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El Nido Lagen Island Resort, Philippines
The setting of El Nido Lagen Island Resort could not be more dramatic. Nestling in a sheltered bay at the foot of a sheer limestone bluff, one approaches from the sea to a scene like James Bond arriving at Scaramanga’s secret hideout in the Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
The hotel is set off El Nido in the heart of the Bacuit Bay, surrounded by 45 other islands and islets, and close to some of the finest diving sites in the Philippines.
Lagen styles itself as a luxury eco-resort and, of its kind, it’s one of the best. In fact, it was Conde Nast Taveller’s Green List awardee in 2006 and it does this in a variety of ways. The hotel will ask that you take any packaging that you bring away with you after your stay, to dispose of it on the mainland. However, don’t expect to find suitable facilities at El Nido town either. Local foodstuffs and products are sourced as much as possible, including the beautiful hand-woven grass bag that’s a welcome when you arrive.
Lagen Island has several footpaths leading up through the forest and on to small beaches away from the resort. The forest supports over 100 bird species – including the impressive Palawan Hornbill – plus animals, including the monitor lizard, a population of macaques and the smaller Palawan squirrel. Offshore, snorkeling and diving could introduce you to turtles, dolphins and parrotfish. The resort issues all guests with wildlife check lists and asks that any species spotted be noted, so that they can build up a database of Lagen Island biodiversity.
The hotel doesn’t offer an array of motorized water sports that can damage marine life or frighten animals away. There’s a set range of activities on banca tour boats, you can take kayaks or small sail boats to explore the surroundings, or head out with a dive instructor or guide.
There are 51 rooms in total and décor is standard throughout, with narra wood floors and antique Filipino furniture and full-length sliding glass doors opeing out on a spacious veranda. Forest Rooms and Suites sit in two-storey buildings surrounded by tropical vegetation directly beneath the limestone cliff faces. But the most romantic rooms have to be the individual waterfront cottages, built on stilts over the water with Oriental-style nipa roofs and uninterrupted views out across Bacuit Bay.
(L. Bennett, Island Guide: Philippines, 2008)