If you ask an Ormocanon on where's the best place to stay in Ormoc, the usual answer would be Sabin Resort Hotel, a beachfront facility a few minutes drive (or jeepney ride) away from Ormoc City proper.

Tutubi was able to visit the place recently and offers a few pictures of the place as well as his observations and impressions of Sabin Resort Hotel but no full-blown review on food, staff and service as he did not actually stay there.

Photos of Sabin Resort Hotel:

Sabin Resort Hotel's swimming pool, really nice, well-lit at night and surrounds the main building where overnight accommodations at the resort lie.


One of the "living rooms" with native furniture in use

Sabin Resort Hotel is a beach front resort, nice sunset but the beach is actually rocky, so don't get your hopes up for a nice beach resort in Ormoc



Review of Sabin Resort Hotel:

Note: Tutubi only inspected the place and didn't actually stay there (he stayed at OCCCI Hostel in the middle of Ormoc). All he can say is that the swimming pool looks really nice, snakes around the resort facility but the beach, being a beach front resort, is far from being good, no white sand beaches in this part of the world called Ormoc Bay, probably why Sabin is a resort but not a beach resort.

Room Rates: With 60 rooms available, a Superior room start at P1600.00/room while on the upper end is the Presidential Suite at P3800/room. Extra bed at P400/person.

Sabin Resort Hotel
Telephone Numbers: +63.53.255.3801; +63.53.255.3802; +63.53.255.3803

Official Website: http://www.sabinresort.com

Please call Sabin Resort Hotel contact numbers for updated room rates, ballroom for events (weddings, baptisms, conferences) or visit their official website.

For related posts on Ormoc City, you may click the Ormoc Category/Label below.

Labels: Eastern Visayas, Hotels and Resorts, Leyte, Ormoc, Resorts

Seventeen years ago, the seaside city of Ormoc in Leyte island was ravaged by a flash flood that swept the city and killed around than eight thousand people. Ghastly photos of the tragic event was shown not only in the Philippines but the whole world and triggered massive relief efforts to help the survivors. The tragedy was blamed, as usual, to people's irreverence and exploitation of Mother Nature.

With his recent visit to Ormoc, he was able to visualize the damage to the city, including its reputation as a unsafe place to travel, from locals who showed him around, even from survivors of the disaster who have their own stories to tell. Tutubi will just share photos of Ormoc, 17 years after the tragedy, from an image of disaster to a new one pulsating with promise, a clear picture of a liveable city who has learned from past mistakes.



St. Peters College and St. Peter and Paul Church. Also partly visible is Ormoc City Astrodome



Lots of trees visible from a distance where a football game, something not usual in Manila is also held. Football is popular in the Visayas particularly Bacolod and Iloilo

closer view of the football field (200mm at f11)


This post is not to perpetuate Ormoc as a place of tragedy but rather provide a fresh outlook and image of the city as a safe, livable place. Some people already chose this as their retirement place two hours away from bustling Cebu City.

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Ormoc Travel and Living Information

Other tourist attractions:

Laki Danao Natural Park
Go boating, camping, mountain trekking and birdwatching

Ormoc Golf Course
Leyte Golf and Country Club, Brgy. Mabini

Old bridge near the City Hall, Carlota Hills

World War II Memorial Markers, Ormoc Bay

Ormoc Beach Resorts:

a few resorts line the beach of Ormoc most popular is Sabin Beach Resort. Note though that Sabin's beach front is not so desirable for beach bummers; the resort though has a nice swim-around pool.

Ormoc Pasalubong/delicacies:

Young Attitudes Cassava Cake
Pineapples (Queen variety, you may buy them at the market or the pasalubong center near Ormoc bus terminal)

How to get there:

Manila to Ormoc: There are now flights to Ormoc Airport by PAL Express on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Alternatives are you take a flight to Tacloban then ride a bus or v-hire for about 3 hours land travel to Ormoc or a flight to Cebu then a 2 hour fastcraft (Supercat) or slow ferry (e.g. Cebu Ferries), about 6 hours sea travel.

For the budget-conscious and with luxury of time, Ormoc Ro-ro buses are available at Philtranco and Ultrabus.

Getting around Ormoc:

there are no taxis in Ormoc but plenty of tricycles to take you anywhere around or beyond the city.

Languages spoken:

Ormocanons speak Waray language (should be a language and not merely a dialect), English and Filipino is widely spoken.

Shopping Malls and Nightlife:

there are no giant malls and always alive nightlife in Ormoc (Tutubi doesn't like them malls anyway). Lots of them in Cebu City and there are also the soon-to-be open Robinsons mall and Gaisano in booming Tacloban City and probably an SM in the future.

The flash flood in Ormoc City occured on November 5, 1991 attributed to illegal logging but some claimed it's due to the presence of waterspouts and a storm that created a dam under the bridge of a river. When the dam burst, the water swept houses on a sandbar at the mouth of the river.

All photos taken on the roof deck of OCCCI building, currently the tallest building in the city. For other posts on Ormoc, please click the Ormoc categories below.

Labels: Eastern Visayas, Leyte, Living in the Philippines, Ormoc

One of the places Tutubi ate out in Ormoc reminded him of Jo's Chicken Inato on Jupiter St. in Makati and the original one in Dumaguete City.

Chicken inato, literally meaning "our chicken" or "homely chicken" in English is special marinated chicken bar-be-queued to golden brown appetizing goodness.

Upon getting the menu, he ordered chicken thigh for only PhP65.00, cheap by Manila standard where a similar meal costs aboout Php100 or more.

a noisy picture of the chicken at ISO1600...'twas too dark inside

the bahay kubo ambiance of the place is good, though the lights are too dim for practical photography of food if you don't have additional light with you.


Tutubi did what he saw locals eating there did: eat with bare hands :P

Chicken Ati-atihan's tagline: Mapapasayaw ka sa sarap!

What's your favorite bar-be-qued chicken? Chicken inasal? chicken inato? or your own secret chicken bbq recipe?

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Chicken Ati-atihan
Aviles St., Ormoc City, Leyte

There's another restaurant in Ormoc by the same owners of Chicken Ati-atihan serving the same chicken inato (and also offering franchise) but Tutubi forgot the name.

Other recommended Ormoc Restaurant:

Chito's Chow Bar & Restaurant
(Filipino/Chinese Dishes)
(Near Veteran's Park and Ormoc City Coliseum)
Tel. No. +63.53.255.3520

Labels: Eastern Visayas, Leyte, Leyte Restaurants, Ormoc, Restaurants

Anyone looking for the newest place to stay in Ormoc can easily find it in downtown Ormoc, walking distance from the St. Peter and Paul Church, Veterans Park, and Ormoc City Superdome

Tutubi came home to his room at OCCC hostel with this sight of comfortable bed with satin-like bed sheets.



Located at the 4th floor of OCCCI building, the tallest structure currently in Ormoc, barely a year old, and offers a great view of the city outside.

Service was great with the amiable hostel keeper, nice, clean toilet and shower, a TV and personal refrigerator with mini-bar prices that won't prevent you from getting one from the stocks.

There are three suites at OCCCI Hostel for only PhP800.00 plus 4 dormitory type rooms for budget travelers and groups for PhP250.00/person a night.

Tipping is not allowed; Tutubi tried it but the courteous staff declined.

No meals available but the staff can order one for you from restaurants nearby.

Elevator service is available during office hours only though so you have to walk up the stairs if you return late at night.

OCCCI is an Ormoc-based Cooperative with numerous branches in Leyte and neighboring provinces.
Telephone Number: +63.53.561.1235 (request to be connected to the hostel)
There are other hotels, and pension houses in Ormoc including beach resorts (e.g. Sabin Beach Resort but quite far from the city center)

How to get there:

From Duptours terminal, Ormoc pier or bus terminal, just ride a tricycle and tell the driver OCCCI (pronounced "oxy"). Tricycle fare is minimum PhP6.00 only. You can also walk if you feel like it since Ormoc is a walkable city.

Labels: Accommodations, Eastern Visayas, Leyte, Ormoc

Where ever Tutubi goes, one of the first questions he'll ask from friends and locals is this: "What's the specialty of this place?

In Ormoc, he again posed the same question to his hosts and got the answer: cassava cake, with unique recipe from Young Attitudes. He thought it's just the usual cassava cake that can be bought anywhere else but when they got to a store in downtown Ormoc, he found out the cassava cake has it's own twist-- it's mixed with buco (young coconut) plus a sprinkling of cheese on top and packaged in mouth-watering bite-size pieces.

After buying a box (just one, ever wary of Cebu Pacific excess baggage charges), When Tutubi got back to the hostel, he got curious, opened the box and sampled the cassava cake. Tasting it was really good, even if he doesn't have a sweet tooth, he ate more than he usually does and stuffed the box inside the refrigerator lest he devours them all.

a quick photo of the box packaging, labeled Young Attitudes Cassava con Buco Delight, on Tutubi's bed in a room with poor fluorescent lighting :(

Cassava cake, the delicacy in bite-size, heavenly goodness eliminating the need for the knife (and fighting in case of uneven slicing)

Verdict: Young Attitudes: Ang pinakalami nga cassava cake!

Young Attitudes
Address: Bonifacio St., Ormoc City, Leyte
Tel. No.: +63.53.255.4790; +63.53.255.7739
Branch: P. Burgos. St., Tacloban City

No information yet whether this Ormoc delicacy is available at SM or anywhere in Metro Manila so Tutubi requested his friend from Ormoc to bring one when he travels to Makati in the near future.

Labels: Delicacies, Eastern Visayas, Leyte, Ormoc, Pasalubong

A stone's throw away from OCCCI Hostel where Tutubi stayed, Ormoc Catholic Church is fairly new with it's marble facade and gold-leafed tableau inside. There was a funeral service the first time he passed by so he didn't enter the church at first and instead dropped by in the evening before resting.

There's no date nor history marker posted on the church but remnants of the old stone church can be found on one side of the patio now converted into a grotto.



the belfry viewed on top of OCCCI building

the tableau with gold-leaf and rococo look

Beside the parish is St. Peters College while the building facing Ormoc Bay is Ormoc City Superdome.

coming up...Ormoc pasalubong


Tags: Leyte Visita Iglesia

Labels: Churches, Eastern Visayas, Leyte, Ormoc, Visita Iglesia

A short visit to Ormoc City was highlighted by a quick city tour in the afternoon. Walking distance from OCCCI Hostel (where Tutubi stayed at) is a public space on Ormoc Bay, called Veterans Park, with a pylon honoring the courageous war veterans of the Second World War in the Pacific Theater.

Ormoc Bay with Cebu Ferries waiting to leave for Cebu at 2pm every Monday and Wednesday at Ormoc City pier. Cebu ferries services Ormocanos taking them to Cebu, Dumaguete, Iligan, Jagna (Bohol), Nasipit and Ozamis.




the Veterans Monument in front of Ormoc City Superdome

A colorful monument to the guerillas during the war, the guerilla warfare forces, near the Veterans Monument in front of Ormoc City Superdome.

Ormoc Bay was the site of the historic Battle of Ormoc Bay in November 1944, just a few days after the Battle of Leyte Gulf began. It was on Ormoc Bay where Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita sent reinforcements to Leyte against Gen. Douglas MacArthur's army who had landed on Red Beach in Palo town on October 20, 1944 (the same day when the first Kamikaze strikes were launched from Pampanga), ten days after Yamashita arrived in the Philippines and assumed responsibility of the defense of the Philippines.

With the defeat of the Japanese in The Battle of Leyte Gulf and the succeeding Battle of Ormoc Bay, Allied forces affirmed control of Leyte. From there, they launched attacks re-claiming other islands before the the disastrous Battle for Manila in February 1945, when Manila was leveled to the ground by American carpet-bombing on the (unnecessary) order of Gen. Douglas MacArthur combined with Japanese demolition.

On World War II Veterans:

Filipinos fought side-by-side with Americans during the war against the Japanese juggernaut. After the war, the Americans promised help, including US citizenships, to their brothers-in-arms, but the promises were never fully fulfilled. War veterans today are very old, sickly and dying one after the other without the promised aid...some were given but never enough to commensurate to the sacrifice and hardships they endured.

To Uncle Sam: Cuando, cuando, cuando?

Labels: Eastern Visayas, Leyte, Ormoc, Parks, World War II

Last week, Tutubi set out on a journey to the island of Leyte in the Eastern Visayas region, his first time to set foot on the island as well the neighboring Samar, the third largest island of the country after Luzon ang Mindanao.

The following series of posts will provide pictures, stories, World War II history, on Tacloban City, the regional gateway to Eastern Visayas and a booming metropolis soon to become a de jure highly-urbanized city, the 34th in the Philippines.

A tour of Ormoc, 17 years after the flash flood, and a crossover to nearby Samar's Basey and Marabut towns after crossing San Juanico Bridge on a rainy day.

Stay tuned...

On going to Ormoc from Tacloban, Tutubi took Duptours shuttle services for a two and a half hour ride (Fare: Php120.00) that passed by the towns of Palo, Sta. Fe, Jaro, Carigara, Capoocan, Culasian among other towns on the way.

Buses, V-Hires (van for hire, GT Express) and jeepneys to other parts of Leyte and Samar are available at the New Tacloban City Bus Terminal waiting for commuters.

Labels: Eastern Visayas, Leyte, Ormoc, Public Transportation, Tacloban City