Enjoying an excellent dinner at Punta Playa on Lio Beach
Back in January 2019 I flew out of Lio Airport for Manila vowing never to return to El Nido. I had watched it deteriorate from 2014 over 5 years of vacations and wrote a scathing Blog on 1.1.19 titled " If you are in search of Paradise do not come to El Nido" . Within a week it had been read by over 5,000 people and I had many messages of congratulations. The then Mayor was none too happy and she responded with a front page article printed by her friends at Palawan news.
I am glad to say that much has changed since then , including the mayor! President Duterte threatened to close El Nido, like he did Boracay, and a massive clean up took place with DNER locating the properties without sewage treatment plants in El Nido and issuing orders against them. Ayala continued to expand it's Lio beach operation which started with just 2 hotels back in 2015 and now has 4 ( Huni, SEDA, Covo, Balai Adlao ) hotels having sold the 5th ( formerly Casa Kalaw, now renamed as Isla Amara ) . After being badly hit by Cov 19 which saw many restaurant , retail and hotel closures across El Nido and Lio there are now signs of recovery. Every room was taken ( Total nearly 300 rooms) over Holy week and pictures on Facebook showed standing room only at El Nido town beach. I finally managed to get a room for 2 nights at Balai Adlao and then 7 nights at Huni.
One of the many delicious breakfasts I had on Lio Beach
The food, cooked by the Chef from El Nido Cove, where I stayed from 2014 to 2018 when it closed, was amazing . During my time at Lio in the Huni restaurant I had Baboy Adobo, Manok, fresh coffee, chilled water, cooked bananas, pancakes with maple syrup, cereal, Calamansi juice ( the best on the Island) , Pizzas and more. The team leader, Jhoann, a friend of Rodel and John looked after me so well with Breakfast, Mango madness and Mango shake for Meryenda and Dinner. Ate Ritchelle gave me a room opposite the restaurant ( quieter than the pool side) and the gwapo baget room boys ( who seemed to get younger and cuter daily) did an excellent job keeping my room immaculate , getting my many bags of laundry washed and replacing the towels daily. I parked my car on arrival and only used it twice in 10 days to go to El Nido town and Taytay. Just as I used to say at El Nido Cove, "why go out when you have everything you need at Lio!"
Lio comes alive at night with live music performances, bars and restaurants along the beach as the sun goes down. There are many Instramgrammable spots like the one above, swings, the pier and so on . The whole place is very secure guarded by a shift of some 40 paramilitary security officers in boots and khaki, all masked and some armed, patrolling the entrances, beach and restaurants and hotels. There is a fleet of vans from El Nido Resorts, Nacpan beach Glamping and various tour vans constantly collecting and dropping off people at the hotels. The whole thing is run with Military precision with the receptionists checking out up to 25 people by 6.30 am and getting them and their luggage on the vans and off for their 7 am flight back to Manila. The room boys collect all the towels and linen in huge plastic bags daily, and the guest laundry in white tote bags with a list of contents and they are all whisked off to the central laundry hidden between the trees at Lio. Unlike some of the smaller hotels that were prosecuted by DNER in El Nido town Lio has its own sewage treatment plant and water supply as well as generators for power and excellent fast Wi-Fi. Such luxury does not come cheap and I paid 35,000 pesos for 7 nights at Huni ( with breakfast)- compared to 1,800 a night for bed and breakfast in Alimanguan!
My first meal at Lio at El Nido Grill was awful
One of the problems at Lio is that as Ayala sells off or rents out hotels and restaurants to other operators, the quality falls. While I waited for my room to be prepared at Balai Adlao on my first day , after the long drive from Alimanguan , I went for lunch at El Nido Grill. I last ate here in 2018 with Sir Marco and Arnel after watching the Cove team play the Lio team at volleyball. We had a great meal then and I was introduced to the then Director of Operations, Marc Cerqueda, who was eating next to us with a colleague. I also met HR Manager Kim on that visit and again today when he was helping the Operations team prepare for a wedding.
One thing that has not changed at Lio is the stunning views and sunsets
They have a tractor and unit that cleans the beach twice a day and a team of gardeners that rake the area under the trees. The staff also clean the swimming pool at Huni every morning, replace the water at each entrance door to wash your feet and beat the mats with a Wallis Tamboo to get the sand out. The corridors and entrance are and the restaurant are all cleaned daily.
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A beautiful Luxury boat was moored in Bacuit Bay for a few days , off Lio beach
Always one for a practical joke I sent pictures to Neil Gilbert back in Bahrain and told him I had bought it for cash from a Russian Oligarch . I also told Johann in the restaurant that my yacht had finally arrived to collect me. She was completely taken in until I smiled and said " Charizz!"
My Gazpacho - Olive oil face by me!
My favourite meal at Lio was in Punta Playa, which is a relative newcomer to Lio, privately owned and operating in a site they rented from Ayala and refurbished with their Mediterranean theme. Due to the antihistamine tablets I had slept for 3 hours in the morning and three in the afternoon so I arrived around 6 pm ( most restaurants close at Lio around 9 pm). I was given a warm welcome by the staff, they bought water, bread and my favourite Calamansi juice. As soon as I saw the menu I knew what I wanted to eat ( Gazpacho and Salad Niçoise) and luckily it was not on the long list of items that were out of stock which the waiter told me after I selected! they asked if I was dining alone and cleared the second place setting, delivered me a candle and the waitress took some photos for me ( see the top of the Blog) . The Tuna was just seared on the outside, as it should be, and the Niçoise salad is one Julia Child would have been proud of! When I went to get a copy of the receipt the owner asked what I thought and I told him it was the best meal I had in the Philippines. I was raving about it in another outlet later and the guy said " yes they always get rave reviews, we are going there later"
My candlelit Salad Niçoise
The good news is that the restaurant was reasonably priced , so I would highly recommend Punta Playa on Lio Beach if you want a romantic meal as the sun sets!
1012 Peso for starter, main and 2 Calamansi Juice ( 8 bd, 80 AED, 16 GBP)
If you want to find out more about Punta Playa click here:
or you can read their reviews here:
There is a rather good one from some guy called Neil in Bahrain!
After Punta Playa I needed something sweet and as they only had a heavy chocolate Torte I headed for another favourite eating place , Manille Beach bar, where my favourite Barmaid made me a Mango shake ( I know how to live eh!) and we chatted about life in Palawan.
If you want to find out more about Lio Beach you can visit their website ( which needs updating as some restaurants and shops have closed, and others like Punta Playa opened) :
Today I am off to El Nido town for the first time in 3 years and 3 months as I have to send my passport by van to an agent in Puerto to get my tourist visa renewed . They also have a big wedding at Lio this afternoon and the Huni Restaurant is closed for the day . I will give you an update on El Nido, 3 years on , in my next blog!
Chester is busily clearing the backlog of some 200 video clips I have sent him so will not be uploading my Lio Vlog until June or July 2022
Please subscribe to my You Tube channel and then you will get notified when it is ready!
Until then this is The British Kabayan signing out from Lio Beach and heading for El Nido Town!
Ingat Palagi and Kits Kits anaks!
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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