Amanpulo, a honeymoon destination

It has been almost a year since our Honeymoon and how I wish I had a blog then. I hope I can remember all the details as I type. anyway here goes:

Every newly married couple needs a break after the crazy months of wedding planning, thus the honeymoon. There are so many to destinations to choose from. Newlyweds must choose wisely, this may be their best excuse to splurge and luxuriate!

As for us, instead of doing an out of country adventure, we decided to indulge in a quiet white sandy beach, where we won’t have to lift a finger. Our lazy and tired asses wanted pampering at its best. The first place that came to mind was Amanpulo, and so it was decided.

QUICK OVERVIEW

Amanpulo is known for its white sandy beaches, excellent service and expensive rates. Like I said, it’s the best excuse to overindulge!  The luxury resort is on the Island of Pamalican which is part of the Cuyo archipelago in Palawan.

GETTING THERE/TRANSPORTATION

The only way to get to Amanpulo is via the resort's charter planes. They also have their own airport lounge about 5 minutes from Manila’s domestic terminal. Guests are served refreshments and snacks while waiting. No bumping into crowds, no lining up for check in, and no problem finding seats, this is when you realize your vacation has in fact started.

 twenty- seater plane

Flights to Pamalican island takes two hours and there are only two schedules daily, 9:30am and 1:00pm. While in flight, I suggest you read the resort’s brochure book. Here you will find all the resort’s amenities, attractions and activities. I learned about all their freebies here, which I will share later. 8o)

The first two amazing views I had were seeing the island right before we landed and seeing our personal golf carts lined up with our guest assistants. I kinda felt like I was in SATC2 lol.  So yes, incase you haven’t heard each Casita gets its own golf cart to play with este, go around with. Your guest assistants will teach you how to use it and give you a tour before going to your casita.

just look at that..

SATC2 moment

ACCOMMODATION

The resort has three casitas to choose from:  hillside, treetop and beach casitas. We got the beach casita, which was a very good choice. We had our own path to the beach. I'm not sure if the other types of casitas have that. They also have villas for families and bigger groups.

our private beach path

Upon reaching our casita I thought, ok what’s this? it looks like a small house (well that’s what casita really means anyway). We had our own deck, hammock and even a small roundabout for the golf cart. The room was absolutely beautiful and quite big. It also had everything you would want your room to have: ref, coffee maker, TV, DVD player and an Ipod dock.

The bathroom too was gorgeous. You get your his and hers cabinets and drawers. Aside from robes and slippers, each guest gets a bayong (native bag) and a sun hat. Oh and I have to say this, Amanpulo has really good toiletries. I usually don’t use resort/hotel toiletries but theirs were real good. They also had mosquito repellent, which our guest assistant insisted we put in the afternoons.

BEACH

Most people I know, including me, imagine that its the best beach anyone will ever set foot on. Let me describe it. 

Unlike some islands with rock formations, the whole of Pamalican island is surrounded by white sand. One can walk around it in about an hour. The sand is soft but not as soft as Boracay's. And there are some big rocks in the water although very minimal. Beach lounge chairs are placed far apart so you never have to mingle with your neighbors. 

readily available sunblock for guests! 

At the far end of the island, you can see baby sharks swimming. It's a pretty shallow end too. The staff knows when they come out. 


I have to admit though, Malcapuya island in Coron is better beach-wise, and you don't have to spend ONE FOURTH of what you will here. But hey, going to Amanpulo is not about going to the best beach in the world. Its about privacy, peace and getting pampered. The view is spectacular, you see all these animals and the experience is just amazing. 

FOOD

Ah, the food...the food, the food, the food! Ang sarap ng food! Every meal was amazing. Even the damn pizza was good. It was well worth what you're paying for. Can I just say that a breakfast of 2 pieces of bread and jam would cost about 500php. Just imagine how much dinner and lunch would cost! but it was well worth it.


There are four places to choose from:

Lagoon Club- this is a Vietnamese restaurant and is only open for dinner. Reservations are required prior to dining. It's by the beach and you have a nice view of the dark night water with a lit up parao, sounds stupid but its quite nice.

outside lagoon club

view from lagoon club

Club Restaurant-This is by the Club pool and has a bar beside it (all cocktails 600php, local beers 300php). 


Beach Club- This is more rugged compared to the first two options. I find that the lights are too dim for dinner though.


Windsurf Hut-Its only open for lunch. They serve the best pizzas and salad. 

SERVICE
The service was pretty good. Whenever we go back to our golf cart after taking a dip, there were bottles of cold water and fresh towels waiting for us. It came to a point where Chad and I would try to catch them putting those, but we never do. Amazing! They would even reverse our carts when we parked facing a wall or bush. On our last day the water was itchy and I got bites, so I called for some medicine and they gave me a new box of itch ointment, free of charge. 


Still, I wouldn't say that it's the best service I've ever had. You still get your regular spaced out waiters who sing on the side and your everyday grumpy boatmen (could be the heat too). They also seem to prefer to speak in Filipino, which is fine with me.


I was chit chatting with some of the staff and I learned that they are mostly from a nearby island and are quite proud of Palawan and the resort. When speaking with say a waiter, I didnt feel like they were trained to be nice and polite like in other resorts. It seemed more natural.


Oh before I forget, they also surprised us with a bubble bath and decorated the room with some petals on our last night. It was cute, not tacky at all. There were no cheezy heart formations anywhere. They also gave us a cute little flower holder along with a thank you note from the GM.

MUST DOs
1.) Spa- We got some massages. It was so-so, nothing special or maybe we just had high expectations. Still, it was pretty nice.

2.)Private Barbeque and Picnic- Private picnics are done in the afternoons while  bbqs are done in the evening. You may pick from the different locations they have. It can be held by the beach, on the bamboo raft or outside your casita. They'll give you a menu to choose from. Its advisable to plan this ahead so they can prepare. 


We did the private picnic so we can catch the sunset. Also, we decided that we wouldn't feel comfortable having waiters serve us at the bbq. In the picnic they just set everything up and leave you alone. It was marvelous.  

private picnic

3.) Different Cruises- You can choose between island hopping, sunset and night cruise. They serve I think wine and pica-pica. 


4.) Bamboo Raft- It was closed due to the last storm when we went. I'm sure it would have been nice to hang out there since the water surrounding the raft is very clear and is quite shallow. You can see the bottom and so you won't get freaked out from jumping off the raft.

the bamboo raft, look at how clear and shallow the water is

Free Stuff:
1.) Filipino Merienda- They have this everyday at 3:30-4:30pm in the club restaurant. You have to go early since you only have 30 minutes to catch it. We always missed it but we did catch it on our third day. They serve Filipino snacks like palitaw, puto, kutsinta etc.


2.) Star Gazing- A telescope is set up by the pool of the club. They only do this on certain days of the week and didn't have it when we were there. Bummer!


3.) Snorkeling- Snorkeling is scheduled every morning. We were lucky because we went on our second morning while the other guests did it on their first. And so we had the boat and the experience to ourselves. If you want to mingle with guests do it early on, if you'd like some privacy then its best to do it on a later day.


You take the boat out and see the beautiful shallow waters surrounding the island. You are accompanied by a guide who is very informative. I got surprised when he dove with us in his white polo and shorts. He asked us to swim behind him while the boat followed us. That way we didn't have to swim back to it. Yep, we were spoiled. 

all to ourselves

The boat has a top deck where you can sunbathe and has the most amazing view of the island. Since it was just Chad and I, our guide toured us around the island. We saw baby sharks and manta rays while on board. 

sun deck

manta ray

baby shark

4.) Fish Feeding- What we did was not a formal fish feeding activity. We were just swimming by the beach club and saw plenty of fishes so we asked for some bread. They gave us freshly baked baguettes. Even the fish here are spoiled!

spoiled fishes

5.) Library- The library is located in the club. There you can borrow DVDs and books. They don't have a wide selection but we did borrow some DVDs just to pass the time (Restaurant and bars close at 11:00pm).

6.) Water Equipment- Some water equipments are available for rent, free of charge, like snorkels and masks. Its best to call the Sea Sports Hut before hand. This is by the pizza place.

7.) Free Wifi


8.) Playground- This isn't useful information for honeymooners but it has to be mentioned by the mom in me. The resort is also a child friendly place. We saw several families there when we went. They have also have a nanny service, not for free of course and other kiddie amenities.


To sum it all up Amanpulo is one of the best choices for honeymooners.  It's a very quiet and private place. At night all the lights are dim and you can hardly hear music. You also don't bump into other guests a lot. Its really just you, your husband and the island. <3

http://www.amanresorts.com/amanpulo/home.aspx