For those planning to go island-hopping around the Gigantes Group of Islands in Iloilo this summer, you might want to extend your trip to more than just a day tour. Solina Beach & Nature Resort in the town of Carles offers a luxurious gateway to your Gigantes adventure. The only high-end beachfront resort in Carles is a destination in itself, with stylish swimming pools, its own large in-house restaurant serving local specialties and spacious and comfortable accommodations.

Opened in time for the summer season, Solina Beach & Nature Resort offers three types of rooms for guests from cozy pods, well-appointed villas and outdoorsy glamping-style cabins

Solina Beach & Nature Resort is set within a spacious 7.8 hectare property just 15 minutes away from the Bancal port. The name of the resort Solina comes from the combination of the names Lina (the first owner of the land) and Solis, the family name of co-owner Joseph Solis, who hails from Carles Town.

Originally envisioned as a retirement home and private resort for the family, Solina aims to show that the once sleepy town of Carles can compete with other popular tourist destinations in the country. The owner grew up in Carles and moved to Manila for work, but said that his heart always belonged to Carles. “Building this resort is my way of giving back to my hometown. This is the legacy I want to leave behind.”

It’s surprising to find such a luxurious and large resort in the formerly sleepy town. But with the rising popularity of the Gigantes Group of Islands and accessibility to nearby top land-based and other island destinations, Solina Beach & Nature Resort is poised to be a game-changer in the tourism scene in Panay Island.

Location

Solina Beach & Nature Resort t is located along Balasan-Carles Provincial Road in Brgy. Guinticgan in Carles, Iloilo. It is accessible by both public and private transportation and has a wide parking area. The resort is just 15 minutes away from the Bancal port and offers the best place to stay for those planning to do island-hopping tours around the remote Gigantes and Sicogon Group of Islands.

Carles is located in the Northeastern tip of Panay Island (which is composed of four provinces: Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo) in the Western Visayas Region of the Philippines. It can be reached by land from all major transport hubs in Panay Island including Iloilo, Roxas City and Boracay. Though Carles is located in Iloilo, the closest airport is Roxas City in Capiz.

Travel time from Iloilo City to Carles is about 3-4 hours away by land. Travel time from Roxas City to Carles is 1 hour and 45 minutes. Travel time from Kalibo to Carles is about 3 hours.

Rooms

The 8 duplex villas have 16 rooms best for families and couples, eight pods good for two persons each and 25 cabin tents that can accommodate couples and small groups of four to six.

The pods are the most affordable option in the resort. These snug rooms each contain two single beds inside, its own private comfort room and a mini balcony area which looks out on the garden walkway with a trellis and flowers in bloom. All room types have a a private comfort room with hot and cold shower, complete vanity, and toiletry kits, and face and body towels.

My personal favorite, where we stayed in during our first night there are the Kamalig Cabins, the first ever Glamping (glamorous camping) style accommodations in Northern Iloilo.

From the outside the cabins look like large tents, but they’re actually stand-alone rooms covered with tent-like furnishings for that outdoorsy appeal. If you want to enjoy the natural surroundings during the day, you can fold up the tent flaps, then take them down at night to have more privacy.

Unlike your typical tents, these cabins have air-conditioning, which I have to say is very nice to have given the summer heat in the country. There are full-sized beds inside with very comfortable linens and pillows, tea-making facilities and a bathroom with hot and cold shower. It’s like your typical hotel room, but with more character.

The resort made it a point not to cut down any of the trees in the area, so the mixed layout of how the cabins are spread out just adds to the charm of the place. The Kamalig Cabins come in different set-ups catering to different groups.

The Kamalig Reyna or Deluxe Cabin contains 1 Queen Bed for 2 people. Kamalig Duwa or Deluxe Cabin has 2 Single Beds for 2 people. Kamalig Apat or Superior Cabin has 4 Single Beds) for 4 people and the most spacious Kamalig Grupo or the Premium Cabin has 4 Single Beds + 1 Sofa Bed, which can comfortably fit 5 people. This is perfect for families and outdoorsy barkadas. The cabins are near the bonfire pit area for that ultimate camping and “cabin in the woods” appeal.

On our second night, we got upgraded to the Villa room, the highest type of quality accommodations in the resort. The Reyna rooms contain 2 queen-sized beds while Hari, houses 1 king-sized bed and 1 sofabad. All villas come with split type air conditioning unit, a 32 Ultra HD curved TV with Cable Sattelite TV, Toilet and Bath and Hot and Cold Shower.

I appreciated the little touches like the cute animal towel arrangements, welcome note scribbled on a leaf, and the box of local delicacies of the region (pastillas, butterscotch and pinasugbo).

All villas have a private balcony that have either a view of the swimming pool or the landscaped gardens. There are a couple of villas that are PWD-friendly with ramps and more spacious bathrooms as well.

Swimming Pool

Aside from the cool accommodations, the most striking feature of the resort is the stylish swimming pool right beside the in-house restaurant. There’s a wide pool for doing laps, as well as a kiddie pool and a jacuzzi.

The pool is just picture-perfect from every angle. Since the resort is fairly new, we were the only checked-in guests aside from another foreign couple, and we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. But that won’t be the case this summer as word gets around on this hidden gem. We heard they’re already fully booked for the Holy Week break!

With summer in full swing, the pool just looks so inviting. You’ll just want to lounge around all day here under the deck chairs with a fruit shake or a beer in hand.

Amenities

One of the first things we spotted when we arrived were the row of fat bikes near the 24-hour reception area, both for adults and kids. Guests are free to use the bicycles within the property.

The resort is large and if your villa is far from the restaurant, it’s nice to have a bike to get around. We spent one morning just biking around the beachfront area, watching the fishing boats from afar and dogs running around the beach. The bikes are heavier to use compared to normal mountain bikes but the tires are ideal for the sand and gravel. There are also a couple of regular mountain bikes.

Guests can also be ferried around in the resort’s Golf Karts. If you’re transporting luggage around, you can just request help from the resort staff to pick you up.

We also checked out the various function rooms catering to events. They have private function rooms suitable for small workshops, meetings and a larger convention hall being constructed for special events like birthdays and weddings.

The resort also offers eight day-tour cabanas near the beach area for visitors who just want to do oculars without checking in or have family and barkada picnics and get-togethers this summer. A lot of the spots in the resort are really photogenic and I can see this resort becoming very popular for pre-nuptial pictorials. Solina also plans to offer water sports activities like kayaks and banana boats soon.

There’s a bonfire pit area, where guests can have socials during the weekend (or by request). During our last night, we were entertained by Solina’s in-house staff including a singing security guard and another staff member specializing in magic card tricks. The resort aims to help promote tourism in the Gigantes Group of Islands, while giving job opportunities to the locals. Solina employs about 50 employees, 85% of whom are residents of the town of Carles.

Dining: Angga Restaurant

Solina Beach & Naure Resort has a full-service restaurant called Angga (from pangga, a term of endearment in the Visayan language), which serves excellent international and Filipino dishes highlighting the local flavors. The restaurant is very large, equipped with WiFi and is open to the public from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm even to those who aren’t checked in.

Everything we tried here was excellent. During our first night, we had their Bangus Sisig, Kilawing Hipon (shrimp ceviche) and delectable Beef Lauya (an Ilonggo stew flavored with batwan).

I also loved their Seafood Platter which came with Baked Scallops, Inihaw na Tanigue, Rellenong Pusit, Vegetable Kebabs and Shrimps in Honey Lemon Butter Sauce.

They also serve Filipino and Continental Breakfast like Longganiza, Tapa and Daing na Bangus. I particularly liked their Ilonggo Breakfast, which had Fish Tocino and fried dilis served with garlic rice and eggs. Even their Clubhouse sandwich with fries was great!

During the property tour, we got to check out the beachside tower bar called Dalayanon which is currently in the works. This three-story bar offers a great vantage point of the sea. Both checked-in guests and walk-in diners will be able to enjoy grilled seafood dishes and alcoholic drinks here in the near future.

Who should check in?

Solina Beach & Nature Resort will appeal to international travelers, expats, balikbayans, families, couples, staycationers as well as barkadas and tour groups planning to visit Panay Island who want to enjoy peace and privacy in an uncrowded setting. The resort is fully equipped to cater to special events like weddings, team-building seminars, conventions, birthdays and the like.

The resort’s proximity to the port of Bancal makes it an ideal gateway to those planning to go island-hopping around the Gigantes Group of Islands.

Address & Contact Info

• Facebook: Solina Resort Gigantes
• Instagram: @SolinaResortGigantes
• Email: reservations.solina@gmail.com

For hassle-free tours around Panay Island, get in touch with Las Islas Travel and Tours, a DOT-accredited Travel Agency and Tour Operator based in Panay Island.

• Facebook: Las Islas Travel & Tours
• Instagram: @LasIslasTravelandTours