Discovery Shores

I've been putting off about writing my recent stay at Discovery Shores in Boracay as I felt that once I wrote about it, the wonderful memories of my stay there would quickly fade away. I'm not what one would consider a beach person...not that I dislike the waters, on the contrary, I love the sound of waves crashing into the shore/breakwater. Its just that I'm not a fan of staying out in the sun too long (I used to be the guy you see at the beach wearing a turtle neck type of t-shirt). I've only stayed in a number of resorts namely Amanpulo and Dos Palmas (both in Palawan), Amari in Phuket, and Plantation Bay in Cebu but I would have to say that Discovery Shores has to be the best in my book (you don't get to be one of the top 15 resorts in Asia for nothing). My stay at Discovery Shores is courtesy of Mr Leeds Trompeta, Sales Director of the resort whom I have not seen for the longest time.

From the time I was whisked away from the airport in Caticlan, until I was deposited in a small boat to take me to the island of Boracay, personalized service seemed to be the mantra of the hotel. This being the lean season for the resort, it meant the boatride would be rough in the least. Although it was to be a 15 minute boat ride only, it felt like much longer as the waves kept on crashing at our boat. I was not even a bit worried as I saw how the boatman carefully maneuvered the boat to our safety. Arriving at land once more, we were transported to the resort and deposited at the upper Front Desk (they actually have 2 Front Desk areas, the main one is near the beach and the upper one is where the vans deposit the guests). Ryan, Front Office staff, was assigned to me to bring me to my room (I was reminded of how checking in was done at Amanpulo wherein one staff is assigned per room to assist the guest). Upon entering my room, I instantly saw the 'wow' factor of it. The one-bedroom Premier unit at Php15,900++ per night (US$ 353++ per night) was indeed breath-taking. You can see the personalized touches all over the room from the welcome letter to the fruit and cake platter.

Welcome platters with mini-cakes, fruits, nuts, dried fruits and a personalized cake

The One Bedroom Premiere is actually a loft-type kind of room. It is provided with a king-size bed, a sofa bed, 2 bath/shower area (both with rain shower and ordinary shower heads), 2 LCD TVs, an ipod dock, a CD player/midi component, a jacuzzi(!!!!!), and free wi-fi (in all rooms actually). The room was beautiful...in fact, my pictures do not really do it justice. This is one room that I could stay in the whole day and not get tired of it.

king-size bed at the loft

toilet at the loft

view of the sofa bed from the loft

coffee/tea making facilities. real ground coffee beans and Twinning's tea bags

upon arrival or during the duration of one's stay, complimentary foot washing can be requested any time of the day

a plethora of events for kids to enjoy for the entire month

view from the living room. a heated pool as well as a heated jacuzzi

view from the loft deck with personal jacuzzi

There are main areas you can dine at at Discovery Shores, the main restaurant/coffee shop and Indigo (semi fine dining outlet)

Since this is a beach resort, formal clothing is not a requirement when dining at Indigo, beach chic is! I had dinner at Indigo on my first night at Discovery Shores hosted by the Resident Manager, Randy. One thing I noticed though, the food attendants seemed to be in a daze all the time specially during peak hours. It was either they were understaffed or under trained. Nonetheless, during slow periods, they provided excellent service.

my Ovaltine chocolate dessert at Indigo

The pristinely clean sunbathing area of the resort

Would I want to come back to Discovery Shores? A large resounding YES!, only if I could afford it or I find a benefactor.