Just back from another stay at Sumilon Island, Bluewater. I have been to beach resorts all over the Philippines and the world; this remains one of my favorites.
First, a shout-out to the manager, Ram (short for Ramises C. Bongo II). He is always kind and gracious. I can sometimes be a high-maintenance pain in the neck, and he still treats me like his favorite guest. He is always very gracious. He sets a fine example for his staff.
Next, if you are driving to Bluewater's port, you don't need to worry. Their little port is very secure, and they have guards. Your car is safe.
One of my favorite things about this place is the service. The service starts when you turn off the road to go to their little port. There are guards up on the road to make sure you belong there. They are polite to everyone. But once they confirm you are a guest, they treat you like family coming home for a holiday. That VIP treatment continues for the whole trip.
Next, you get on their large outrigger boat (very secure and stable) and take a 20-minute boat ride off the coast of Cebu.
I am just going to repeat this a few more times. The entire team there is golden. I don't know how they do it. You see them working when you are headed off to bed, and they are already back working when you get up in the morning. And I am talking about all of them, from the gardeners to the maintenance people, to the staff that deal with the guests. They all treat you like an old friend or an honored guest, whatever you prefer.
A couple of tips. Book directly with Bluewater if you can.
Check the tide chart. The beaches are best when there is a high tide during daylight hours. Plan your trip so you are there when there are high tides during the day if you like to go to the beach. Of course, they have beautiful pools all the time.
Bring water shoes. The kind with rigged rubber soles and open sides. These will be good when walking around coral and hiking the trails.
There are hiking trails. The difficulty ranges from easy for 10-year-old kids and up to expert. I am a little heavy, so the basic is fine for me.
I recommend throwing some collapsible trekking poles in your bag. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RUBBER TIPS FOR THE POLES. Much of the trail is on ancient lava, so you need the rubber tips.
I reveal this next secret with some trepidation (because I want it all to myself). Check out the private pool Villas if you have been good and deserve a treat. They have one-bedroom and two-bedroom villas. Each one has a private pool. They only have three of these.
They have a lot of activities (diving, snorkeling, spa treatments, etc) that I haven't tried yet. But will. We just booked another 5 nights in a private pool villa.
The food. You need to be a little patient here. They are on a small island. They are exclusive, which means they don't have that many guests. It would be impossible to have all the menu choices every day. There will be times when they do not have a menu item you may want But embrace what that means: That means they don't have a bunch of stuff in a freezer ready to thaw and serve (yuck). That means that the food they do have will be freshly cooked and tasty. And, besides, the ice cream is great. So, there's that.
Also, there is a sand bar. During the day, tourist boats go there, and it is covered with people. No fun. But if you are staying there, it seems like you could go in the morning before the tourist boats start running. We will try that when we go back.
That's all for now.
Oh… don't forget to tip. These young people are working very hard. If it was your son or daughter working at this resort, wouldn’t you want people to show a little extra gratitude? They never ask for it. If you don't tip they will still treat you like royalty. But they work really hard and are always in a great mood. They deserve a little something extra, IMHO.
As always I have left some spelling and grammatical erors so you know this was written by a...
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