Boracay

Airport Caticlan

On arrival these coaches took us on a 5 minute drive to where our luggage would be. Where the aircraft had dropped us off was a different location to where our bags were sent. Slightly more developed than Busuanga airport but again it had all the basics. On the way out (departing Caticlan), we noticed that security measures were a lot more strict. It was the only time our bags were checked and we thought it was a bit unfair of Philippine Airlines to measure our bags at the same time. The scale brought it to 21kg. 1kg over but if they had measured each bag, I’m sure they would have let it go given each bag was only slightly over 10kgs. She did mention it could be extra weight from heavier clothes that are wet. Our experience could have been better but we can’t blame them for being extra vigilant with security.

Resort | Discovery Shores ★★★★★

We spent our first night in Boracay at Discovery Shores. We had a great experience from airport pickup to hotel drop off. From the airport, we were picked up by van and taken to the shore where we were then transferred by boat to Boracay Island. The boat host was lovely. She greeted us with towels, biscuits and a bottle of water. The weather was a bit gloomy and the water was a bit rocky, but we arrived at the island in only 5 minutes. From there the van took us to Discovery Shores Resort. I don’t recall it being a long trip but we were able to see a little of the natural habitats of the locals and eventually into the busy sections of Boracay Island. On the main road, we passed Station 2. Our guide at the time told us that this is the place to find shops and restaurants, and Discovery Shores have shuttles to take us there any time we’d like if we’re not feeling the energy for walking. We reached the resort in Station 1, and without fail, every employee would greet us with “Happy Summer, Ma’am/Sir”. The customer service was outstanding. We knew it was going to be a great resort after finding out that management are the same people who manage Palawan’s Club Paradise.

On arrival, we were greeted by the next employee who gave us a brief overview of the facilities of the resort. She was well groomed and very polite. She then escorted us to our room which was conveniently only one set of stairs up. She checked us in in our room them advised us that our bags will arrive soon and someone will also come in shortly to provide us with complimentary foot wash. Service was great and ambience was the same as Club Paradise.

Our room was large. Two queen beds were put together and we were loving the space. The room was clean and well maintained. The bathroom area was clean and they even had some complimentary dessert and pandan water ready for us on the table near the sofas where we had our foot wash.

Even though we were only there for one night, we enjoyed every moment there. There were a lot more people because the resort was hosting a wedding there on the night we were staying. That said, we still would love to return to Discovery Shores for even a longer stay.

Food | Indigo at Discovery Shores

As our itinerary only had us one night at Discovery Shores, we decided to make the most of what they had to offer. We had dinner at Indigo. We ordered Steak Frites and a Linguini with Clams to share. The linguini came out first and it was amazing. Perfect level of softness for the pasta with the right amount of flavours and good amount of seafood (it was a combination of prawns and another shellfish – a smaller type of mussel pipis?). My partner was the one who ordered the steak. He would only order medium rare when he feels like it’s a good restaurant. He decided to test how their medium rare turned out and it was perfect and well up to his standard. It was soft and the right amount of red. The chips that came with it were also fried perfectly and it didn’t taste too oily at all and had the good amount of crunch. Another good part of our dining experience was that it was happy hour! So we took advantage of the buy one and get one free offer from their list of cocktails available for this offer, so we ordered ourselves two mojitos which were made strong with quite a lot of spirit. We were ecstatic to have such a great dinner for our first night in Boracay.

Resort | The Lind Boracay ★★★★★

We spent the rest of our stay in Boracay at The Lind and I wouldn’t have picked anywhere else. We were a bit early to check in at the time but staff were still ready to accommodate us. On arrival, they held onto our bags and served us complimentary orange juice. We were lead to our room by the modest enthusiastic staff member. Our room was near and quite contemporary. Complimentary bar snacks, thongs, pillow freshener and a bag was provided. Our only disappointment was that we didn’t have a king bed, but had two king singles and we couldn’t put them together. We had a look at the option to move to another room with a king double bed and bathtub but it was a lot more expensive. Even then, we still liked our room with the view of the internal pool.

All the facilities were new and modern. We enjoyed time in the infinity pool on the top level (where the lobby is), where you have the most amazing view looking out into the water. The pools right at the bottom on the same level as the beach was also beautiful. The pools are sectioned off according to height difference and there was also a hot spa to enjoy. There was also a gym available that we didn’t have the time to go to when all we were doing was eating. Even just by sitting next to the pool, you’re approached by employees with complimentary drinks if available. And if you want to order any food or other drinks, they’re able to take your order then and there.

We decided to try dinner at the resort’s restaurant one night when we heard that they were having a BBQ buffet. It was a bit pricey, but not bad at all if you’re comparing the food and costs to an Australian buffet. That night we went three rounds! There was rice and pasta, a variety of barbecued vegetables, a combination of seafood and meat off the barbecue, and different options for sauces to go with your food. And to end it all, we had to get the halo halo to finish off a really good dinner. Throughout our dinner, we had the luxury of listening to live love song dedication covers.

Overall we loved our experience at the Lind and it is definitely a place we would stay at again. It was a bit pricey but it was a given after experiencing such high quality. My partner and I aren’t afraid to spend money when we know and expect quality, so this resort may not be for those with a strict budget. However, in saying that, I still highly recommend!

Food | Two Seasons – Four Cheese Pizza

Two Seasons is a resort situated in Station 1. This place was suggested to us by one of the staff from Discovery Shores. She recommended the Four Cheese Pizza and didn’t really expect too much given it was a pizza with just cheese but it was amazing. Whatever cheese they chose mixed great together on top of a thin crunchy base. I could say it’s one of the best pizzas I’ve tasted. Along with that, we just ordered barbecue chicken which came with rice as well. The cocktails we ordered were also refreshing, the Two Seasons Cocktail being the favourite.

Food | Ambassador in Paradise

When we were walking along the beach one night, my partner and I both agreed that we had to try this place on one of our nights in Boracay – because of how pretty the set up was. Tables were set up so that you were only facing the beach, with these candle-looking lamps on the table. The palm trees that surrounded the tables had warm fairy lights around them. We couldn’t find the name of the place at the front of the resort, but we knew it was the one with a King Kong statue beside it.

We ordered the pizza (?) and a Filipino dish bulala(?). It was good to taste both something western and cultured. We enjoyed watching the sunset from our table. Weather was perfect. We were lucky that it had stopped raining for that day and we were able to be dry for all of dinner. I recommend if you love a good view and pretty setting.

Entertainment | D*Mall

Our travel agent told us we have to go D*Mall when we go to Boracay. And we did multiple times! D*Mall itself and its surroundings include a variety of restaurants from different cuisines, shops for swimmers, snacks and souvenirs, as well as entertainment such as dancers playing with fire.

One of the services we experienced at D*Mall was Footzeez. One night, we had some time to kill before our resort shuttle bus comes back to pick us up. There was a special at Footzeez for a 30 minute foot massage. After all the walking we did, it was a perfect way to end the day. Just enough pressure and time to knead all our tense muscles out.

There was a restaurant we were a bit hesitant to try, but was reassured by my travel agent that we should try it. The Hobbit Tavern’s waiters are dwarfs. We were hesitant only because we thought it might be quite discriminative, but in the end, we thought, hey they need the business right? So why not? Our experience there was great. Our waiter had a cool kind of attitude and was very down to earth. When he asked us where we were from and mentioned Australia, he goes “g’day mate!”. We loved it! He had a great sense of humour as well. He even told us that the head chef had come from Australia, which was an interesting fact. The menu had a lot of options but was based around the usual western cuisine like steak, burgers, grilled fish, etc. Our orders were executed well and we finished our plates clean.

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