Revisiting Plantation Bay Resort & Spa

Of all the resorts within Cebu - Plantation Bay Resort and Spa is a personal favourite. What makes it truly special is the spacious vast area that they have. The huge man made lagoon is amazing and the people who works in the resort itself are friendly and good looking people - like seriously - I have been crushing on some of the bellman there :D Shhh...

Anyhow, the other choice that I had as to where I'll be celebrating my birthday was Crimson Resort but looking at the room rates and the facilities they have - Plantation was no doubt the better choice. So, my family and I decided to check in as always on the Lagoon View Room then transferred to their One Bed Suite Lagoon View Room as both rooms were exquisitely fantastic and I invited in some friends and they had the same reaction as I do. 

So, here are a few snaps of our stay and luckily during which days - the Davis Tennis Cup were having their game at the tennis area of the resort. 'Twas New Zealand versus The Philippines and holly crap! Those men blonde men from New Zealand were HOT :D

 View from our room. Although the Lagoon View room is nice this particular building for such room option doesn't really offer the best lagoon floor for swimming :) 

Closed friends that I invited to hang with :) I seriously have to thank Katherine (the girl in red blue stripes) for coming in spite being sick. But this is prolly the only person I know, who still wears her red lipstick even though she's not feeling well :D

Room amenities and view from the one bedroom suite that we transferred into the next day. Our room bookings were mixed up because they were fully book during our stay. Initially, we only booked for an overnight stay but decided later on that we add one more night. Their one bedroom suite is like a family room which can cater up to 5 or 6 persons 'cos it really has a huge space but lagoon wise, I still prefer the rooms near their spa area - the lagoon view rooms there are superbly nice 'cos one you go out of your veranda, you can dip in the water which isn't deep :) And it has a more private vibe :)

The main reason why they were fully booked that week - The 2013 Davis Tennis Cup was happening. Philippines vs. New Zealand and lucky us - guest were allowed to watch for free :D But, just as we decided to finally sit and watch on it's second day of games - mr. rain decided to pour out hard and so, my chances of meeting the love of my life were doomed :))) 

Overall, it was another great experience and a real pleasure to be staying at Plantation Bay Resort and Spa. From crew to linens - I love it all. I love the spacious area and just about everything. It is basically my choice of resort hotel within Cebu. :) 

Banana Beach

At the heart of Tagum City in Davao Del Norte, lies a beach within an old banana plantation thus the name "Banana Beach" came to life.

First to experience a different twist on the usual white sand beaches that people world wide are used to - less chaos and uber relaxing area. Not to mention, they have their own mini forest where you can tour around and experience a little bit of the jungle with the monkeys and wild boars. Walk on their hanging bridges or simply feed on pieces or just relax and unwind on their mini lakes or by the shore. Almost everything is there.

Entrance and lobby area. The place is too huge that you need to have your own ride or ride their cart to go to the pool - beach and restaurant bar area. Room rate is quite expensive. Starts at around 100usd (good for two people) and add on person is at 15usd. We didn't do an overnight because it wasn't wise enough.

Ceiling fan on the cottage that we rented. Sorry forgot to take a photo of our rent but it was really nice. It had foamed chairs and a table and some pillows. Kinda like a Japanese inspired thing but more on western - european - mediterranean thing.

It was low tide when we came so there wasn't much sea to catch or indulge on. The sands aren't your typical white, it's semi black almost like the ones near my home in Cebu :)

Essentials :)

My Dad

The famous Durian - Davao's National Fruit :)

The food were OK but it takes forever for them to be delivered on our table. Prolly an hour or so. So you have to make sure to order everything you need. Price ranged from around 100php to 650php.

Photo with my dear cousin Christian who had his hair bleached and stuff for summer. :D

A great experience but I don't think I'll be back anytime soon. I want to check out their rooms one day and join the tour around their mini jungle - it costs around 7usd per person. We didn't have much time when we went there, maybe next time. :)

It is an hour and half ride from Davao City. Depends on the mode of traffic. I think the advantage of this place from the other resorts in Davao is that - it's very quite - solemn and uncrowded. 

PS Entrance is consumable, meaning you can order food and drinks with it but have to pay for excesses on the bill ;)