Cebu 2014: Staying In Shangri-La Mactan Resort

My family isn't the type to stay in hotels for special occasions like birthdays and graduations, so we don't really have staycations in hotels unless we're actually out of town. When we were in Mactan, I got the privilege to stay in the amazing Shangri-La Mactan Resort and here's a totally separate post for that!

Our tour group was welcomed with a cultural dance brought by the in-house performers. The dance was dedicated to the Santo Nino.

The ambience of their lobby was nothing short of lovely and luxurious. There are resorts that try to emulate this feel but the Shangri-La is in a league of its own.

So many lovely spots to take photos of.

They also have a lot of restaurants to choose from. Most of them are buffets as it usually is in hotels.

The resort itself huge, but it was hard to get around because the heat is murder. :(

Our tour group had to wait in this function room for their keys. Yup, all three buses worth of people. This is the problem with big tour groups, actually: so much people to accommodate. Thank goodness the resort staff is incredibly efficient, not to mention, nice! They will make you feel welcome instead of uncomfortable. :)

Now, our room! Five star accommodations from a five star establishment. The room is awesome. That's that. It's clean and functional but not overly fancy.

The funny thing about their bathroom is that it has speaker wired to the ceiling where you can listen to what's happening in the TV so you won't miss anything while you're in the john. LOL I found this quite humorous and at the same time, really smart! Haha!

Every room on our side has a great view of the resort itself, which is packed with activities. Other than the pools and the beach, you can also play sports in the little house you can see on the top right of the photo. There's also an arcade, spa, gym, and a huge indoor playground for kids and the kids-at-heart. It's airconditioned too, which makes it ten times more awesome.

Our first meal was dinner and I was so excited because our lunch earlier that day was awful because the restaurant wasn't able to serve us well.  Too bad though, because the food wasn't bad but they couldn't handle large tour groups, and I don't blame them. There were a LOT of us. :(

We had dinner at Acqua which is sort of similar to the ambience of Circles in Makati's Shangri-La. I didn't get to take pictures of the food because I lost myself when I saw the food which is, no surprise there, absolutely wonderful. The food here is a bit more western with a few Asian dishes here and there. I went crazy with the cheese, nuts, and honey, as well as the steaks. For dessert, they have classics such as panna cotta, cheesecake, and chocolate cake! So much food, so little capacity huhu.

We went for a quick walk before heading back to the room. There are actually two large pools within the resort. One has a super deep area that sinks 7 feet! The beach here is super lovely as well, and the sand feels so great against my feet because it's so fine. I say this because beaches in Batangas feel like your feet are getting a scrub. Not complaining though, it's not that bad. Haha! Anyways, there is just so much stuff you can do. And what's even better is that there's free wi-fi EVERYWHERE. Not even kidding. You can connect in your room and go to the beach and still have a super solid connection. Mind=blown.

The next morning, it was time to experience another amazing meal in Shangri-La. I especially love having breakfasts in hotels because the choices are quite literally endless. A refreshing change from my everyday oatmeal at home. LOL

We had breakfast at Tides, the interior again being so chic and modern.

They have a good variety of pastries because you don't think of breakfast without thinking of bread on the table!

Omelette stations are always fun.

And like every other Shangri-La breakfast buffet, they have adorable Bonne Maman spreads on every table!

This was Round 1 for me. LOL. I can't say enough good things about this resort because it is clearly one of the best places to stay in when you're in Mactan. It's quite a splurge but definitely worth it. The only con is that the activities are quite pricey.

That ends my Cebu travel diaries! I really hope that when I return, I can explore the city itself because I've heard so many good things about the restaurants and the malls. Here's hoping I can visit again soon! :)