Sabang, Palawan (The Resort)

The name of the resort is Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort, mainly because it’s flanked by a beach one one side and mountains on the other.  When we got there, it wasn’t as readily impressive as the other Palawan island resorts we’ve been to like Club Noah, Club Paradise, El Nido and Dos Palmas.  With the big ones, you’d find yourself open-mouthed at how expansive and expensive the whole place looks like.  Daluyon looked more homey, more rustic, more small scale, but our 4-day stay proved that first impressions aren’t always accurate.

The cottages were quite nice, and like I said earlier, not as luxurious as the major resorts, but very much comfortable.  But as the days wore on, we felt more and more at home.  This resort crept up on us like we never expected, but more on that next post, when I describe our experiences there.  For now I’ll stick to talking just about the resort.

The bedroom had a nice big bed (king or queen size, I think?) and good quality sheets and pillows.  There was air-conditioning and a ceiling fan, a ref, and all the amenities you expect in a resort.

And since we got a suite, adjacent to the bedroom is a living room area, which opens straight into the veranda.  And since we were on the second floor, it looks out to a nice view of the resort grounds , the beachside bar, and the ocean.  Here’s how the view looks from our veranda:

The resort also has a very tropical path from the front desk that leads out into the expansive beach front:

And speaking of the beach, I used the word expansive because I couldn’t think of a better word to describe how wide the patch of sand is before you hit the water.  The beach in Boracay suddenly looks so sparse compared to the beach in Sabang.  The sand doesn’t look impressive from afar, mainly because of it’s color.  It’s definitely not white, because it has a distinctly brownish hue.  But what really shocked us was how incredibly fine the sand was.  The moment our feet touched the sand, we realized how powdery fine the texture was.  Even if your feet get coated with the grains, you hardly feel it because of how minuscule the sand was.  And because the sand is so fine, it gets easily packed and cakey when wet. It’s the perfect surface to walk on, run in, do sports, because it’s even, not wavey like less compact sand.

And what makes this particular beach so memorable for us was the waves.  There were so many and they get pretty high.  Not high enough to surf in, but definitely good enough to boogie board in.  And unlike in Calicoan in Samar, the bottom is pure sand, the same fine sand, all throughout, for as far as you can walk.  In Samar, the bottom was all rock, so urchins abounded.  We never got completely comfortable because one wrong fall and you can end up impaled on the urchins’ spikes.  Not here though, it’s all flat sand, so we were frolicking like kids in the high waves.  But like I said, more on that later.  How high were the waves?  Here’s a picture of me swallowed whole by one big one.  It took me from behind, and yes, that’s me inside the wave:

And if the salty brine of the unruly shores is not your cup of tea, they also have a nice infinity pool, that overlooks the mountains at the back of the resort.  It’s the type of pool we love, because it’s not covered in tiles, instead it’s some sort of rough granite finish that feels warm to the touch and not slippery like the cold tiles of usual pools.  They also painted the bottom blue, so it has this intense unreal rich blue that reflects well with the blue skies.  It’s such a relaxing place to chill if you find the pounding surf too stressful for your activity levels.

The other ace up this resort’s sleeve is the staff.  They have a wonderful staff who were more than eager to do what they can to make your stay a pleasant one.  There’s Chris and Gibs the chirpy waiters; Leslie, the chatty bartender; Eugene, the funny tour guide, the guy who specially prepared fresh buko for me (sorry I forgot his name) and many others.  Most of them were friendly, ready to help, and readily offered a smile when they saw you.  With each day we spent at Daluyon, we found ourselves loving the resort more and more.  It was like an artichoke, you discover its pleasures layer by layer.  It wasn’t love at first sight, but it was more a case of “I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.”  In fact, we loved it so much that we’re already planning a return trip as soon as we can.

(Up next: The Experience)