Discovery Shores Boracay

this feels weird. can't seem to get the first sentences out after being away from blogging for so long. i'm ningas cogon personified. after starting the year with eight blog entries, eclipsing my total for the entire 2008, i hibernated for 6 months and now this.

let me borrow a quote from Michael Jordan "I'm Back!". i remember when he said it, the whole world rejoiced. with my version of "I'm Back!", i doubt anybody would notice and some may even shout back "Who Cares?".

anyway, putting those first sentences to rest, i wanna share my latest travel to Boracay last June 14-17, 2009. my first post for this series would be as you now know by the title, The Discovery Shores of Boracay, truly a destination of its own in this island paradise.


I've seen the resort from magazines and on TV and i really never thought i'd be staying here. partly since i'm Ilokano i'm a little more on the thrifty side when it comes to spending. good thing, a very generous guy made this possible, and i've been calling that generous guy "Dad" for as long as i remember. maybe he outgrew that Ilokano trait somehow.

enough of the talk. let me be your guide to this small luxury hotel they call Discovery Shores.

after a few calls using their handheld radios, it was confirmed that we were indeed guests of their hotel. so we were asked to board their van to be transported to the pier that will carry us over to the island. upon boarding they handed us this sportsband of the hotel to identify us as their guests.

i asked for another sportsband and they willingly obliged. i was supposed to buy some bracelets at D' Mall for accessories but i thought these 2 sportsband will do.





while waiting for our boat transfer, i was shooting at the van parked at the pier. i thought the reflection from the van's window was interesting and the sunlight reflecting from the corner added some drama to it.





en route to our boat transfer.





as they say first impression lasts, and so far we're impressed. what with their van, which was squeaky clean and courteous driver and to this ferryboat which is immaculately clean. more pleasant surprises await us though that will impress us more.

the boat's windows framed the outside scenes beautifully.

it provided amazing picture windows that wifey was so fascinated with.

got curious with the steering wheel, more typical in cars than in boats. the gauges by the way were functioning just fine. and the drivers are called Captains, they are legit seafarers with maritime degrees and not just local boatmen picked by the wayside.

this was the boat that carried us to the island. Discovery Shores or "DS" has 3 ferryboats plying the route and luckily this was the best of the 3.

we're now officially in Boracay Island and another van is waiting for us to bring us to the hotel.

we were made to wait in this informal receiving area while the hotel is informed of our arrival.

we were not due to stay in the hotel until the next day but we checked-in the name of our accompanying group, which were due later in the morning. it was only past 8am that time but the hotel generously lent us a washroom to freshen up since the supposed 2-bedroom suite the other group were to stay was not yet available that time.

if one is a traveller, which usually means a nature-lover, signs like this make you glad as they make an effort to somehow save the environment. they gave 2 instructions on how you could make an effort and join them in their cause.

orchids and greens line the exterior of the rooms.

this is the Master's Bedroom of the 2-bedroom suite. though both rooms are almost identical, this one had the better view.

this is the view from the Master Bedroom's veranda. simply amazing!

another view of the master's bedroom. notice the lovely artwork on the wall and of course the lovely model, my wife.

The Sand Bar.

A makeshift bar along the seashore. first glimpse of the world-renowned powder-like sand of Boracay.

i could get used to this life.

this was the view of the hotel rooms as it was about it get dark.

the buffet dinner table is built up on the sand as early as 4pm. when it gets dark, it illuminates quite beautifully. buffet dinner is set up only during the weekends and sets you back P1,000++/person.

cocktails are offered along the beach and they also have what they call happy hour which i think starts around 5pm and extends up to 9pm.

the colours here are just remarkable. i thought before that it was impossible to achieve such bluish/purplish skies unless post-edited, but boracay sky during these months are awesome.

the view of the horizon from the sandbar.

officially, me and wifey had this as our room on our second day in Bora. i preferred the Blue sheets over the Red sheets since the former is my fave color. and i personally requested that it be located on an upper floor so that we'll have a different perspective compared to the 2-bedroom suite which was located on the lower level.

DS knowing that we had our children accompanying us, complimented us with a personalized cupcake bearing Jaden's name. their complimentary fruit basket was not your typical fruit baskets from other hotels, theirs are larger and plentiful. we didn't even get to finish eating them.

i love the framed artwork so much that we needed to pose with it as background. this is the same as that on the

2 thumbs up for their 32" LCD TV.

this is the artwork hanging on the wall which i liked a lot.

the roomrate comes also with a 30-minute complimentary footspa. readying the feet for all the beating it will endure for the next few days.

here's another shot of my favorite framework but this time in the 2-bedroom suite.

this was taken from our balcony. the lower terrace was where my folks and siblings were staying.

this was the view right across our balcony.

another view accross ours.

these bar tables provided a very nice illumination when evening falls. i think it's made of a semi-transparent resin-like material.

the same bar tables above just covered this time with a colorful fabric which gave a different glow.

we had dinner outside the hotel. upon our return, this was placed on the food table together with another pitcher of pandan juice. not really the most expensive delicacy to have but still it was impressive for them to again provide it for free. though the churros and chocolate drink from the boutique of tagaytay is more impressive.

when swimming, again the pandan juice is free-flowing and can be requested to your heart's content.

the pool area with a small jacuzzi whirlpool and a pool bar where you can actually order drinks.

the first night, i curiously climbed up to the third floor and had an amazing view of the buffet table. the next morning i again climbed up to the third floor and got this as view.

this is one of my most fave shots from Discovery Shores. it was a designer sofa just there on the rooftop of DS so i decided to use its arc to frame the horizon.

the view from the rooftop 3rd floor of the pool area, gives a different perspective to it.

the numerous sports bracelet i amassed during my stay in DS.

here's our ferryboat on our way back to caticlan, not as impressive as the first one but still unique in its own way. and the captain was wearing a sailor suit to boot.

since the weather in Boracay during our trip (June 14-17)was very unpredictable, ruining some scheds in our itinerary, it was a blessing that we stay in Discovery Shores. at least when it rained, we were contented to just be in one of DS's rooms enjoying the luxurious comfort it provided.

DS didn't disappoint, it was really value for your money if you do decide to cough up that 12k a night for the junior suite. comfort comes at a price and that's exactly what the steep price per night buys you.

when i was looking for blogs for DS, there were not many. and if there were, there were ample photos that were shared. that's why i decided to share more photos here so you might have a glimpse and somehow share the experience of our stay in Discovery Shores Boracay.

upon arriving Caticlan Airport, i was looking for the hotel's representatives to greet us with signs of our names on it, but they were nowhere to be found. turns out they got our names mixed up and wasn't expecting any guest from the 5:00am flight. good thing i found their vans parked outside the airport and approached the driver and introduced myself as a guest.