Camayan Beach Resort In Subic Bay

[OnMyWay]

We stayed overnight at the Camayan Beach Resort last Friday night, for Valentines Day, and we had a really nice time.  If you want to snorkel in Subic Bay Freeport, this is the place to go.  Camayan Beach Resort is part of the Ocean Adventure marine park complex and is right next door to the park, here in Subic Bay Freeport Zone.  It is about 15 km from the business district.

 

I had been there a few times to eat at the restaurant, but I had not been in the water yet.  A friend let me know that they offer an annual beach access membership for p3000, and I had been meaning to look into it.  With Valentine’s Day coming, I decided to go down and see if a membership would get me a discount on a room.  It turns out they no longer had the p3000 annual individual beach membership.  Now they have a p7500 individual and p10,000 family annual membership, but that includes 1 free night in a superior room which is worth about p4400 right now.

 

The annual family membership was a good deal for us so I got that.  It includes the free room for one night, annual membership for 2 primary members, and 3 secondary members (kids or other family), free admission to the beach and to Ocean Adventure for those 5, and ½ price admission to the beach and OA for 10 additional people (5 per primary member) .  Normal adult admission to OA is p550 and the beach is p300, so one visit with the extended family will pay us back for the membership.  It also includes a 25% discount on beach rentals like cabanas, kayaks, etc.

 

The free room with the membership does not include the buffet breakfast that is normally included with a superior room, so we had to pay p300 x 2 extra for that.  Rooms are limited to 2 people (2 queen beds) and I paid p150 extra for our 9 year old to join us.  Additional adults are p550 and I think the extra person charges are mostly for the buffet breakfast.  I really don’t mind those rules because you can imagine what it would be like if they did not limit the guests per room.  I paid p550 extra to upgrade from the free superior room to a deluxe room, and I would recommend that upgrade because you get a bit nicer room with a patio that offers more privacy than the other rooms.

 

The rooms are ok.  Nothing fancy and ours was slightly worn, but clean and with comfortable beds, and you are steps from the beach in any room.  The free unsecured Wifi was fast.  They do not have safes, which I would like to have.  We had a small problem in that the automatic stopper would not open in the bathtub, but they came and removed it within 3 minutes of us calling about it, so they were responsive.   The grounds have very nice tropical landscaping and are kept very clean. 

 

The buffet breakfast was pretty good at The Reef restaurant, and our Valentines evening dinners were good too.  I had a pepper steak that was a good thick cut of USDA Angus and very tasty, for p695 with 2 sides, which for me was mixed veggies (very fresh) and mashed potatoes.  Our waitress was excellent and I tipped her a bit, even though they include a 10% service charge.   We have eaten there a few times in the past and it has always been fine.

 

The weather was perfect that night, low humidity and perfect temperature.  They had special Valentines tables set up on the beach if you wanted to part with p1500 for a table, a bottle of wine and violin music.  We sat in the restaurant 20 feet away, kept the sand out of our shoes, and enjoyed the amateur violinist for free!

 

The prices may seem high compared to some resorts, but they have the market cornered here.  It is the only hotel here on a good snorkeling beach, and is next door to OA, but it is far from the SBFZ business area.  There are two other day use pay beaches near the airport that are nice, but this one is much nicer, IMHO.  They get a lot of visitors from Manila.  My main purpose is for the annual beach membership, and that is a relatively good deal.

 

As I said earlier, it was my first time to swim at this beach, and I was very pleasantly surprised!  They have a rock based reef in the shallow waters near the white sand beach.  The beach is very clean.  The visibility was good and there were plenty of fish.  I didn’t get out very far except for a few times, because I was with our 9 year old most of the time.  However, I got in a large school of silver fish that was very cool, and I saw a large lion fish and a really colorful nudibranch.  I’m looking forward to visiting frequently now that I have the membership.  They have a dive shop as well so I will eventually try some dives with them.

 

Our 9 year old girl recently had swimming lessons and was fairly confident in the pool.  However, seeing fish up close was scary for her and she spent most of her snorkeling time perched on my back, peering over my shoulder.  On Friday she would scream when the fish got close but by Saturday morning she was happily pointing out the various species she saw, while still perched on my back!  Hopefully she will get braver on the next trip.  I made the mistake of letting her watch part of Piranha 3D recently!   :bash:

 

[Miguk]

Thank you for the update.  I have only been back to Ocean Adventure one time.  Before that it was impossible to go back that direction because it was part of the Naval Magazine when the American base was there -- it was off limits.

[OnMyWay]

Thank you for the update.  I have only been back to Ocean Adventure one time.  Before that it was impossible to go back that direction because it was part of the Naval Magazine when the American base was there -- it was off limits.

 

That area out past Cubi is the most beautiful part of the Freeport.  I love the huge trees of the rain forest and it is very quiet and serene.

 

I like Ocean Adventure a lot.  It is small, but they are doing good work out there.  It is always clean and well kept, unlike so many places in the Philippines.  They do a good job of educating Filipino school kids about environmental issues, something that is sorely needed here.

 

I did the dolphin swim there last July and it was a great experience that I would recommend.  All of those PETA types that think it is cruel are way off base.  The dolphins at OA are all rescues and the programs there promote wild dolphin awareness and safety.

 

One cool thing I forgot to mention about the hotel is that twice a day they bring a huge sea lion over for guests to take pictures with.  I didn't take many pictures but here are some at the hotel.

 

 

 

View from room

 

 

 

Hyundai shipyard across the bay

 

 

U.S. Navy ship coming into port at breakfast time.  It looks like Obama cut the maintenance budget for this one.

 

[Miguk]

Thank you for the update.  I have only been back to Ocean Adventure one time.  Before that it was impossible to go back that direction because it was part of the Naval Magazine when the American base was there -- it was off limits.

 

That area out past Cubi is the most beautiful part of the Freeport.  I love the huge trees of the rain forest and it is very quiet and serene.

 

I like Ocean Adventure a lot.  It is small, but they are doing good work out there.  It is always clean and well kept, unlike so many places in the Philippines.  They do a good job of educating Filipino school kids about environmental issues, something that is sorely needed here.

 

I did the dolphin swim there last July and it was a great experience that I would recommend.  All of those PETA types that think it is cruel are way off base.  The dolphins at OA are all rescues and the programs there promote wild dolphin awareness and safety.

 

One cool thing I forgot to mention about the hotel is that twice a day they bring a huge sea lion over for guests to take pictures with.  I didn't take many pictures but here are some at the hotel.

 

Sea Lion 1.JPG

 

Sea Lion 2.JPG

 

View from room

 

View 1.JPG

 

View 2.JPG

 

Hyundai shipyard across the bay

 

Hyundai SY.JPG

 

U.S. Navy ship coming into port at breakfast time.  It looks like Obama cut the maintenance budget for this one.

 

US Navy.JPG

Are you sure that is a Navy ship? I can't see the hull number. I was stationed at Cubi Point when i was on active duty back in 1980s so i am familiar with the base and the area. I am impressed with how they have maintained the base but unimpressed with how much they charge. Any place that is halfway decent in the Philippines is just ludicrously expensive....more expensive than what i pay here in DC. But with 1/4 the amenities.

I have noticed how things are not maintained there for the most part (in the Philippines). How much can a couple cans of paint cost?!

I have considered living in Subic. I really like Tagaytay. Used to love Baguio but that place has gone to hell in a handbasket

[OnMyWay]

Are you sure that is a Navy ship?

 

When I zoomed in with the camera I thought it was flying an American flag.  When I zoom in on the picture now I can't be sure.   I'm going to be down at the docks in the morning and I will see if it is there.

Edited February 18, 2014 by OnMyWay

[Miguk]

Are you sure that is a Navy ship?

 

When I zoomed in with the camera I thought it was flying an American flag.  When I zoom in on the picture now I can't be sure.   I'm going to be down at the docks in the morning and I will see if it is there.

I saw the American flag but not sure if it is a Navy ship. Could be a USNS

[OnMyWay]

When I zoomed in with the camera I thought it was flying an American flag.  When I zoom in on the picture now I can't be sure.   I'm going to be down at the docks in the morning and I will see if it is there.

 

I was down at the main dock this morning but I did not see this ship there.  There are two other U.S. Navy ships in port there.

[Miguk]

Do they come in a lot?  It must be interesting living on Subic.  It is really almost like living in the United States. 

[OnMyWay]

Do they come in a lot?  It must be interesting living on Subic.  It is really almost like living in the United States. 

 

In the last 6 months there have been more in port, but they are usually smaller support ships.

[Miguk]

May I ask your status?  Are you retired?  Are you leasing a house on Subic?  Not trying to get in your business, just curious and info for my retirement.