FINE sand on your toes, wind whipping your hair, fresh air in your lungs and warm smiles for your heart.
Welcome to paradise.
Club Paradise Palawan offers a vacation far from the traffic, noise and especially work, but still allows guests to enjoy the scenic views that Palawan offers - a perfect staycation for yourself, with your significant other or even with your entire family.
Club Paradise Palawan is an exclusive 19-hectare island resort hotel that offers a panoramic view of a 700-square meter pristine beach and azure waters. This luxury resort, situated on Dimakya Island, Coron, Northern Palawan, has been declared as a Unesco Biosphere Reserve for its sustainable development projects.
Having its own farm on the island called Taranuman Farm, Club Paradise promotes the EcoConserve project where herbs and vegetables are grown, harvested, and used as ingredients to a wide variety of food served at its Firefish Restaurant.
You will always have your belly full at the resort. Whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner and even snacks in between, it would truly be delightful and unforgettable.
Club Paradise always makes sure to surprise you when you return to your room after a fun-filled day with treats on your table like macarons, Tamales, Nilupak (a local delicacy made with boiled casava and cheese), among others.
Alex Atthasarn, Club Paradise's executive chef who is a Thai, prepares not only Thai cuisine but also a variety of others.
The flavors just burst in your mouth with an appetizer like Som Tam Kab Gai Yang (spicy green papaya salad with grilled chicken), soup - Tom Yum Goong (spicy prawn soup with lemon grass and kaffir lime), main entree - Chu Che Pla (pan-fried barramundi fish, red curry with coconut milk, kaffir lime and steamed rice), and sticky rice with mango jelly.
Aside from the sustainable use and conservation of biological diversity of the island and the unlimited food options, what sets Club Paradise Palawan apart from other accommodations are the people.
"One of the strong points of Discovery is the people. I would admit that this is different compared to the other properties of the company because this (Club Paradise) was acquired; that is why we are evolving. Structure-wise like the hardware - that can be done, but the most diffult thing is the software - the people," said Joegil Escobar, Club Paradise hotel manager.
"It is more of the genuine service. I don't want it kasi na parang very structured in the way you say 'Good morning'. It is not a city hotel which is very formal. That's the kind of vibe I'd like to develop na everything comes naturally, it really comes from the heart na parang hindi siya orchestrated," he added.
Club Paradise Palawan is now managed by the Discovery Hospitability Corporation and owned by the Discovery World Corporation, the same group that operates Discovery Shores and Discovery Suites brands.
The hotel offers top-of-the-line services, plenty of lounging options and exciting activities such as kayaking, parasailing, diving, hiking, snorkeling, and island hopping.
Last October 12, 2019, Club Paradise Palawan was recognized as the Global Winner in the Luxury Family Beach Resort category in the 2019 World Luxury Hotel Awards, which was held at the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel and SantaPark in Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland.
The World Luxury Hotel Awards, which was established in 2006 recognize the hospitality industry for its world-class service excellence and is one of the most coveted achievements in the luxury hotel industry.
To date, Club Paradise Palawan has 50 modern accommodations with Filipino-style cottages to choose from:
* Sunrise Villa - If you are an early riser, this would be perfect for you as you get to see breathtaking sunrises since the rooms are located at the back portion of the island resort. The Sunrise Villa has the Standard (35 sqm), Deluxe (35 sqm), and Sunrise Villa Premier (46 sqm).
* Sunset Villa - If you prefer to be greeted by majestic sunsets, you could choose a Standard (20 sqm), Deluxe (34 sqm), and Sunset Villa Premier (60 sqm) located at the main beachfront.
* Garden Suite - Standard hotel rooms (27 sqm) with private balconies where you can lounge around and go bat viewing since the Bat Haven is located right across the rooms.
The hotel also has function rooms for meetings and events: theater, classroom, U-shape, reception, banquet, boardroom, cabaret, and fishbone.
Activities to do when in Club Paradise
With the services and amenities Club Paradise offers, you will not run out of things to do. Some of these include complimentart Wi-Fi access at all rooms, clubhouse, Firefish Restaurant and Lounge, complimentary foot wash, fitness facility, entertainment room, Glow Spa, yoga area, hiking trail to Eagle's Point which is the highest peak of Dimakya Island, Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel, swimming pool, Paradise relay, and Aqua Sports such as scuba diving, kayaking, and snorkeling.
The hotel also offers tour packages: Bottom Fishing, Coron Island tour, Calauit Safari tour, Island escapade, Island hopping, Splish Splash, Bike tour, and Sunrise sailing.
With island hopping, you would be able to visit three private islands:
* Malpagalen - White-sand beaches, beautiful rock formations, and blue waters that leave you with many Instagrammable spots.
* Dimalanta - Rich marine habitat which is perfect for snorkeling. Do be careful of the sea urchins.
*Diatoy - Also owned by the Discovery group. Not only is this island great for snorkeling, you can also do kayaking and paddle boarding here.
How to get there
With Cebu Pacific officially launching direct flights from Cebu to Busuanga (Coron) through its subsidiary, Cebgo, you don't need to go the long way.
Operating twice daily starting Sunday, October 27, people from the Visayas and Mindanao can definitely take advantage of this shortcut for rates as low as P299 to P399.
To get to Dimakya Island from Busuanga Airport, you will need to ride a van for aproximately 15 to 20 minutes to the port where a boat awaits. The boat transfer to Dimakya Island will take 30 minutes. You will pass along a river full of mangroves then past a fishing village before going through the open sea. (Ileana Cortes)