TBK Travels to The Cabins at LVF

The Cabins at LVF ( La Virginia Farms)

Rarely do I write a whole blog about one place I stayed, but this one was so good that it deserves a special mention. If ever you are in Puerto Princessa do go and stay there. The Cabins at LVF are a group of luxury cabins on an organic farm ( orchards) outside Puerto, a short drive off the national highway north of the city in a pretty Bgy. called Santa Lourdes.

Two of the Cabins on the left, each one sleeps two

When Ayala tripled the price of their accommodation in El Nido I was looking for an alternative in Puerto for a 16 night stay. I wanted somewhere quiet, pretty, and luxurious, and for once I didn't care that it was not by the sea. The price on Booking.com was very reasonable and the pictures looked great. Later I saw the website and sent several emails to and from the Owner, Beth, and I was even more impressed. She advised on tours, massage and cookery class. As a single traveler meeting up with friends at each location having guests come and go can be difficult but Beth was more than welcoming , so long as she had a copy of the ID of any overnight guests to comply with the law.

Plenty of parking space for my hire car and the grass was cut daily with scissors and swept for leaves hourly

The place was easy to find , down a winding country lane North of Puerto Princessa, off the National Highway that runs from El Nido to Puerto. I arrived earlier than expected but one of her staff, Tess, was on hand to let me into my cabin and showed me what was what. It was 30 degrees but the room had a big fan and AC and Louvre windows and was adjoined by a shared lounge with sofas and a huge table with a great view of the farm. When Beth, and her husband Paul, arrived to cook dinner they came to welcome me and asked what I would like for dinner and the next days breakfast. She sent emails with details of restaurants in the locality and the Wi-Fi passwords ( choice of 3 routers and the perfect signal for blogging) . They answered my daily questions on where to get this or that or give advice on my eventual move to Palawan .

My bedroom

It turned out that as a Brit/ Pinoy couple who had worked in Qatar and Bahrain among other places and were well positioned to share their invaluable experiences with me on everything from buying a house as an expat, hiring plumbers, importing goods, and receiving a UK pension in the Philippines.

My ( shared) lounge

When my plans changed and I had to head North to El Nido for 3 days they happily stored my case and kept my room free, and when a Filipino friend turned up unexpectedly one evening as they were leaving, gave him a warm welcome, asking which school he taught at etc. When Drew stayed as planned they provided him with extra towel's and asked what he would like for Breakfast. Drew arrived as they were leaving one night so they got out of the car to welcome him and photograph his ID and then chatted to him over breakfast about his college course and the fruit and veg I showed him on the farm before breakfast ( if you sleep with me you have to get up early!) .

Drew enjoys his Pinoy breakfast

The massage was amazing and very professional and so was the cookery lesson, and Beth had briefed the Chef on Jhoanna , the girl I sponsor at college in Puerto so there were no embarrassing scenes that we had in so many other places where everyone asked if she was my girlfriend or wife or daughter! I wish, at 58, I was so lucky as to live with such a pretty 18 year old! But she has her cute Boyfriend , Jullymar, who she has been with since High school.

We had one romantic dinner for three with a lovely couple from Holland living in the Caribbean

Over the course of the three weeks I checked out many of the restaurants they recommended, as well as several lunches at my favourite Senordama restaurant at the Microtel in Puerto Princessa where my friend Arnel is the chef Owner and where I first met Drew in 2013. They always asked over dinner or breakfast where I had been and what I thought of each place.

Lunch at the Microtel with Drew, Kobe, Ritchelle and Jean Paul who came down from El Nido to visit for two days

One of the other lovely things about the Cabins at LVF is the way they serve the farm fresh meals. You can choose to have a romantic dinner outside ( ideal for the many young couples who stayed) complete with a log fire, candles and fairy lights, or inside for the SLB like me ( Sad Lonely Bastards) where you got paired with other guests to discuss where you had been and your plans for the coming days. This was a great source of ideas on places to visit and it was interesting to hear peoples views of Palawan. It was interesting that many had heeded the advice of my 1.1.19 Blog "If you are in search of Paradise do not come to El Nido". In 2020 the tide had turned and most people were visiting Puerto, Port Barton, Sabang and St Vicente and avoiding El Nido.

One of the farm fresh healthy breakfasts at LVF- there was a choice of 3 daily

Special thanks to all the lovely people I met over the three weeks- there was a couple from Manchester, some ladies from Norway, couples from Italy and from Poland and the couple from the Caribbean. The other great thing was getting to see the vegetables fruits and herbs grow on the farm and then taste them in the dining room. Paul and Beth were great cooks and we had some amazing Italian, Pinoy and great British food. They also had samples of their produce for sale so I took several jars as Pasalubong when I went to stay with Jhoanna's siblings in Barutaan and another load back to Bahrain at the end of my trip.

Farm fresh Jam's and sauces which I took to Barutaan and back to Bahrain

I bought two bottles of this home for Corleen and Lee

Having suffered from OCD for many years ( Occupational Compulsive Disorder, a mental illness which means you require order in your life - shirts hung the same way in rainbow order, music filed alphabetically etc.) on arrival at LVF I recognized fellow sufferers! The place was immaculate. All the flower beds containing the herbs were numbered and tended to daily, the leaves were brushed up and burnt as they fell, the lights got turned on and off at the same times, gates locked at 10 pm and so on.

I made sure to reverse park two feet from each curb and not to move any of the stones, and had the car washed and vacuumed every few days so I did not get any dirt on the grass!!

I think the best thing about LVF , though, was the peace and tranquility. As I sat typing my blogs at 6 am I could hear the kids chattering in the road outside as they walked the 5 km to school daily, and back at night. The only other sounds were Tess shouting at her colleagues, or the neighbor's Karaoke! Or the lorries hooting to get the gate opened on the building materials compound opposite.

I didn't think it would hold my weight! Traditional Pinoy Cabin behind the hammock area

Drew gave me a guided tour of the fruit and veg , pointing out what each was in English and Tagalog and explained why they burnt the leaves and other interesting things I did not know. I have to say both Beth and I were very impressed by his knowledge. He has studied hard, got himself on the Deans list and learnt so much more than when I first knew him back in 2013.

He actually made me really proud to be his friend and to have contributed a little to his education. He was really busy with exams and reports but still made time to come and stay and organise the trip from Honda Bay wharf for Ritchelle and the boys . He also negotiated with several companies for my car hire, arranged dinner at Kha Lui and uploaded my music on my i player one night. Oh, and he took me to Baker's Hill one afternoon to meet his friends ( one of whom had a beautiful little boy) . What a star xx

Our annual treat at Kha Lui, one of Puerto's most popular fish restaurants

I had the Tuna and Drew had the Eggplant Torta

There are also so many places in easy reach of LVF like Honda bay for boat tours, Viet Ville for Vietnamese food, a great cheap fast laundry, the van terminal, PSU, Robertson's Mall, Bakers Hill and much more.


With Drew's friends baby at Bakers Hill

So my special thanks to Paul and Beth and Tess and the other staff for a wonderfully relaxing vacation , and to all the wonderful people I met there, and, opps nearly forgot my four legged friends who greeted me with wagging tails and excited barks every morning when I went Lakad lakad!