I had the most relaxing, restful, and revitalizing holiday at Shangri-La Mactan.
I had been hearing great things about Shang Mactan for a really long time now but prior to this trip, I hadn't gotten a chance to stay there yet. It has its own private beach and a couple of swimming pool areas and as I mentioned in my previous post, this was something I was really looking for. As it is a luxury hotel, it is definitely not cheap but it ticked all the boxes and I hadn't traveled in more than 2 years so I felt it was worth spending more than I normally would on a trip.
I decided to stay there from Monday to Friday to avoid the bigger weekend crowds. While I initially thought of going out of the resort in at least one of the days I was there to see a bit more of Cebu, I scrapped that plan and just spent the entire time at the resort.
I arrived on Monday at around 1pm and I was told that my room was still being sanitized. I told the person behind the counter that I would just have lunch lobby lounge since I was already hungry. I had a beautiful view of the resort from where I sat. As soon as I sat down, I already started to feel very calm and relaxed. At that point, I knew I would have a fantastic holiday.
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| View from the Lobby Lounge |
I booked a Sea View Room which is more expensive but when I entered my room, I immediately felt it was worth it. The view was spectacular! The fact that I had a balcony where I could sit and relax and just look out onto the resort grounds and the sea made was just absolutely perfect.
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| My Sea View Room |
I didn't really get to do anything that Monday. After checking in, I looked for a place where I could to buy water and other supplies (I found a 7-Eleven about 800 meters away from the hotel). On the way back, I swung by the Promenade Mactan which was practically right across the street from hotel. Here I saw 32 Italian Deli & Kitchen and noticed they had a selection of wines so I got a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon (I was certain the wine at the hotel would be a lot more expensive). Once I got back to my room, I got cleaned up and fell asleep for almost 3 hours (I had very little sleep and was so stressed leading up to my flight; I will write more about this in my next post). It was past 8 when I woke up so I decided to just rest and read a book that evening.
I got to enjoy the resort a lot more the next day. Buffet breakfast was served at Tides Restaurant and this was my first buffet since the pandemic started. My initial plan was to go to the beach and read my book before hitting the water a little later in the afternoon so it wouldn't be too hot. However, once I found an available beach bed with its own giant umbrella and got settled, I felt the sea calling out to me. I applied some sunblock to my face, my neck, and the exposed parts of my arms but I hadn't put any sunblock on the rest of my body before hitting the water. Needless to say, I had a pretty bad sunburn after that haha. Nevertheless, I felt so at peace while in the sea. I'm sure it helped that there was almost no one else in the short section of the beach where I was in.
Later that afternoon, I went to the main pool to swim a bit more. I enjoyed a meal at Buko Bar before heading back to my room. (I got room service every night I was there. Some restaurants were still closed and there were a few items in the room service menu that I really liked that weren't available in any of the restaurants so I decided to just have dinner in my hotel room every night.)
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| Chicken Breast from the room service menu |
I had the same routine on Wednesday. In fact, I got the exact same beach bed where I stayed the day before. Later in the afternoon, I decided to try the Ocean Wing pool. There is a sign that says the Ocean Wing pool area is restricted to guests who are staying at the Ocean Wing but since the hotel was still not at full capacity, all guests were allowed to use any of the pools. Cool!
Shang Mactan has a cultural show at the Buko Bar on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. During my stay, the only chance I had to see the show was on Wednesday but since I had settled into my room already in the late afternoon, I didn't feel like heading out. However, at 7pm, I started to hear a very invigorating drumbeat coming from Buko Bar. I got a jolt of energy and I decided to head down. I'm glad I did because the show was really enjoyable.
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| Cultural Show |
More people seemed to check in on Thursday. When I went to the beach at around noon, most of the beach beds were occupied and I didn't feel comfortable lounging too close to other people. I decided to just spend the afternoon at the Ocean Wing pool area where there were still many pool beds available.
Friday was my final day in Cebu. My flight was in the evening but thankfully, I was given a late check-out time of 3pm. The breakfast area was pretty packed that morning so I was really happy with my decision to book my holiday from Monday to Friday. After breakfasst, I managed to get a pool bed in front of the infinity pool in the Ocean Wing area so I stayed there for a while. I read a bit and swam a bit before heading back to my room to check-out.
Shangri-La Mactan is a really beautiful resort. I love the grounds and I also love the fact that it has its own private beach. I prefer staying at the Ocean Wing pool area because it looks out into the sea and is more shaded but the main wing pool area is really photogenic. The staff is also very courteous and helpful and the service is excellent. I definitely recommend Shangri-La Mactan and I hope I get to stay here again in the future.
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