More than fun, relaxation in Kuting Reef

IT’S no secret now: Kuting Reef is getting good reviews both from local and national tourists in the country.

Aside from attending a reunion, I purposely visited Kuting Reef at Asuncion, in the town of Macrohon, Southern Leyte (about 15-minute drive from province’s capital Maasin City) together with my friends to know whether I would get similar impression of this resort and its management like with what were being said by those who have been frequenting there.

Looking back (in the late 90s), Kuting Reef’s three-hectare property was only a vacation place for Engineer Robert Castañares and his family. Former Maasin City youth leader, Bennites Paloma-Gido, led me to this place.

Accordingly, it is turned into a commercial resort in an effort to provide an intimate getaway and ultimate alternative destination to tourists who eventually need a perfect place to commune with nature and among themselves when in Southern Leyte.

Also, its owner, being the current president of Southern Leyte Chamber of Commerce and Industry, wishes to pursue Kuting Reef’s operation to pave way for employment among the locals and also, turn it into a training hub for those college students who are taking Hotel and Restaurant Management or Tourism degree from the province.

My brief stay at Kuting Reef was indeed a fruitful one as I didn’t only savor the kind of “good life” it offers to visitors there but also  established goodwill to its owner and knew the reasons first-hand why this resort can be liken to “Boracay” (sans the crowd) in the Southern part of Eastern Visayas region.

Resort, amenities “nonpareil” in the south

One visit to Kuting Reef brings a unique promise for visitors of returning to the resort for many times around. The reason: despite its laid-back charm, the resort is equipped with necessary modern facilities to cater its visitors’ needs for fun and recreation during their stay.

Kuting Reef prides itself for its therapeutic ambiance with its infinity pool, swimming pool refreshment bar, fine dining restaurant, speed boat tour, jetski, kayak, banana boat, snorkeling, scuba diving thru its accredited dive shops, beach volley ball, Frisbee, beach massage, full moon dinner special, beach concert and party, horse-back riding, and boardwalk al fresco bar and restaurant, to name a few.

Also, the resort is offering function rooms that can accommodate 200-300 persons, state-of-the-art conference room, venue for garden wedding, flight bookings and reconfirmations, local tour assistance, transfer service, room service, butler service for Casita guests, gift shops, non-smoking rooms and packaged tours to Southern Leyte’s other getaways like the Cambaro Cave, Cagnituan Falls and Subterranean River, Limasawa Island and major spots in Maasin city and nearby towns.

Today, Kuting Reef has become a favorite seminar and convention venue of government offices and private companies, particularly from Leyte and Samar due to its rustic charm or appeal.

Every visitor there would get this impression that indeed sophistication and simplicity can go hand in hand with Nature given the right place and time.

It has also become an alternative vacation destination of Warays (the locals from Leyte and Samar) because of its reasonable rates.

Like what the resort has always boasted: Why spent more to other distant hideaways in the region when Kuting Reef has this inherent appeal of being “hidden” as it is located in a private cove?

As its well trained Food & Beverage, Housekeeping and Front Office staff were attending us, I then casually surveyed its environs and told myself that this resort deserves “special mention” among the many known destinations in Eastern Visayas, particularly here in the south.

On a separate occasion, the same impression was also shared by other guests there like Maasin city artist/photographer Jham Hatayna, brothers and photographers Ed and Edgar Daling and scuba diver/travel writer/freelance tour guide Rio Cahambing during their visit.

Like me, they couldn’t help but be mesmerized also of the exquisiteness, elegance and simplicity of the resort’s landscape, artworks and native architectural design.

The resort is clean, peaceful, and refreshing—in complete harmony with its well-manicured bermuda grass and strategically-planted coconut trees for the shade.

Aptly said, the color white, which unconsciously commands purity, pristine and prestige to the onlookers generously outlined the resort’s design, facilities, and scenery.

Here’s a trivia: color white punctuated the resort from its entrance to its service vehicles, from its crews’ uniforms to its webpage font color-type (see for yourself at www.kuting-reef.com).

Yet make no mistake, I am personally convinced the resort is offering not only a city-escape but sheer profundity and therapy as well.

Also, its staff are ever-friendly and courteous (the guard would even praise your visit with a snappy salute from his post), which made me to consider that there is something special and intimate in this resort.

The resort indeed has a strict policy on confidentiality, highly regarding the privacy of its clients. “What happens in Kuting Reef, stays in Kuting Reef”, so to say. Employees are then strictly prohibited from talking to each other including their family members as to who visits Kuting Reef.

Except for the periodic yet gentle friction of the tides as it hit the shore and the familiar ripples from its coconut grove as the sea breeze passes by or the burst of laughter from few individuals as they frolic on the beach, the resort can assure its visitor solace, solitude, and perhaps, a solution to some of their earthly cares.

Literally, this happens because the resort is not overcrowded with people and yes, rooms. Ideally, this means that one should book first and confirm his or her stay at the resort because privacy matters a lot not only to the other guests but also to one’s self when he or she finally arrives there.

True to the words on its webpage, the resort has “12 deluxe cabanas with 12 more rooms under construction. These rooms are furnished with two regular beds, air conditioning, hot and cold shower, mini-bar/refrigerator, complimentary tea and coffee service, complimentary bottled water, complimentary beach sandals and intercom service. The deluxe cabanas have private veranda furnished with coffee table and power outlet for your laptop and iPod. All deluxe cabanas have a commanding view of the ocean and the landscape, grass-covered lawn, which is planted with tall 30-year old coconut trees.”

No, don’t be easily intimidated. Kuting Reef also comes with value-packages, ranging from barkadahan (or minimum of 4 persons), fun by the dozen (or minimum of 12 persons), all day fun package (or minimum of 6 persons), escape and relax, and ultimate chill out package.

At the end of my visit, I’ve come to understand that in this “sanctuary”, empty talks pose no excitement indeed. The time one spends for himself, complemented by the resort’s landscape, amenities, and ready staff, is indeed far more important than sulking on one’s or somebody else’s humdrum or hurried existence.

At Kuting Reef, what matters most is revisiting the “self” in me–the one who unceasingly longs for ultimate fun and yes, relaxation. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)