A Splendid Weekend at Imperial Palace Resort Cebu

Imperial Palace Waterpark Cebu is the latest addition among the famous high-class hotels in Cebu. This 5-star hotel is located in Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City where the well-known white sand beaches in Cebu are situated. It was a great treat from friends that I was able to experience a royal weekend for free at this luxurious place! Elegant furnished room for comfort and relaxation, cool and exciting rides for adventure and lots of entertainment for a fun fun weekend!

The one and only waterpark in Cebu, Imperial Palace offers a new level of relaxation, fun and adventure to their guests. The resort boasts its world class waterpark with several themed pools.

• Amazon River Pool - a flowing river pool, somewhat like a lazy river pool where you can ride on an inflatable tube and relax as you flow along the water current.
• Wave Rider - if you wanna have fun with tides then this one is for you! 
• Beach Pool - a pool with a beach-like shoreline
• Captain Hook's Pool - of course, there’s a pirate ship for the captain and slides for an added fun.
• Toddler Pool - well the name speaks it all; it's for the little ones!
• Island Pool - the biggest and the main pool of the resort. It has a tempting blue waters and it's ideal for those who love the sun and the water alike. This pool is also perfect for a night swimming as the waters are comfortably heated. Another cool feature of this pool is the floating bar. Just right if you want to have a drink or snacks and don’t want to get out of the water. 

Beach Pool

Captain Hook's Pool

Toddler Pool

Floating bar at the Island Pool

Several lounge beds with huge umbrellas are also available to lay at around the pool. Cabanas are also available for rent around the Island pool area. Their cabanas are so chic and luxurious. I sooo love it! Inside the cabana are comfortable sofa, large LCD TV with DVD, and a stacked fridge. It also comes with practical amenities such as hidden cabinets, beach towels and vault.

For those who prefer the beach than the pool, Imperial Palace Cebu also has a beautiful beach with white sand and crystal clear water. Though it’s quite small, I like the way they have designed it to provide a sense of privacy, it’s as if the area was carved for their guests. They also offer several beach activities such as Zet Ski, Banana Boat and Flying Fish rides. Cabanas are also situated on the beach area if you want to relax and feel the sea breeze. Each is well equipped with comfortable sofa and entertainment system as well.

Beach

Cabanas at the beach area

Another unique and exciting attraction of Imperial Palace Cebu is their water slides. There are three slides which I will classify according to the level of thrill it may cause (level 1 is the least thrilling). This is based on my personal assessment only.

• Level 1: The most basic among the three - the typical open water slide (white). It’s short and fun.
• Level 2: The Tube slide (green) – what makes this more exciting is that you’re inside the tube. It’s dark and you can’t see where you will be heading. The slide is higher and more intense.
• Level 3: The Space Bowl (red & white) - The most exciting and thrilling of all! The slide is high and fast.  You’ll be suddenly dropped to a big circular dome and you’ll glide round and round until you reach the small hole in the bottom and finally plunge into a 6ft deep pool. There’s an attendant waiting and ready at the pool to assist you from drowning. 

Water slides

To ensure the safety of their guests, the water slides have some restrictions. A weight limit of 70 or 80 kgs I think (sorry, I’m not sure ;) ) and children below 8 years old are not allowed to slide. Parental consent is also required if you're a minor.  Life guards and resort’s staff are everywhere around the waterpark to assists whatever needs the guests may have and of course to ensure the safety as well.

Imperial Palace Cebu also offers a lot of entertainment and fun activities for their guests. The Amigos (they are the friendly & accommodating staff of the resort) provides a lot of entertaining activities. They have prepared dance exercises around the pool area and the guests are very welcome to join. Some games are also presented for the guests. And of course there are corresponding prizes for the winners and even for the losers as well.

It’s also fortunate for us to experience the Earth Hour at the resort. It’s nice to know that they had participated in the worldwide activity but the guests had the option to participate or not. The resort had prepared an activity on the Island Pool area for their guests to enjoy while they are observing the earth hour. Their staffs were even wearing an Earth hour designed shirt. The Amigos had performed fire dances and they had some games also. My favorite part was the lighting of water lanterns along the island pool. The sight was beautiful and so relaxing.

Water lanterns during Earth Hour

As my luck was not yet enough to just enjoy the waterpark for free, I also got to experience the resort’s suite room accommodation. The room is so huge and homey with a touch of Filipino design. It offers the comfort and relaxation all suite rooms should have and it has also a small veranda. It’s fully automated with entertainment facilities. All amenities are from Samsung as this is a Korean invested resort. By the way, did I mention that Koreans are everywhere in the resort? It’s there haven. The resort is so Korean friendly. The only not so negative thing that I can comment in this resort is the smell on their hallway. Its smells like something old and lonely. I’m not sure either if all their hallways smell likes this as I have only passed on the hallway on the 10th floor. But other than that, everything is great.

So that was my splendid weekend at the Imperial Palace Cebu. The resort truly offers a new level of relaxation among the Cebuanos and of course the tourists, Filipinos and Foreigners alike, with its world class facilities and service. The staffs are very accommodating and friendly. They are everywhere around the resort. It’s perfect for family and barkada getaway. If you want to indulge yourself a little, then Imperial Palace Cebu is the ideal place to visit.

Getting There:
Imperial Palace Cebu is a 15-minute ride from Mactan International Airport and a 30-40 minute ride from Cebu City. You can either take the taxi or take a PUJ as the resort is just along the road. If you're from Cebu City, you can take a van from SM going to Savemore then ride a PUJ bound to Soong-Maribago. The resort is just along the rode, you'll never miss it.

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Posted in: Cebu

Bantayan Island - The Philippines' Island Paradise

Bantayan Island was actually my first island destination ever since the wanderer side of me busted in. This post may seem very late as I visited the place August of last year but I think it’s only apt to include it on my blog as it was indeed a memorable getaway. It ignited my desire to travel and explore whatever good things this life can offer. I became a fan of beaches because of that trip.

Known as the Philippines’ Island Paradise, Bantayan Island boasts long stretch shoreline and crystal clear water. Though the white sands are not as powdery as that of Panglao Island and Boracay, all else is comparable. I think what made the Island more interesting and famous is that it’s unexplored and more peaceful compared to other top destinations.  It’s simple and quiet.

Bantayan Island is located northwest of Cebu. As there are other beautiful resorts within the Cebu metro area, at first I was reluctant to visit the island as you need to spend almost a day just for travelling alone (round trip).  But because of good reviews of the island and my curiosity, I decided to give it a try. Mind you, I’m not into beaches prior to this trip. I’m more of a fresh water (Hot and cold spring, waterfalls) and pool enthusiast.

Getting to Bantayan Island

Getting to the island is quite long and tiring. But I tell you, it’s worth it. It’s an escape from the noise and bustle of the Cebu City.

1. Go to North Bus Terminal. You can take a cab or the 01K jeep.
2. From the North terminal, bound a bus going to Hagnaya. To have a little comfort for a fairly travel, we took the Ceres aircon bus. Travel time is almost three hours. 
3. From the Hagnaya port, took a Ferry boat to Sta. Fe Bantayan. Travel time is almost one hour. Below is the Ferry trip schedule from Hagnaya - Sta. Fe. 

Upon reaching the port of Sta. Fe, the charming coastline and crystal clear water of Bantayan Island welcomed us. The exhausting feeling we had due to relatively long trip had simply vanished upon seeing the wonderful view, felt the cool sea breeze and fresh air.

Range of Accommodation

There are several resorts in Bantayan Island where you can stay depending on your preference and budget. I've listed a few of them:

• Budyong Beach Resort
  Tel. (63-32) 438-5700, 438-9040
• Kota Beach Resort
  Tel. (63-32)254-2726
• Maia’s Beach Resort
  Tel. (63-32) 438-0077
• Marlin Beach Resort
  Tel. (63-32) 438-9093
• Ogtong Cave Resort
  Tel. (63-32) 438-0031
• Sta.Fe Beach Resort
  Tel. (63-32) 438-0031/ 253-1339

There are actually several personnel from different beach resorts promoting their respective resorts at the port area, so it’s handy just in case you have not made any reservation yet. However, it’s advisable to make your booking ahead of time to ensure room availability especially if it’s peak season.

At the port area, you can actually have a glimpse of Sta. Fe beach club, a famous resort in the area.  It’s very near. However, we have decided to have our accommodation on their sister resort, the Ogtong Cave Resort, as we would like to see other attraction aside from the beach. Ogtong resort has a cave, Minnie zoo and swimming pool. I’ll get into detail about this resort on a separate post.

Island Paradise of the Philippines

True enough, the island is a delight. The beaches are beautiful and what I like most is its serenity. It’s perfect for those beach lovers out there who wants to have a quiet escape. Plus with its great restaurants offering delicious dishes especially sea foods, the place is truly a paradise!

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Posted in: Bantayan,Cebu

Panglao Island Tour

Panglao Island is currently one of the major destinations in the Philippines. Located at southwest part of Bohol, the island is becoming a top tourist attraction of the province along with the famous Chocolate Hills. The island is known for its long, powdery white shoreline beaches with very clear turquoise water. It’s also famous for its world class diving spots.

As the island offers variety of great attractions, Panglao Island tour is a must when visiting the Bohol province.  Aside from the beautiful beaches and dive spots, Panglao also offers other interesting attraction such as the Bohol Bee Farm, Hinagdanan Cave, Dauis church and Café Lawis. The tour would usually take 4-6 hours.

With all the famous attraction mentioned above and great feedback and reviews we’ve heard, we made sure to visit Panglao Island on our Bohol tour. Several tour packages to suit ones need and budget are being offered. You can search through online for convenience. In our case, we had the Panglao Island Tour which includes visiting the Bee Farm and Hinagdanan Cave in the morning and spending the afternoon at Dumuluan Beach resort and Dauis church.  Actually the island can be toured in 4 hours but since the main attraction is their beaches, longer hours are being offered by tour agencies to give more hours for their guests to enjoy the beach.

Island hopping, dolphin watching and snorkeling in the nearby islands, Balicasag and Pamilacan, are also offered on other tour packages. Unfortunately, we were not able to try these. But we are planning to visit Panglao Island again and hopefully have these great activities included in our itinerary. In the meantime, these are included on our must to do activities/travel. ;)

Excited for our much anticipated activity, the Panglao Island tour, the group had woke up early and eager to start the tour as early as possible. Of course our motivation was to have more time in swimming. The earlier we finished visiting the other attractions means more time in swimming. So, at 8am everyone was ready and we just waited for the tour driver/van we booked.

Our first stop was the Hinagdanan cave. As we were the early birds, we got to have the best and funniest tour guide of the cave.  The spelunking was informative and we were very much entertained by his wit. He shared how the stalactites and stalagmites were formed.

Then, we had our Bohol Bee Farm tour. The resort is quite far from the main road and it is not concrete. But nevertheless, it’s manageable and it will be worth it. At first, basing from the name of the resort, I assumed that there’s nothing else interesting about the place but the bees. However, I was wrong. There are bees of course but there are other interesting stuffs that you’ll enjoy to know and learn. Of course you have eaten or just heard about fresh salad. Fresh lettuce, cucumber and the like, right? But how about fresh bougainvillea on your fresh salad? Puzzled? Yes, they are serving fresh and organic flowers on their dishes and it is edible. There are also organic flavored ice creams. Ginger, Malunggay, Garlic are some of their weird flavored ice cream. How is that? I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who’s into organic food and would love to have a secluded and private accommodation while in Bohol. You can visit my Bohol Bee Farm Day Tour blog for more about the resort.

Our third stop for our Panglao Island tour was the beach, beach and beach! Obviously our most favorite part that even though we arrived during noontime, the striking heat of Mr. Sun was ignored. Long stretched shoreline and clear turquoise water. What else can you ask for? But unfortunately, we only got to spent a few hours swimming. It was too short but we enjoyed a lot. The beach is soooo beautiful; I fell in love with it! I definitely want to go back and spend a day or two to just enjoy the beach next time.

Dauis church was our final stop for our Panglao island tour. Since it was Sunday, we were not able to go inside the church as there was a mass going on. We went instead at Café Lawis, a restaurant that is within the premises of the Dauis church. It offers an astonishing view of Tagbilaran and the main Bohol! Café Lawis also serves delectable dishes but unfortunately we were not able to try it as our time is limited.

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Posted in: Bohol,Panglao

Chocolate Hills in Bohol

The Chocolate Hills is the most famous tourist attraction of Bohol. It had put Bohol on the tourist map long before the now famous beautiful white-sand beaches of Panglao Island. It’s also a prime tourist destination of the Philippines and is known around the world.

The Chocolate Hills

The world-renowned cone-shape Chocolate Hills is truly a natural wonder. They are covered with grass and are very uniform in shape, mostly between 30 and 50 meters high.  During summer, the grass covered hills dries up and turns into brown, forming the hills into somewhat big ‘chocolate kisses’ from which the name Chocolate Hills derived.

The Chocolate Hills are scattered around the municipalities of Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan in Bohol. They are estimated to be at least 1,268 to about 1,776 individual hills. Two resorts had been developed to facilitate the best viewing of the Chocolate Hills; the first one is The Chocolate Hills Complex in Carmen and the most recent is the Sagbayan Peak in the Municipality of Sagbayan.

According to our driver/tour guid when we had our Bohol tour, the best spot to view the Chocolate Hills is on the original viewing station, The Chocolate Hills Complex.  It is a government owned and operated complex.  Two hills were developed for the resort. The resort facilities include a restaurant, conference room, hostel with swimming pool and a viewing deck which is 210 feet above the ground. The road is concrete all the way up to the complex.

Concrete Road to the Complex

Viewing deck entrance of The Chocolate Hills Complex

Another option to view the Chocolate Hills is at Sagbayan Peak. It is a mountaintop resort and recreation center located in the municipality of Sagbayan, Bohol. Facilities include a restaurant and children’s park with cartoon characters. Its viewing deck also offers a 360 view of the Chocolate Hills as well as the sea that separates Cebu and Bohol.

During our Bohol tour, we had our view of the hills at the Chocolate Hills Complex. To have the best view at the viewing deck, one is required to have a hike of 214 steps. Yes, you need to do just a little exercise to have a 360 panorama view of the hills. These are just small steps so, don’t worry.  Also, there are covered rest stops along the way if you want to have a short rest and catch your breath. Metal railings were also installed along the stairs to aide your climb all the way to the top of the viewing deck.  And I tell you, upon seeing the amazing view of the Chocolate Hills; all those steps will be worth it.

Stairs up to the viewing deck

The sight of thousands uniformly shape hills are awesome.  One would wonder how these things are formed. There are actually several legends explaining how these hills were formed but the most popular theory is according to geologists which suggest that these cone-shape hills were formed of grass-covered limestone. This scientific origin of the Chocolate Hills is also described in layman’s terms on the bronze plaque at the viewing deck in Carmen, Bohol. The plaque states:

“The unique land form known as the Chocolate Hills of Bohol was formed ages ago by the uplift of coral deposits and the action of rain water and erosion.”

Amazing Chocolate Hills

This spectacular scenery showcases the abundance of natural attractions of the province. No wonder the Chocolate Hills is regarded as one of the country’s flagship tourist destinations. The sight is simply incomparable!

Getting there:

There are several options to reach the Chocolate Hills. You can hire a van, have it as part of a package tour or get there on your own. Usually the van rental would cost around 2500-3000 for whole day use including the driver and gasoline. You can directly hire a van upon your arrival at the Tagbilaran port as there are lots of van-for-hire there. You can also try to look and book ahead of time so that you can get the best price. There are many ads over the internet offering this service.

 If you want an extra adventure by commuting and prefer to see the Chocolate Hills at The Chocolate Hills Complex in Carmen; from Tagbilaran you need to go to the Dao bus terminal and bound a bus headed to Carmen. The complex is 30 miles away from Tagbilaran. Just inform and request the driver to drop you off at the Chocolate Hills complex. You need to walk roughly about 10 minutes to reach the Complex.

If you choose to view it at the Sagbayan Peak, you can hire a taxi or van from Tagbilaran and request the driver to drop you off at Sagbayan Peak.

However, if you prefer to have a more convenient visit to Chocolate Hills, you can have it as part of your Bohol tour package. It’s also cheaper and you get to visit other tourist destinations such as the Philippine Tarsier, Hanging Bridge, Man-made Forest, Blood Compact and Loboc river cruise. It’s also easy to book online as there are a lot to choose from. Just search and select which tour suits your preference.

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Posted in: Bohol

Bohol Tour Packages: Affordable way to Discover the Jewel of the Philippines

Bohol Tour! I've always wanted to visit the island of Bohol. As far as I can remember, it was on my high school when I mentally made a note that I wanted it to be my first travel destination. And yes, quite true enough, I was able to visit Bohol Island last February 2011 with a bunch of wanderer like me, my travel buddies. But hey, they are not just my travel buddies. They are few great persons whom I could say, added a lot of spice in my life.

Bohol Tour Cast

Among the top tourist destinations in the Philippines, Bohol Island is well known for the famous Chocolate Hills, Philippine Tarsier and Panglao Island for its white sand beaches and diving resort. There are a lot beautiful and interesting places to visit in Bohol. From old churches, museums, caves, resorts and now the extreme adventures in Danao – Bohol Tour is a must for those who want to experience nature and adventure alike.

Since most of the must see places are quite distant from each other, its desirable if one would rent a van or much conveniently book a tour package instead for a hassle-free and enjoyable tour.  By booking a tour, all is usually inclusive. Tour packages include van, gasoline, driver, transfers, entrances and buffet lunch at Loboc River for the Bohol countryside tour. There are a lot of tour packages you can choose from. You can search online and there are huge choices that will suit the kind of tour you want and your budget. Just make sure that you verify that all is inclusive and there are no hidden charges.

A month before our planned Bohol tour, we scouted for the best tour package that can cater to our needs and is also affordable. We made several inquiries through emails. Some are prompt to respond while others would take a few days. We then compared tour inclusions and of course budgetJ.  We had then decided to have our tour through Vest Pension House. Yes, it’s a pension house in Tagbilaran City but they also offer tour packages.

Vest Pension at Tagbilaran City

Tagbilaran City is the capital of Bohol. It’s 18 kms from Panglao and can be reached within 30-40 minutes.  We were pleased with their service and accommodation. The rooms are big and clean and the staffs are welcoming and helpful. So, if you’re budget conscious (like us J), you can have your accommodation in Tagbilaran since it is cheaper compared to accommodations in Panglao.

Our Bohol Tour Room Accommodation

We opted for a two day tour, the Bohol Countryside and the Panglao Island tour. Since most of us don’t want to take vacation leaves from work , we took the first trip (Cebu – Tagbilaran) of Ocean Jet. We bought our round-trip tickets two weeks prior to our scheduled travel and we got an almost 50% savings. The regular two-way fare is Php820 and we only got to pay Php420. A hefty saving it was.

We had been blessed with a beautiful and sunny weather during our Bohol tour though it had been raining for weeks prior to our tour. For Day 1, we got to visit the best natural wonders that Bohol can offer. We climed the world famous Chocolate Hills, had an encounter with the tarsiers (the world's smallest primate), visited Prony (largest captive Python in the Philippines) and met the colorful butterflies at the Butterfly Sanctuary. We also visited the Man-made forest and enjoyed nature's beauty through a memorable Loboc River Cruise with a sumptuous lunch. A visit to Bohol's historical attractions were also interisting. We got to Know more about Bohol's history and culture as we visited the historic Baclayon Church and the Blood Compact Shrine.

Bohol Countryside Tour

Invading Panglao island was our mission on our second day at Bohol. We explore the island's tourists attraction in the morning. We enjoyed spelunking at Hinagdanan Cave, acted like students and been very attentive during a short 'All about the Bee's' lesson at Bohol Bee Farm. We also visited the Dauis Church, one of Bohol's oldest churches.  The  rest of the afternoon was spent at Dumaloan beach resort. The resort fall short on our expectations but when we got to swim, we have forgotten it all! The beach is so beautiful - I fell in love with it! White-sand and clear turquoise water. If I have to go to Bohol again, I'll make sure that I will have to spent at least a day or two on their beaches - can't get enough of it!

Panglao Island Tour

The 2Days, 1Night Bohol Tour package costs us Php15, 700 for a group of 9. Php 1,744.44 for each person. Below were our detailed tour itineraries.  The following inclusions were also included:

1 Night Accommodation (2 deluxe twin rooms- per availability)
1 day breakfast for 9 persons
Roundtrip hotel transfers
2 day tour inclusive of entrances, vehicle with tour driver & gasoline

Day 1: Bohol Countryside Tour

Chocolate Hills
Hanging Bridge
Butterfly Sanctuary
Man-made Forest
Loboc River Cruise with Lunch Buffet
Phillipine Tarsier Encounter
The Python Snake Prony
Baclayon Church & Museum
Blood Compact Shrine

Day 2: Panglao Island Tour

Hinagdanan Cave
Bohol Bee Farm
Dauis Church
Beach Bumming and Swimming at Dumaluan Beach

In summary, we were all pleased with the package tour we booked. We got to discover the Jewel of the Philippines in an affordable way. We saw a lot of wonderful places, got acquainted with the nature for some time and learned to appreciate more of God’s amazing creation. Plus we only got to spent a considerable amount for this great getaway. The total amount we spent was Php 2,164.44 including the round trip fare from Cebu City. Affordable isn't it? Another advantage we have for booking a tour was that we don't need to worry for the entrances and the like - all was set and at fixed price, so it was hassle free!

Yeah, that was our 2D1N Bohol Tour - a full pack, fun-filled invasion! Truly, I was right when I’d chosen Bohol to be my first Philippine travel destination.

PS. You can also visit my other entries for more of Bohol. See you around! ;)

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Posted in: Bohol,Travel Tips

Warming Up for a Wonderful Ride!

They say life is a journey.  But I'm thinking, how can I enjoy this journey if I'm always seeing the negative side of things? I'm most of the time a pessimist. Be it in whatever aspect, I will always think of the worst. Even if I'm having a good time, out of the blue, I would be disrupted by some negative thoughts..what if something bad may happen? Tsk Tsk...then my mood would change. Pathetic right? Yeah, that's why I'm doing my very best from now on to get rid of this negative thinking and to think of happy thoughts instead.

As a start, I'm doing this blog to remind me of life's simple pleasures I'd experienced. Beautiful places, great food and lots of interesting stuffs that I enjoyed, at least. These are spices of life that would make the journey interesting and flavorful and would let me enjoy and shout til the end - WOW! What a ride!

Below are a glimpse of my own spices. Enjoy! ;)

Bacolod's Pride Foodies

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