Posted on December 15, 2009 - by Vic

Top of Luxury at Shangrila Boracay Resort and Spa

All I could hear were the trade winds rustling the coconut palms and the murmuring sea. It was one of those moments of complete bliss as I road my way through this luxurious resort property. Meanwhile, I was succumbing to the delights of Filipino hospitality softened by a warm welcome befitting a head of state. As I walked through the grounds of the Shangri-la Resort and Spa in Boracay, one immediately feels the authenticity, quality and choice offered by this global chain of hotels and resorts.

As befits their contrasting locations, this resort and spa offers a fabulous array of the best Asian-style spas with world class facilities. Among these, the authenticity, quality and choice offered by the Shangri-la Resort are so exceptional befitting their contrasting location. The spa treatments offered at the resort are also different, each reflecting the Asian ways of life. The resort which overlooks the Pacific Ocean has embraced the concept of “unmistakably contemporary Filipino” according to the general manager Andre Kretschmann. This is reflected in its well planned architecture, which follows the style of Filipino dwellings and the resort’s theme loosely translated, means purity of spirit, health and well-being. Its well known Spa brand, Chi is a unique retreat which features Indonesian, Tibetan, Nepalese, Thai and of course our own Hilot treatment version which the resort has popularized and has revived its popularity among the well healed Filipinos.

Just as when you thought that the paradise that is Boracay has been lost to the noise and nature pollution, this brand new resort property follows the same signature service and attention to details that has characterized every hotel and resort that the Shangri-la brand has stamped itself in the hospitality industry. Having been exposed to luxury travel and living, what is awesome about this resort is the way it has blended itself with the island’s magnificent surroundings, bringing nature into its fold and benefiting from its bounty. This reverence for nature already shows at first glance. The shaded lane that winds through the resort hamlet sets the scene for laid -back living. Upon my arrival at the Caticlan airport, a familiar staff whom I’ve met since the 80’s warmly greeted my arrival with my publisher and his wife who were my traveling companions on this trip. I discovered later in our brief conversation that it was management’s policy to choose most of their staff from within the group or surrounding region preventing the “gated community” feel that often permeates luxury resorts.

At my spacious suite overlooking the sea and the long golden beach, total relaxation, another or the resort’s bywords, comes naturally. It is difficult to summon the energy for anything more strenuous than a drink in the Alon bar near the beach and the infinity pool and a long lay slumber in the shade. But meals for breakfast and lunch at the Vintana restaurant offers a varied menu to rejuvenate the senses. Over lunch, I chose a simple but healthy Thai Tom yam soup, prepared the way I liked it- hot and spicy, a Caesar’s salad for my side dish with lots of salad dressing, and for my main course, the freshest tanigue fish catch of the day in the island, grilled and served with boiled potatoes and garlic salt. Having tasted these simple dishes, I still had room to try out their pasta offering which was located next to the soup and salad station. I took a sampling of their pasta station with a helping of a penne mixed with basil and seafood ingredients including shredded slices of shrimps and squids. The chef must have read my mind in making my pasta rich, thick and consistent with enough servings of virgin olive oil sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I couldn’t complain. After this hearty meal, I had my usual selection of freshly sliced mangoes to cap off my Shangri-la lunch together with a taste of their halo-halo with freshly cooked and sweetened fruits with shaves of ice and fresh milk. Locally known as the “queen of desserts,” it is one of the most popular desserts I have noticed foreigners have tasted when visiting the country.

Afternoon is the favorite time for guests like me to pamper their bodies, a habit I’ve developed living almost 19 years in Jakarta, Indonesia. Every weekend, it has been a regular habit to visit one of the neighborhood spas in my old area in Jakarta and get the usual ‘spa treatment.’ It is no surprise, that the Shangri-la group has embraced this lifestyle in their popular Chi Spa.

As I entered the award winning Chi Spa, it was immediately evident the spa is smaller in size compared to their other Chi spas in Mactan, EDSA, and Makati. However, the landscaping which has won awards in Mactan and EDSA could reap the same awards or even more in due time when travelers discovers that the Chi Spa is also available in Boracay. Going through their Spa menu, I came across some new treatment which has been introduced in Shangri-la Boracay’s Chi spa. Their treatment menu prices worth a try include the half day chi villa experience- 4 hours of special massage technique incorporating intricate hands movements from therapists who have been trained to maintain blood circulation, restore the natural balance and energy of the mind and body.

With so many choices, it was difficult choosing which treatment to sample so Junee Gayanilo, one of the health club supervisors recommended sampling the Chi Local Range of Body Butter Sampaguita or Body scrub Pomelo Camalmansi, or Cucumber Aloe After Sun Gel.

Today, with the advent of the “metrosexual” male, there is an increasing trend for men to take better care of themselves. I have noticed that The Chi Spa has taken advantage of this trend on the menu with their men’s skin care treatments including a choice of 45 minutes of element refresher facial, one hour of chi vitality facial or the men’s Philippine Herbal back treatment. The Chi Spa offers this special treatment for men, which take into account men’s physiology. These treatments are also more time sensitive and may be done over a shorter period of time.

As I headed back to the main lobby to meet up for dinner at the Sirena, the resort’s seafood restaurant on a cliff top above the crystal blue waters, I was eagerly awaiting to taste the combined creations of executive chef Geoff Simmons and executive sous chef Robert Davis. My dinner companions and I were not disappointed as we were treated to a generous sampling or “degustation” of the best dishes and meals we ever had this side of the island. I was struck by the subtle lighting from the ceiling shades, lampshade and the soft chill out music keeping the ambience understatedly hip.

Food falls into the nouveau contemporary category. It has a general mix of familiar infused with an international taste found in the menu which covers soup, salad, pastas, the grilled seafood to desserts. According to both chefs Robert and Geoff, guests from all over can have something to their taste, showing that both have done their homework well in the creation of the evolving menu and the growing patron returnees that has been seen frequenting the Sirena restaurant. If you are looking for a new dining destination with the charm of the island and the cuisine of an internationally run establishment, Sirena at Boracay Shangri-la is a place that shouldn’t be overlooked.

I am no gourmet, but simply know good taste when I see one. One feels that a great deal of study and research was invested in this restaurant, both on the part of the hotel management and the owners themselves who were flying the following day to check out another fine dining restaurant in the resort complex also due to open soon. Serena is one of the few world class dining establishments in Boracay which will slowly developed its own devoted base of clientele from all over the world given a few more months since it opened.

From the welcoming Solana bar to the charming and cool dining interiors of Serena, the ambiance exudes contemporary Filipino at its finest with a refined western influence. The layout of the restaurant, while being large, offers intimate areas for dining, overlooking other patrons and different areas of the restaurant from a distance and giving enough privacy to all diners.

Boracay Shangri-La seats on a 12.5 hectare piece of property with a 360 degree panorama of nature’s colors in constant embrace from the greens of the trees, the reds and oranges of the flowers, the white beach and the blue sea. And around sunset, one is treated to a kaleidoscope of all the hues of a setting sun. The resort has 219 rooms offering luxurious comfort to island visitors. The deluxe room were I was l billeted comes with a balcony and a magnificent sea view. The 36 villas, the smallest of which measures 108 square meters comes with a butler, private plunge pools and whirlpools or pergolas for alfresco dining. Coming soon, which I was privilege to get a peak at is one of the treetop villas with a command of the most fabulous view of the sea.

If there is an admirable reverence for nature outside and around the resort, the same concern for local culture is evident in the interiors designed by Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo of Hong Kong with interiors by LTW Design Works. Luxury villa accommodation is perhaps a relatively evolving concept in Boracay Island. The tourist market has been at the lower budget end, but it has slowly been building pace in the higher end of the market “especially with the entry of Boracay Shangri-la Resort and Spa,” notes Joy Wasmer, PR director of the Shangri-la Group. This resort offers something that isn’t available in many places around the island namely total beachfront villas or on the hill with magnificent sea views nothing short of breathtaking.

“Here in Boracay Shangri-la Resort and Spa, one is introduced to a show window for the new level of luxury resorts of Shangri-La in Asia,” Wasmer added. Management notes that Shangri-La Boracay Resort and Spa is the first of its kind for the Hotel and resort group and marks the beginning of a new journey for the company. Personally, a stay at the Boracay Shangri-La Resort and Spa is more than just a dream but simply a reality and a move up to a new level of Luxury.