Author: Bea Faicol
At a Glance
Room: You can escape from summer's ruthless heat in your air-conditioned room, chilling on a soft bed
Food and drink: You’ll want to wake up early for the complimentary Filipino breakfast, plus the pastry shop has amazing croissants you can bring home for pasalubong
Staff: Accommodating and attentive
Why you should stay: You get direct beach access and great food
(SPOT.ph) If you haven’t been to La Union, a.k.a. Elyu, in a while, the surf town might look completely foreign to you now. A ton of new eateries, coffee shops, and resorts have opened post-pandemic—but there are still a few landmark establishments that have stood the test of time. Take the crowd-fave food-and-stays spot Fatwave Surf Resort. We recently checked out how this OG is doing, and yup, we can definitely see why it's been staying strong.
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Fatwave Surf Resort first opened in San Juan, La Union in 2014 and has since gone through an a la Princess Diaries transformation in the past two years. From what used to be a simple, white building, the resort has turned into a two-story property with a vibrant, tropical ambiance with its own café, bar, and pastry shop—plus, it's got direct access to the beach, making it a great spot for sunset-watching.
In this Spot Stays, we're reviewing the resort's Premier Family Room (P7,725/night) where we stayed for three days and two nights. The room is good for four people to share among themselves a King-sized bed, a Double-sized bed, and a Single-sized bed. This room also has a working area across the room's entrance and a private bathroom with a hot/cold shower, bidet, and toiletries: shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.
What we like about the room is the boho-esque interiors and the fact that there was a separate area where you can work (remote work from Elyu because our happy-hour drinks aren't going to pay for themselves!), but most especially, we couldn't get enough of the comfortable beds and air-conditioning. If you're out all day sweating under the ruthless sun, there's nothing more exciting than going back to a cold room and having a soft bed to sink into after a refreshing shower.
Since there is a bar on the same floor and a restaurant on the ground floor, and taking into consideration the surrounding establishments, we could hear music from our room until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. If you're too tired from your itinerary or you have years worth of training sleeping through your neighbor's karaoke sessions, then sleeping at the Premier Family Room should be a breeze. Let the comfiness of the bed, pillows, and blanket lull you into a deep sleep—otherwise, you should pack earbuds or Loop earplugs in your travel bag.
Suppose you really are going to work from La Union, such as in our case, we liked the separate working area and the plentiful electrical sockets in the room. We could charge multiple devices at the same time, without having to take turns. The socket placement is a small but important detail people tend to overlook, and we liked that the electrical sockets are placed near the bed's headboard so we don't have to keep getting up from our comfy positions to check on the charging situation.
Other rooms at Fatwave Surf Resort can fit different group sizes. The Superior Family Room (P7,725/night) can also fit up to four people but is located on the ground floor; the Deluxe Family Room is good for four people; the Classic Triple Room (P4,944) can only fit up to three people; the Double/Twin Room (P4,944) can fit two people. For bigger groups, there's a Barkada Room I (P7,725/night) which fits six people and Barkada Room II (P6,695/night) can fit a group of five.
Beyond the most obvious things to do in this surf town which is to surf, swim, and sunbathe, you can go for underrated activities such as pottery. Just in case you didn't know, San Juan, La Union is known for pottery-making and you can do that at Red Clay Pagdamilian & Souvenir Shop.
What started as—and still is—a souvenir shop, they now offer classes for those who want to experience pottery. Priced at P350/head if you're two or more people or P700 for solo students, the instructor will teach you how to mold a pot with your hands using air-dry clay and a manual pottery wheel. Best to schedule this at least a day before you leave La Union so you can take your clay piece home.
And for those who are planning to go to La Union around November to March, you can catch turtle hatchings at Curma. According to Carlos Tamayo of Curma, this is the peak season for turtle hatching. The viewing is free and you can go to the shore (look for the Curma flags) and you can observe the turtle hatchings or turtle releases.
Fatwave Surf Resort is known for its food; even those who aren't checked in at the resort drop by to grab breakfast as early as 7:30 a.m. For those who are booked at the resort, there is a complimentary breakfast per head, with your choice of a Western or Filipino meal, and iced tea or coffee.
For breakfast, we tried all the Filipino silogs such as the Vigan longganisa, tocino, beef tapa, and boneless bangus, served with rice, two eggs, ensalada, and a drink. Yes, we liked all of the meals, especially that we could get two shots of espresso in our drink at no extra charge.
Then for your cocktail needs, you can go to the second floor and try the whimsical drinks placed in equally whimsical drinkware at Tiki Bikini. We got to try the Tipsy Fishy which will likely leave you tipsy after two or three servings (read: it packs a punch), and then there's the Bubble Bath, a vodka-based cocktail served in a small bathtub and topped with foam.
Another standout at Fatwave Surf Resort is their in-house pastry shop called La Gula. We highly recommend trying the Ferrero Croissant and the new White Chocolate Pistachio Roll for those who love chocolate-coated pastries. These surprisingly keep well even if you're bringing them back to Metro Manila—the pastries retain their distinctly crisp and soft layers upon reheating in an oven toaster.
Fact is there's no need to leave Fatwave Surf Resort thanks to all the food and drink options you have within its premises. But if want to explore what else is out there, we have recommendations.
For your coffee needs, go to Little Canggu and order the Nitro Cold Brew, and then go to The Tiny Bar for A+ cocktails. If you want a simple but satisfying brunch, there's Miryinda where we ordered their new Beef Kaldereta rice dish, and then for dinner, you must go to Curo and order anything—swear you won't regret it.
Article Referred from: Spot.ph
MacArthur Highway, Brgy. Urbiztondo, San Juan, La Union, Philippines
General Inquiry
+63 917 885 5754
Reservations
+63 927 659 0176
Events and Collaborations
events@fatwavesurfresort.net
Room Reservations
reservations@fatwavesurfresort.net
