Rowena Wendy's posts with tag: beach
|  | We flew to Boracay via Air Philippines last April 22 and stayed there till the 25th. I was disappointed because after 4 days and 3 nights there, I came to the conclusion that Boracay is NOT the place to be during the height of summer.
First of all, stations 1-3 were infested with algae. The waters were green. It was not inviting and if you attempt to swim you would get entangled in all the green mossy things.The only time we got to swim in crystal clear waters was when we went island hopping to Puka Beach. I read somewhere this is due to pollution. It was such a sorry sight. It didn't help that cigarette butts were all over the powder fine white sands. I saw the Nestea team clean up the beachfront one morning and they filled up a plastic bag with cigarette butts in no time... aside from the assorted plastic wrappers and caps. Boracay has become such a party place it's really getting trashed. We couldn't even sleep peacefully at night because the noise coming from the outside parties can be heard loud and clear in our room.
It was so hard for us to breathe fresh air there. Everyone and their uncle were smoking like there was no tomorrow. Wherever we chose to eat, sit, or hang out, we would soon be inhaling second-hand smoke. Food and drinks are so expensive too.
Peddlers would also badger you EVERY step of the way, offering you sunglasses, wooden idols, jewelry, massage, water sports... everything but the kitchen sink. Some girls went so far as to follow Keirra and I to the water and offer to braid our hair for a price.
My friends tell me that it's vastly different during non-peak months, that it's best to go during the last quarter of the year (Oct and November specifically)... during those times Boracay is supposedly clean and peaceful.
The kids loved the sand and sea though. |
 Boracay Peninsula Resort is not affiliated in any way with the Peninsula group of hotels. Anyways, being confined at St. Luke's Medical Center is so much better than checking in Boracay Peninsula Resort.
First off, let's start with the positive points. There are only three -- airconditioning, space, and location. The room's aircon kept us sufficiently cool and comfy, the room is spacious enough, and the location is a stone's throw away from the beach. You can step out of the lobby and go to the beach directly.
Negative points? Hmmm... the water supply is unstable. They actually RAN OUT of water while I was in the middle of my shower, and I had to use our drinking water to finish rinsing myself -- and this happened TWO DAYS in a row. It's bad enough that the water pressure in our bathroom is weak, but to have it actually run out??? Oh, and the bathroom looks EXACTLY like a hospital bathroom, only bigger. The sink is so NOT user-friendly, placed so high up that even I have trouble reaching it.
The refrigerator stinks, no words could describe the yucky smell. I was afraid to put anything in there. The pillows felt like they were stuffed with pebbles, and I woke up with a stiff neck every single day. The towels they provide are so thinned out and ratty I felt like I was using sandpaper. The sheets had telltale little rust stains I almost did not want to lie down. There's no intercom or telephone in the rooms so when the water would run out we had to walk down flights of stairs (we were at the 3rd floor) just to tell them there was no water. There were also little insects in the corners of the bathroom, was that a daddy long legs spider? Wow, it was and I hate spiders.
Their idea of cleaning the room is sweeping the floors, changing the towels, and making the beds. They gave us welcome drinks when we got there, 4 glasses of nestea, and wow, the glasses remained on our table till the day we checked out. Ants were already crawling there.
And breakfast? Our package included breakfast. It's a choice between a vast array of processed food -- luncheon meat, hot dog, or corned beef? Take your pick. I think the best thing about breakfast was the Nescafe 3-in-1 coffee they provided.
They have a swimming pool, which was unfortunately pretty murky when we got there. They cleaned it the next day and it became fit to swim in.
Anyways, this place sucks. Don't be fooled by the pictures on their website. Yes, it's cheap at 3.5k a night but it really takes a lot out of what could be a great vacation experience.
We're off to Boracay on April 22, but I'm really not all that excited about it since I hate the sun. The trip is non-transferable and non-convertible to cash so we have no choice... as in I'm super napipilitan. Anyways gotta make the most of whatever is there. I remember having the same unenthusiastic sentiments when we went to Sabangan Beach Resort last December, and look where that got us... our family picture taken at Sabangan won us a trip to Singapore!!! It's just so hard to get hyped up when you're a non-outdoorsy sun-hater... 
I think there is such a thing as being over-vacationed. Star World called sometime last week and told us we're scheduled to be in Boracay from April 22-25, for the trip we won last January from their "Beyond the Break" TV promo. We haven't even recovered our normal time from our US trip. I'm not all that gung-ho because I'm not really a beach person. In fact if possible I would like to live in a cold country and stay away from the sun for the rest of my life. But my kids just love the beach and so this would be a good opportunity for them to experience a darned good beach. I would be more enthusiastic but then this is our third trip for the year in a span of almost 3 months and I really do think we're somewhat over-vacationed.
| Start: | Apr 22, '08 | | End: | Apr 25, '08 | | Location: | Boracay |
Will be in Boracay during this time.
We got a call last Tuesday evening informing us that we had won the grand prize in Star World and SkyCable's "Beyond the Break" tune-in promo -- an all-expense paid trip to Boracay for two! We've never been there and hubby has always wanted to take the kids to Bora so this could be the perfect opportunity, we'll just get two additional tickets for the kids... 
| | Stayed overnight at Sabangan Beach Resort in Batangas last Dec. 30. |
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