in their wine cellar, where you can have a taste of their best wine and relax. 

Here are some of my tips and reminders when going to Ora Beach Resort

• If you're staying in El Nido, I suggest having your own snorkeling and aqua shoes so that you won't have to rent or buy in the marketplace. 
• Bring your own preferred conditioner and shampoo, especially if you're picky with your hair products. Toiletries are provided already by the resort though.
• Tricycles to Sentro, El Nido's night life is worth 100 Php. Here you can find a lot of restaurants, bars and souvenir shops as well as other hotels and hostels.
• Don't forget to buy your Cashew nut snacks in the market or the building right beside Puerto Prinsesa airport for pasalubong. They're really cheap in Palawan plus they make for great snacks while doing island hopping.
• Most restaurants would prefer cash, and Maya is more prevalent in the area than GCash. Better have cash on hand.

Ora Beach Resort definitely has its own charm that complements El Nido's island paradise feels. We definitely enjoyed being at one with nature as the waves come crashing down the shore, the yummy and fresh breakfast buffet to start our days right and create wonderful new experiences and memories with friends or family. Definitely coming back soon!