Back in the day and after a chance visit here I declared that when I had enough money I would love to stay at Playa Tropical Resort in Currimao Ilocos Norte. Said amount of money has since been breached and I have stayed here 4, or 5 times.
Alas and much like many things in life you should be careful what you wish for. As things stand the hotel has got worse, my standards have improved, or it is a mixture of the two.
What the Playa Tropical Resort Currimao?
With a great pool literally on the beach, deluxe beach huts, a hotel, restaurant and bar thing used to be amazing here. Sadly after Covid-19 that is not no longer the case. The rooms are not as well looked after as they once were and the restaurant closed at 8 pm. And this is regardless of when guests arrive.
This meant my ten pax on the Extreme Philippines Tour having ti make do with pizza. And fro dinks? Well 7-11. In this respects it is a 3 star playing dress up as a 5 start hotel.
As things stand I would probably opt for the actual cheap beach huts next door, as you can at least have a BBQ there.
Currimao Beach Guide
What fascinates me about Currimao beach is that were it quite literally anywhere else in the word it would be ram packed with people. This though is the Philippines, so the beach hardly has anyone on it. That is though to take nothing away, and if you like deserted beaches with just a few fishing boats around then this is the place for you.
It is though remote and the boats here are just for fishing, with there not being anything like island hopping, or even beach bars. There are though huts popular with Filipinos from where one can do BBQ and of course karaoke.
The Currimao Guide
Away from Playa Tropical Resort and the beach there really is not much to say bout Currimao. There are a few restaurants here, as well as plenty of shops selling enough for you to be able to make a BBQ on the beach. There is also a 7-11 close enough to Playa Tropical Resort to deal with drinks.
Most importantly though it is close to Batac and Paoay meaning if nothing else this marks a great place to lay your hat for at least one evening.