Boracay Island
Heidi Ng
Wander Woman
AHH Boracay, voted still as one of the best islands in the whole wide world by Travel and Leisure, and Trip Advisor, as I wrote about some columns ago.
There is something magical about the island as most of us know — the powdery white sand beaches, the clean clear azure waters, the famous Boracay sunset. Recently, there have been a lot of developments in the island. In fact, there is now a Starbucks, a 7-11 right at the beachfront.
Yes to civilization but I would have wanted a more thought out beachfront development plan. I would have wanted if they stuck to nicely decorated native design to still have that island feel instead of concrete buildings.
Although a part of me likes the fact that the island has everything. You can literally travel there with just clothes on your back and you will be able to buy anything you need from the island.
This trip of mine, I booked at the District Boracay, a boutique hotel right smack in the middle of this party island. The boutique hotel only has 48 rooms but what they lack in size, they surely did make it up with the service. And frankly, I was pleasantly surprised with the hotel.
There are a lot of hotels that look good in photos but when you get there they are just plain blah or just plain frugly. The District, however, is a different story. I must say, I was floored with the Murano chandeliers upon checking in. I, being a realtor and a real estate investor apart from a media practitioner, am into interiors and architecture. And those chandeliers got me at “hello”.
The Caticlan airport is now new so we had to take a bus to take us to the “arrival” area then from there we were welcomed by Joefer, the District hotel’s transfer guide.
We rode a spacious van to take us to the port, and he helped us with our luggages as we rode the boat. The hotel’s own speed boat is coming in two months so that is something to look forward to.
Another van waited for us as we got off the boat to transfer us to the hotel. We were welcomed with cold towels and a refreshing glass of honey Philippine lime drink which was so good. The check in was a breeze, and we were led to the deluxe room with two queen sized beds.
I love the size of the room and I loved the private balcony. The balcony was a good sized balcony overlooking the blue pool. What a sight! So far, so good.
The other thing I liked about our room was that it had separate shower and toilet room which had frosted doors. The new trend of having these all glass doors on toilet rooms annoy me. What if you are two friends doing a trip? The moment one of you is by the bathroom area, the other friend cannot use the other sections already. Or what if you are travelling with work mates? So, this hotel was smart to design the shower and toilet with frosted glass. I tell you it is these little things that surprisingly make any trip smooth or annoying.
After coming from the sunset cruise, I was glad to be back in the hotel. Another small thing but really made me notice was the little hose they have at the entrance to wash away the sand from your feet. You think that is a small thing until you check in a hotel that does not have this convenience.
The next day, I was, again, pleasantly surprised that buffet breakfast was until 1 p.m. Yes, you heard that right- buffet breakfast becomes buffet brunch. The owner surely knows the island by heart. Boracay, after all, is a party island, and I was glad not to wake up before 9 a.m. just to be able to eat at the buffet.
It was awesome! The buffet spread consisted of Filipino staples which I have sorely missed-tocino, boneless marinated bangus, longganisa. By 10:30 a.m., the chefs put out viands that are good and hearty for lunch. I enjoyed the coconut beef curry, the fish blanquette and Asian glazed chicken thigh, the arroz caldo station, and the salad station with their house made Caesar dressing. There is an extension to the buffet at the back where chefs are on hand to make you fresh pasta, stir fry noodles, an egg station where they whip up the fluffiest omelette. The chefs were kind enough to make me up an anchovy based pasta, sort of like a puttanesca upon request.
And they even made me a fried lumpia order from the because I told them I missed lumpia so much. The next day, we had a leisurely brunch buffet again at the hotel and I was surprised that the dishes have changed! Some of the breads and toast remain the same, but there was cinnamon bun that morning while the morning before that had that decadent cheesy ensaymada. There was also Welsh rabbit and deviled eggs the next day, while the day before that some tasty bruschetta.
The fresh fruit juices (fresh, not canned or concentrate) were now a fresh watermelon juice, and another was a refreshing pineapple and cantaloupe. The day before was Mango and another variant of the watermelon juice.
Fresh fruits for dessert were bountiful and they also change desserts every day. I particularly enjoyed the mandarin orange pannacotta and the coffee jelly with tapioca.
With full stomachs, we were ready to take on what Boracay has to offer –beach, massage, party, cliff diving, banana boat, jet ski, and parasailing. All these activities can be booked via the hotel. The hotel can arrange ANY activity you like to do on the island, including kite surfing on the other side of the island at Bulabog beach and even a pub crawl!
The District hotel has it all and that glorious beach is right in front of the hotel. Yes, all those beachside lounge beds are complimentary for hotel guests to use. Another fantastic part? The District employs their own security to offer peace of mind to the hotel guests. So I swam and did beach activities while security watched over my phone and my belongings. I thoroughly enjoyed the famous Boracay beach this time on my visit, thanks to the District’s well run operations.
Some regrets though we were not able to use the Roofdeck lounge for cocktails, the grilled rib eye steak I heard is good for dinner, and I did not stay at the Premier suite which features a loft style bedroom with a king size bed on the loft, and two balconies for the suite. This only gives me at least 3 reasons to go back to District Hotel in Boracay.
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For reservations,
District Boracay
The District Boracay Resort | Station 2, Barangay Balabag, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines 5608
Tel: (63 2)986.1075 | (63 36)288.2324 – 27 | (63 36)288.1448 | 0915-9958268
Manila Office: Unit 2208 Orient Square Building, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines 1600
Tel: (63 2)994.2707 | (63 2)234.9058 | Telefax: (63 2)234.5917 | 0917-8197546
E-mail: reservations@thedistrictboracay.com
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Source: http://celebrity.sunstar.com.ph/must-stay-boracay-island/
Image Credit: Sunstar.com.ph