Fort Ilocandia

Are you going on a road trip to Pagudpud? Download this Infographic Guide before you go…

Fort Ilocandia (www.fortilocandia.com.ph) is the only rated hotel in the Ilocos Norte Region. This was originally constructed by the Marcos Family for their daughter Irene’s wedding reception. This spanish inspired resort mainly attracts taiwanese gamblers but it still never fails to charm the first-time Filipino tourist. It is best suited for hosting conferences and events but it could be quite expensive to stay here for your family’s vacation or use it just as a stopover. If you decide to stay here, might as well maximize the facilities and even walk to the famous Sand Dunes of Suba.

Virtual Tour of Fort Ilocandia

This warrior of Fort Ilocandia welcomes you in front of this 2 storey high reception area.

A red carpet with matching chandelier greets you as you enter Fort Ilocandia.

You can feel that this is pretty much, Marcos territory and you can find these interesting photos in the 2nd floor of the reception building.

There is a huge impressive fountain in the center of Fort Ilocandia. I was fortunate to see the fountain operational only during events and wedding reception.

The red brick facade and interiors are simply amazing and gives a cozy warm ambiance to the entire place. This is the hallway that leads to the hotel rooms.

The rooms are spacious and well maintained with a veranda that has a view of the sea. Surprisingly, the restrooms are well maintained with bath tub. This is what you will expect from a rated hotel in this northern part of the Philippines. The usual complaint is that there is a lot of chinese channels in the cable TV.

There is a mini-zoo with interesting animals that could amaze your children.

Amazingly, there is an olympic size swimming pool in this resort! You should never miss taking a dip in the swimming pool 🙂

The gardens are well maintained and you can play with your kids or have awesome portraits.

The Suba Beach is directly in front of the resort but due to dark grey sand and rough waves, most people don’t even attempt to take a dip in the beach…

Suba Beach Evaluation

Sand quality and color- The sand is dark grey when dry but almost black when wet. The sand particles are large enough that it would hurt when the strong beach wind carries it.

Water quality – Dark and cloudy. You cannot see anything underneath.

Pollutants– The beach in front of Fort Ilocandia are well maintained. No locals or guests not booked in Fort Ilocandia are allowed to use the beach.

Gradient Waves– The beach gradually slopes down as it meets the waves. Then you don’t want to know what’s beyond that.

Currents- Strong current and definitely not advisable for kids.

Underwater obstructions/ Marine Life– Beware of Jelly Fish.

Sunset– The sun sets in front of the resort but most of the time it is cloudy where you can’t see the sunset fully.

How to get there:
Once you see the welcome to Laoag arch and before you enter the bridge leading to Laoag, you NEED to turn left. There is no clear signs in this intersection so don’t miss this turn. From here, there are already road signs pointing you to the direction of Fort Ilocandia.

Links and Resources
– a Fort Ilocandia Affair by Our Awesome Planet
– The Youngest Quester @ Microsoft CIO 5th Quest by Our Awesome Planet