Posted by Sun, Sea and that Endless Summer
Shangri-la Mactan was absolutely amazing!
The gorgeous white beach, the incredible underwater garden, the fabulous hotel, the heavenly breakfast and the excellent service – they all took our breath away.
We spent six days at Shangri-la Mactan in Cebu, Philippines to welcome the year 2017. I know it’s a late post but I thought it deserves a space on my blog and perhaps it could give some ideas to those planning on visiting Cebu but not sure where to start.
I divided our Mactan holiday blog into 3 parts:
Part 1: The Resort and the Beach
Part 2: Snorkelling and the Coral Garden
Part 3: Food, Masks, and Fireworks
The Resort
The location of Shangri-la is perfect. It is only 20 minutes by car from Mactan-Cebu International Airport, which means you can immediately enjoy the resort especially if you only have a few days to spend in Cebu. The airport has direct flights from many countries including Singapore, which makes the destination convenient for those seeking a 5-star-quality beach in a 5-star resort.
How to get to the resort
There is a taxi queue on the right side of the airport arrival area, there are chauffeured rental cars that you can hire for less than P500 (SGD15), and if you want, you can also pre-book the hotel car. We took the chauffeured rental car because we did not know at first that there was a taxi queue.
The resort has two main buildings – the Main Wing and the Ocean Wing. The Main Wing has most of the restaurants and indoor facilities, some rooms face the pool while the others face the sea. The Ocean Wing is much closer to the beach, has some exclusive perks such as additional breakfast buffet options and I could imagine the rooms would be facing the beach. The Ocean Wing looked interesting but fully booked during our stay so we got a room at the Main Wing instead. We had a deluxe sea view room with a balcony overlooking the sea, two queen-sized beds and all the usual room amenities of Shangri-la.
There are two swimming pools in the resort, with one having a full-sized slide.
Lounge chairs can be found not just around the swimming pools but in many other areas which only proves the resort’s every intention of providing relaxation in every corner.
Parents who yearn to have an ‘alone time’ with each other can leave their kids at Adventure Zone, a multi-level indoor playground, where attendants would look after them. Joaquin loved the long slides especially the one that is almost vertical.
At night there are performances at the lobby like the live band that my hubby and I caught one night.
The Beach
But one goes to Mactan for the sun and the sea. And Shangri-la has the best in the area. It has a private beach where the sand is white, the shore is well-groomed and the water is a refreshing turquoise. Best of all, just a few steps into the water and you will already see dozens of colourful fishes. Shangri-la is crazy about safety, the beach has two or three lifeguards on the shore, and two more in the sea, each one in a separate speed boat.
The resort has free fish food on alternate days if you want to feed the fish. You can get them at the beach counter, which also lends, at no cost, life vests, goggles, and flippers.
We all loved to feed the fish. We also loved to relax on the fuchsia floats.
Most of the time, the fish will invade the guest’s personal space, but I think nobody minds really.
When not in the sea, the kids were enjoying the sand and fruit shakes.
And I, enjoying the company of my husband.
And as sunset approaches, happy hour begins.
At night, after dinner, we would walk on the beach, try to see the fishes under the illuminated water. We also did star-gazing on some nights. It was something we can’t easily have or do in Singapore and so we savour those moments that we get to see the sky dotted with hundreds of stars…
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Do look out for Part 2! If the hotel and the beach did not wow you yet, perhaps the garden under the sea or the sumptuous food at the resort would.
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We Travel Happy 
I worked here before and I really miss this paradise 🙂
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You said it right Jonin, Shangri-la Mactan is a paradise for many, especially for beach lovers like my family. It must be nice to always see the sea when you go to work. We love the crew at Shangrila and how helpful they are in accommodating my kid’s food allergies. You must be proud to once belong to their team 🙂
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Thank you so much. I’m so glad you enjoy your stay. Take care always and I can’t wait to read your upcoming post.
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