While in Cebu we stayed at the Plantation Bay Resort in Mactan, Cebu. This was where most of the wedding guests where staying so we decided to stay here as well and have some R&R. We arrived Wednesday noon and took the complimentary airport shuttle to the resort. Upon check-in, we were informed that the main saltwater lagoons where under maintenance but the small pools were open. Sucks.

My first impression of the place is that it is a cross between a theme park and a beach resort. We’ve been to many resorts wherein you feel duped because what you see in their website or the brochures are not what you see in real life. At first, we felt shortchanged because the man-made lagoons were empty and the natural beach front is too rocky for swimming.

Presenting the empty lagoons:

The saltwater pool outside our room is beautiful, but we grew tired of it fast.

The freshwater pool at the Savannah Grill:

Plantation Bay at night… filling the lagoons with saltwater.

We woke up the next morning and saw that the kiddie and northern lagoons were filled and we got to appreciate Plantation Bay a lot more. I could definitely just lounge around and swim the whole day.

All of the lagoons were filled up by our third day and we took a dip at the other lagoons just before we headed off to the wedding.

Plantation Bay, when all the lagoons are open, is a pretty cool resort where even if the rooms are fully-booked, the lagoons aren’t crowded because of its size. There are a lot of lounge chairs and gazebos to relax in after a swim. The service is top notch, food is only so-so but 5-star expensive. The complimentary wired internet service is definitely a plus. All in all, we would like to visit Plantation Bay again with a more leisurely agenda and probably sneak in more food.

Posted on 5 July 2007 at 1:32 am under Cebu/Bohol, Travel. | Subscribe | Comment | Trackback |