Out of the Blue Resort

You will be met by an English-speaking team at this beachfront resort in Puerto Galera, where the day revolves around the water, the garden and a fairly straightforward question: swim, eat or sit down? Small La Laguna Beach is directly accessible, and the resort adds a swimming pool, sun terrace and outdoor seating for the hours when your fins are off and your enthusiasm for moving has temporarily gone with them.

The setting suits divers who want the sea close at hand without turning the hotel into a dive-centre catalogue. You have a restaurant, bar and on-site coffee house for the practical business of feeding and hydrating yourself, plus room service when the sensible plan is to stay put. Families are catered for with larger villas, while couples can choose a more compact suite or a one-bedroom villa and keep the holiday pleasantly uncomplicated.

The resort sits on Small La Laguna Beach in Sabang, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. This is a direct beachfront address, with golden sand, sun loungers and parasols on hand. Big La Laguna Beach is about 0.1 miles away, while Sabang Beach is roughly 0.2 miles away and around a four-minute walk.

You are not confined to the resort for every meal or drink. The Verandah Restaurant is about 100 feet away, and Gecko Bar is around 0.1 miles from the property. Further into the Sabang area, Hemingways Bistrot and Le Dan Seafood Restaurant are each about 1.5 miles away, with other bars and restaurants within the same general stretch. The tour desk can help organise outings, which is useful when the next plan involves a boat, an island, a waterfall or a market rather than another horizontal hour by the pool.

The room choice is mainly about how much space you want around you, rather than collecting hotel categories for sport. A pool-side suite or a suite with a pool view works for two people who want a simpler base, with the pool close by and the sea within easy reach. The one-bedroom villa gives a couple more room to spread out, which matters when dry clothes, cameras and the general debris of a day beside the water begin to occupy every available surface.

For a group, the two-bedroom and three-bedroom villas make more practical sense. They bring multiple private bathrooms and room for families or friends to share without turning every early start into a queue outside one shower. Children of any age are welcome, and cots and extra beds are available. Children aged three and over are treated as adults for occupancy purposes, so check the selected accommodation carefully before booking.

Inside, air conditioning and a fan give you two ways to take the heat out of the night. Rooms also have a private bathroom, minibar or refrigerator, tea and coffee-making facilities, wardrobe space, a flat-screen TV and WiFi. Balconies and views feature in the accommodation mix, while outdoor furniture and terraces give you somewhere to sit when the room feels too small for one more cup of coffee. Daily housekeeping keeps the practical side in order, and a drying rack is useful for swimwear and ordinary clothes.

The Verandah handles breakfast, lunch and dinner on its terrace, with international cooking that moves between Western, Asian and local dishes. Expect soups, stir-fries, homemade pasta, pizzas and individually prepared main courses rather than a narrow menu built around one particular cuisine. It is the sort of range that works when one person wants something familiar and another has decided that the holiday is the time to investigate local flavours.

Breakfast is included and runs from 07:00 to 10:30, with Asian and full English or Irish options. That gives you a reasonably broad starting point before a morning on the water, although there is no stated diver-specific early breakfast here, so an early departure is worth discussing with the hotel rather than assuming the kitchen will be open before dawn.

There is a bar and an on-site coffee house, alongside the restaurant. Wines, smoothies and cocktails are part of the drinks offering, and room service is available when you would rather eat privately. BBQ facilities, a minibar and in-room tea and coffee add a little flexibility; the coffee house is also a useful answer to the familiar post-dive need for something cold, hot or both, preferably without a formal expedition.

One outdoor pool looks across the resort’s leisure area, while the sun terrace, garden and beachfront loungers give you several places to stop making decisions. The beach itself is directly accessible, with golden sand, parasols and chairs. If your idea of an afternoon activity is moving from water to shade and back again, the layout will not argue with you.

The spa offers massages, facials, manicures and pedicures. That covers the usual practical recovery work, whether your shoulders want attention or you simply prefer a treatment to another ambitious excursion. A happy hour is also available for the less strenuous part of the day.

When you do want to leave the lounger, the resort can arrange walking tours, boat outings, island trips, waterfall visits, market excursions and snorkelling. Golf and cultural excursions are also part of the wider activity offering. Hiking and snorkelling are off-site activities, so you will be heading out rather than simply wandering from the pool to the next facility.

Check-in starts from 14:00 and check-out is by 11:00. You need to tell the property your expected arrival time in advance, particularly if your journey to Puerto Galera involves a boat or a late connection. Guests under 18 can check in only with a parent or official guardian, while the minimum check-in age is 18.

WiFi is free throughout the resort, and daily housekeeping, laundry and a tour desk are available. The upper floors are reached by stairs only, something worth bearing in mind if luggage, knees or post-dive legs all have strong opinions. Outdoor smoking areas are designated, and the property is non-smoking elsewhere.

Payment can be made in cash or with Visa, Mastercard and American Express. The hotel accepts children of all ages, with cots and extra beds available for the relevant accommodation. Arrival logistics should be arranged directly with the property, as no airport distance or airport transfer details are provided here.