Despite being an F passenger, my bag came out in the middle of the pack and after submitting the customs form, was on my way to the Grab checkpoint.
An agent was kind enough to help me order a car via the app as I was having credit card issues and eventually got sorted.
Since I only had 8 hours before coming back to the airport to catch the return flight, I wanted to book a hotel that was either in the airport or close to it. Spooled up the Bonvoy app again and found the Sheraton and a Fairfield. While the FF was cheaper, I just went with Sheraton since its a brand I know well and thought it was just a regular hotel.
The ride to the hotel was convoluted because of how the roadways were designed – we basically did a full loop of the perimeter of the airport before turning off on a side road leading up to the hotel but it was fun nonetheless.
Imagine my utter surprise when I pull up and find out its a resort – LOL.
The staff were welcoming and the person checking me in was confused as to why I arrived so early but had to remind him again that the booking was from the previous night and I had requested to hold the room due to my ridiculously late (or super early?) arrival. Once that was sorted, I was directed to my room.
Lobby with check in desks to the right
Entrance
Lounge area
Garden View room
Walked through a courtyard and there are pools with lots of fish (koi?) in them. Funny enough that as you walked up close to the pool, the fish would swim towards you quickly, possibly in an attempt for food being given to them.
After dumping my things in the room, I freshened up and went for breakfast. Apparently breakfast was included in the room rate – so yay.
Lots of dishes featuring Asian and Western cuisines, plus a bakery section, fresh pressed cold juices and a noodle station.
After breakfast, took a walk out the pool area.
The heat was terrifically scorching at 9am and the pool looked really inviting.
Wanted to get back to the cold clutches of the room AC and walked down the path towards my room.
Checked out at 4pm to head back to the airport and found out the hotel had a shuttle service that ran hourly.
Chose to stay here because it was the semi cheapest plus also on the metro line with easy access to tourist sites. At least that was my thought process when I had plans to do some touring but the stomach bug forced me to stay in bed until the next morning. Check in at the hotel was smooth – had a pleasant conversation with the lady checking me in about what to do in Doha etc. GM was unavailable at the time for a meet and greet but it didn’t bother me much and I went up to my room. Again, booked a base room and used a SNA to upgrade to a one bedroom suite.
Lobby
Room – exceptionally clean and comfortable for one night with the only complaints being that it felt a little dated and the shower stall was tight.
Welcome chocolate
One of the good things about this hotel is that it is connected to the mall. I did pop out quickly to the local supermarket to buy stuff to bring home. The mall is huge with lots of shops and amenities. Other than that, here are the only pictures I took of Doha on my way to the airport.
I chose Aloft because it was at the KL Sentral station and it had a fairly cheap (sub $100 CAD) cash rate. Unfortunately there were no signs pointing to the Aloft as I got to ground level. A kind lady at one of the booths pointed me in the right direction and then I saw a sign indicating where it was. There are two ways to enter the hotel – the first if you cross the street when exiting the station at ground level and the second being a second floor connecting walkway from the station to the second floor of the hotel. I took the latter and after 10 minutes of walking up an escalator, walking across the walkway and taking an elevator down to the ground floor, I arrived at the reception area.
Fun Fact – this door locks at night and I couldnt get out when I checked out to catch the train back to KUL. /cry
Line up for check in – guess it’s a very popular hotel.
I booked a base room and used a SNA to upgrade to a suite and it cleared 4 days before arrival. Very spacious room and would definitely book it again.
I had this whole plan to go out for dinner, but I caught a stomach bug after breakfast on my last day in Manila and I just went to bed. Was the right choice since I had an early wake up call and caught the first train back to KUL.
After checking out, I walked out the front door and crossed the street to the station.
Followed the signs to the platform level and made it just in time before the doors closed.
When I booked this hotel, it was by sheer luck that I found it on the map within the Marriott app. I didn’t want to go back to Boracay or Cebu but if I did not have any other choice, I would have gone back to either of those two places. Interesting enough, another Four Points also opened up in Boracay but it was not directly on the beach which cemented my decision to fly to Palawan. Some of you might say “Well why didnt you go to El Nido?” or not, I dont know, I can’t read your minds. Well, the short answer is that I did not know there were direct flights to El Nido at the time and secondly, no Marriott. After a 90 minute drive through the countryside, we reached the resort which is north(ish) of the town of Puerto Princesa and located on Sabang beach.
Past the security and it was a short distance to the main entrance.
The lobby
I was welcomed by the staff and proceeded with the check in formalities. Upon looking at my passport, the staff member said “Ah Mr. Jason, we have been expecting you” – you all fully know its going to be one of those memorable stays. I was provided with a cold towel and cold drink.
I dont know what this was but it was damn refreshing.
Another agent came out to welcome me and then the assistant GM came out to say hello. Once the formalities were done, I was escorted to my room by the assistant GM who gave me an overview of the facilities. I was upgraded to a one bedroom suite which is the highest category at the resort and there are only 3 categories in total. My room was right next to the main restaurant and beach, so it was a short walk every day.
Entrance
Bathroom to the left as you enter the room
A welcome note and sweet treats on the bar near the closet
Vary spacious
Got some dinner and then turned in for the evening
The next morning, I walked around the resort to explore. FP Sheraton took over a local resort and opened up in 2023.
Corridor in the west block of rooms
When walking past the lobby into the main pool area
View towards the beach
The beach
Looking back towards the resort from the beach
6am-ish sunrise
When walking out my room, the path led to the beach and the restaurant (left)
The restaurant was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is an Italian restaurant on the other side but was closed for renovations. The room service menu is exactly the same as the restaurant menu but on some nights, there were specials offered for sit down dinner. The breakfast spread was ok – nothing compared to Westin or JWM’s but still more than enough for me. The only complaint from me is that the hot dishes were not hot enough – for that matter, it was not even luke warm. I stuck to the eggs station for fresh made dishes for my stay.
Cereal and Juice station
Breads and Pastries
Hot dishes – a mix of Western and Local cuisines
For obvious reasons, I chose to come down to Puerto Princesa for scuba diving. Maybe it was not obvious but I hope it would be based on my previous trip reports. The only dive shops located closest to the resort were back in town which was 90 minutes or the alternatives were 2 hours north halfway to El Nido. After some researching and chatting back and forth with some shops via Whatsapp, I chose to go with Lets Dive as they were the most informative in answering my questions and had a lot of good reviews on Google (yes, I trust the internets). I arranged a transfer service via the hotel which cost CAD $80 round trip.
Pickup was at 6.30am which gave me enough time to have a light breakfast and made it to the shop around 8am. It was great that I chose this shop as it turned out to be a 5 minute walk from the city lounge where the van was waiting to take me back.
No other pictures of diving as I was mostly taking videos and there was the usual macro life like nemo / dori fish (yes I call them nemo and dori fish), stonefish, scorpion fish, trigger fish etc.
After getting my log book signed, I wished the team well and made my way to the lounge to wait for the pick up. As mentioned before, this lounge is used for resort guests to wait until the pre determined shuttle time. Usually, it was every 3 hours starting at 8am and ending at 8pm. The lounge itself was decent with light snacks and juices available for consumption.
The upstairs level of the lounge which was rarely used as they kept the lights off. I happened to go upstairs to use the shower to clean off after the dives. Biggest regret using the shower facilities as it was not clean (in case anyone on FT decides to use the facilities and need a shower).
I got back to the resort around 3.30pm and headed to the restaurant for a cold one. My reward after a long day out in the water.
Came back to the room to see this – but ofcourse you missed me. LOL
The next day, I booked a tour via the front desk of the underground river. I met the tour guide along with other guests by the restaurant and we walked to the nearby town which was barely 5 minutes walking distance. I am glad I did the morning tour as it started at 9am and we were back by 11am. By the time we got back to the port, the volume of tourists doubled waiting to get onto boats.
Groups were being called in sequence to board their designated boat.
Our group was called after a 10 minute wait and it took us around 15 minutes to get to the beach where the underground river was located.
Honestly, it was a much better beach compared to where the resort was located and the water was much calmer/clear.
We walked up the beach to a central meeting area – used the washroom before heading down the path to another boat launch area.
Strange but ok.
Tour guide giving us a history lesson – the underground river is part of Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park which is a UNESCO heritage site and one of the new 7 wonders of the world.
Into the dark depths
The caves are home to lots of bats and was fun to see them hanging on top and flying through.
The river itself is 8km long and we could only go 1.5km in. Sad that it was not open to scuba diving as it would have been an amazing adventure doing a dive in there.
After 30 minutes, finally made our way back.
After we got back to the town, I walked back to the beach and plopped down on a lounger to enjoy the rest of the morning.
Was peckish around noon and I made my way to the pool bar for a light refreshment.
Not today Satan #IYKYK
Was a little peckish.
Back to the room and another friend was waiting for me.
The finer touches from the cleaning staff
View of pool at night
For dinner, I ate at the restaurant the rest of the nights.
Pork Adobo
Lamb Shank
Banana milkshake
Closing thoughts on the resort – well rounded staff who showed amazing Filipino hospitality and finer touches, the food was good but not great (breakfast to be specific), and it did not feel crowded at all. Also, who would have thought of Four Points Sheraton brand as a beach resort! Night and day difference to a FP in North America.
Hooked On Points 