Samal Island City, Davao - Pearl Farm Beach Resort

July 21-22, 2011. This was my sister's treat to mommy for her 55th birthday, and her treat to me as a 'bakasyonista' from Manila. She originally planned a day trip tour, but because the price for the day tour changed to approximate the promo price of an overnight stay, she decided to just book us for an overnight stay in the beautiful resort. Her boyfriend, Joseph and her good friend, Nikki, came along with us.

This was our second time to stay here, actually. We were able to tag along when my dad, who was working for Caltex then, had a department outing. Compared to what it was more than 5 years ago, there was no major changes, just some touch ups and the same refreshing ambiance.

My sister booked us through the Pearl Farm Beach Resort office at Abreeza Mall. She just had to present the receipt to the Pearl Farm Marina at Lanang, Davao City where we boarded the boat that took us to the resort. It was hassle-free. They checked our bags to make sure we're not bringing in any food/drinks and deadly weapons with us, then we were ushered to the dock when the boat was ready for us. Excited:):):)

Hello Pearl Farm!!



We were greeted warmly by the staff at the parola, where we were immediately given an ice-cold, delicious complimentary pineapple juice. They gave us a short orientation just before our room keys were handed to us. The good thing about this resort is that we never had to worry about carrying our luggage. They took care of it from the moment that we entered the Pearl Farm Marina, and the bags were inside our rooms before we even got in. Very impressive :)

And so the fun began:) How else to start the adventure but by a speedboat ride. Leather seats, very nice driver, exclusive use for around 5 minutes to take us to Malipano Island, and suddenly, the regular humans had a taste of the good life of the rich :) Here's the proof, look at our stunned faces hehe. Wine na lang ang kulang :)



We decided to go to Malipano Island first. This is an island separate from the main Samal Island where the expensive villas and the VIP houses are located. It is also here that the aquasports (which are too expensive for me) facilities can be rented. This island has two beaches, but the better one is exclusive for the use of their villa guests. The other one is not bad either :) I remember that we were able to tour one villa during our first visit, so we did not attempt to do that anymore for this trip. We just enjoyed the beach and the buko juice that mom ordered for everyone which were delivered from the main island by the way, along with our beach towels. Told you the service is superb. We stayed there for an hour an a half, having the beach to ourselves for the most part. The interesting part is, when you look to the right of the main island, you see the really nice structures of the resort, but when you look a bit to your left, there are a lot of squatters. Just about the time that we were leaving (via the speedboat again of course hahaha), we noticed that the surging waves brought a lot of debris. Didn't really spoil the experience, but it was worth noting.





Manong speedboat driver was very accommodating, he did not just wait for us until 5:30pm, but he also took jump shots perfectly with just one try. I know this so out of the topic but we were all amazed. Look.



Came dinner time. Yum Yum! Just our luck, the dinner buffet price was discounted that night, and the hungry stomach got what it wanted from an afternoon of swimming - good food. Prawns, garlic fish fillet, chicken teriyaki, pork and beef bbq, buttered vegetables, buttered potatoes, sushi, sashimi, salad with all the dressings i know so far. The dessert choices were to die for too - grilled blueberry cheesecake, mango crepe, fruit cake, chocolate fudge cake and mango float. I'm not sure if I've forgotten anything, but the above list is good enough for me. Let the pictures speak for themselves.







Here are more pictures!!!:)

Where guests relax before and after a swim.

The infinity pool. This fronts the restaurant and it has a breathtaking view of the beach and the malipano island.

A nice view of the parola and the beach in the morning.

We chose to go home late in the afternoon. We boarded the boat ride scheduled at 4 pm. Now I know why we should choose to go home earlier next time. The waves were big and the boat rocked, and the passengers were shouting and were joking nervously to relieve the anxiety. I was quite confident that the boat will be able to reach Davao safely because it was big enough, and the boatmen didn't show any signs that they were concerned. Well, thank God we were able to reach the dock safely.

It was such a nice experience. Pricey, but definitely worth every centavo.

For more info: http://www.pearlfarmresort.com/