Just the Two of Us: Movenpick Hotel Mactan

Most of the time life gets too busy with work deadlines and handful children that it’s easy to forget about other equally important things like our partner or ourselves.  I am quite lucky that my husband thinks (lovingly insists 🙂 ) that he and I should once in a while spend time away from life to recharge as parents, as individuals and as a couple.  We try to step away from our home for a couple of days or so once a year to enjoy each other’s company.  This year it was in a beach resort in Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu in the Philippines.

The Resort

Mactan is just 3.5 hours by plane from Singapore and the resort itself is only 20 minutes from Mactan-Cebu International Airport, which makes it a convenient destination for beach lovers looking for alternatives to Bintan, Bali or Phuket beach resorts.

Movenpick is a five-star beach-front resort which is popular among those seeking for a fun time at the beach.  Mornings are quiet with many guests doing their own thing but towards sunset the beach comes alive.  Music coming from Ibiza Beach Club fills the entire stretch of the pale cream sandy shore. You’ll see dancing, people getting into the groove and just taking it all in.  People come to the resort to have a good time, particularly to Ibiza Beach Club which is known for nightly live entertainment and good food.

Here’s a video of Ibiza at sunset

What we think

Room – We booked the Deluxe Peninsula View King (but only because the other lower grade rooms were no longer available).  The room was spacious with a vibrant colour scheme, and clean which should be expected from a 5-star hotel.  It has a well-maintained bathroom with a complimentary set of Chopard toiletries on top of the usual items.  The view from the balcony was gorgeous. The peninsula surrounded by the calm blue sea has that lively but peaceful effect at sunrise.

Beach – The beach was small.  It was okay, not great, but okay.  I think it’s because I can’t help but compare it to the stunning beach of the Shangri-la Mactan, which was just a stone’s throw away and which we visited the year before.  The sand here wasn’t as white as Shangri-la which puzzled me because Shangri-la was really just next door.  The water was clean and clear but not as crystal clear as its neighbour.  And there weren’t many fish here unlike in Shangri-la where fishes are really just everywhere.

Food – Not bad at all. I enjoyed the breakfast but uhm the spread was not as extensive as its neighbour. Sorry I had to compare again because the price tag here is not way cheaper than Shangri-la.  The dinner at Ibiza, though, was good!

Atmosphere – F U N. It was fun and full of life everywhere, from the lobby to the beach.  Fun-loving couples and young adults would love it here.  Euben and I had so much fun in the resort especially when we attended the dinner party at Ibiza.  The ambience was great, and without our kids at dinner, it did feel like those times when we were just dating. So fun dating couples, this is your place!

Activities – Many beach sports activities are available.  We did parasailing!  My husband has fear of heights but he wanted to do it and so we went up up up.  Blue sky, calm sea and the perfect person to do it with. Unforgettable.

Spa – Ah Spa Del Mar was fantastic.  My husband had a full body massage and I had a body scrub.  We thoroughly enjoyed that relaxing time at the spa.

Family – I’m sure there are many activities for the younger children here but in my opinion I would stick to Shangri-la for that family-friendly atmosphere.

Overall – I need to make a full disclosure now.  Our first choice for that quick vacation was really Shangri-la Mactan, because we had a great time during the couple of times that we visited, but it was fully-booked.  Movenpick was our second option and it wasn’t a bad choice after all.  But, if we were to go back to Mactan with our kids and want to have that relaxing family-time at the beach, we would go back to our first choice.  But hey, we don’t mind coming back to Movenpick if party time is what we’re after.

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I’ve been comparing Movenpick with Shangri-la Mactan and so if you have time do check out our posts on Shangri-la Mactan’s Resort and Spa:

1. Shangri-la Mactan Resort
2. Snorkeling at Shangri-la
3. Food Party and Fireworks at Shangri-la

And here are some of the other places that we visited, just the two of us…(I like re-reading our just-the-two-of-us posts once in a while because they remind me of how grateful I should be.) 🙂

Wimbledon, Bath, London City, Notting Hill, Hong Kong