It was already late in September and it has been more than five months since I last had a vacation. My body was practically screaming at me for a break. It was then that I decided to head to Pagadian city where my parents currently live.
I discovered the Alindahaw Lake View Resort online when I was trying to search for places to visit in Pagadian city. I learned later on though that the resort was located in a municipality called Lakewood.
From the Pagadian city airport, the Alindahaw Lakeview Resort is approximately three hours away. The Alindahaw Hotel in Pagadian city (which is affiliated with the resort) offers a shuttle service for 1500 pesos * each way* (good for 15 persons). My mom and I (since there was just the two of us) had to take public transportation which plies the Lakewood to Pagadian route.
The van that we rode in was very uncomfortable. It was also old and rickety. To top it all off, there were no air-conditioned vans available. The van also stopped not just to pick up and drop off passengers but also cargo like sacks of rice. The fare was seventy pesos, if my memory serves me right. If you are a group of maybe five persons, I would suggest that you take the shuttle service offered by the Alindahaw hotel. The trip took us almost three hours because of all the delays on the road.
The reception area of the Alindahaw Lakeview Resort was located in a tall structure made of bamboo. Since the check in time was not until two in the afternoon, we waited in the second floor of the reception area which had sitting provisions, and a balcony which had excellent views of the lake. We stayed at the reception area until twelve thirty when we were decided to be given an early check in. Yey!
We made our room reservations at the Alindahaw Hotel in Pagadian although one can also book rooms through their
website. The overnight rates at the Alindahaw Lakeview Resort were quite steep. A room for two persons was at two thousand five hundred pesos. It was ridiculously expensive even though breakfast was included, especially since their resort was located in the middle of nowhere. And would you believe that the breakfast included was not even a buffet?
My mom and I booked the room for one person (it was one thousand five hundred per night) and added three hundred and ninety pesos for the extra person charge (since we were 2). It was the smallest room that they had and indeed it was pretty small but we were able to save six hundred pesos. Besides, it was just a one night stay. Pretty smart, eh? The extra person charge covers breakfast for the extra person as well.
Later, one of the staff helped us carry our luggage to our room which was about a minute walk from the reception area. I asked him if guests were allowed to take a dip in the lake and he said yes but that I’d have to sign a waiver. He then told me that there was a swimming pool which was exclusively for guests who booked a room at the resort. I got very excited when I heard this because most of the swimming pools were crowded (it was a Sunday) and the pool that was exclusively for us was practically empty. There were also lounge chairs which I totally liked!
After settling in to our room, I noticed that the TV wasn’t getting any signal. So I called the front desk and I was told that they weren’t able to buy cable TV credits (it was prepaid cable) and it was a Sunday, so the store selling the prepaid cards was closed. Arrrgh! I didn’t even know how to respond to that. I just decided to let it pass since I didn’t after all, want to get stressed out on a vacation over cable TV.
Inside our hotel room, my mom and I ate the Lechon that we bought in Pagadian city which only cost three hundred and fifty pesos per kilo. This was another good characteristic of the hotel; they allowed guests to bring food to the resort. There was also a restaurant onsite with very affordable prices and good food.That was where we ate dinner that night.
In the afternoon, most of the guests were gathered on the foot of the lake to watch the sun set. The sunset at the resort was magnificent. It was like nothing I have ever seen before.
I liken the lake to the ones that we see in Hollywood films which are surrounded by vast forested floors except that this one is surrounded by forested hills and mountains. If Visayas has its pristine white sand beaches, Mindanao has its rivers, lakes, and mountains. I only wish that the developers of the resort had employed wood instead of concrete when they built the lodgings just like the log cabins we see in Hollywood movies.
The next morning, I decided to go kayaking which was another freebie if you have a room booked at the hotel inside the Alindahaw Lakeview Resort. I discovered that I love kayaking. I even thought about where I could go kayaking in Manila.
Upon leaving the Alindahaw Lakeview Resort, we were told that we could stay in the reception area and we would just be called once a public utility van would pass by. We later learned however that the next one would arrive only two hours later. So we decided to take a habal habal (it’s a motorcycle for hire) which took us to the highway and then from there, we rode a bus to Pagadian.
Apart from the transport situation, the place for me was magical. The Alindahaw Lake View Resort is a paradise waiting to be discovered although I am secretly hoping that it never would be.
The Alindahaw Lakeview Resort is located at:
Biswangan
Lakewood
Zamboanga del Sur
Philippines
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