When one of the long weekends in the Philippine calendar is nearly approaching, you can’t help but picture yourself relaxing on a beach somewhere with family or friends. There aren’t a lot of long weekends, so it’s best to make this 3 or 4 day vacation count! But when you head to booking sites a little too late, it can be veery difficult to find a nice beach to stay in for that long weekend. And if you’re like me who looks to have fun and also relax during a holiday, then you wouldn’t be looking forward to the crowds when you get to your destination. Anyway, that’s how I ended up on a flight from Manila to Cebu, and then on sandy getaway at Mövenpick in Mactan Island.

For starters, there was a nice pool that was open until 10pm, which was beside one of the restaurants. There are also other in-house restaurants where you can order food from, and just a few steps from the beachfront, they sell fruit shakes, beer and other drinks. If you want to get food somewhere else, it’s going to take a drive out of the resort to find nearby restaurants or supermarkets. 

The beach area was not like Boracay wherein you can swim or walk along the beaches in the vicinity of the other resorts around you. It was limited only to what was solely the resort’s beach area. Nonetheless, it wasn’t disappointing since the beach was not crowded, just like I wanted it. Considering it was a holiday, I was mildly surprised, but mostly happy about that. Another thing I noticed about the place was that most guests were foreigners.

At night, the Ibiza Beach Club opens its doors to welcome guests that come in for the live shows and drinks. The night we were there, they featured fire dancers and Latin American performances. The drinks and food were quite pricy (a bottle of San Miguel Beer costs 200 Pesos or around $4, and cocktails cost around 500 Pesos or $10), so we didn’t get too much. A good spot to stay when you’re here though would be by the hammocks on the side where you can see the waters when you look down.

Overall, it was a great experience staying at Mövenpick. If you’re working on a tight budget or looking for a good beach party scene, then maybe it wouldn’t be the first place to consider. But it would be recommended if you’re trying to avoid crowds, wanting to relax or just looking for a place to chill - with wine in hand, sand on your toes and a nice tan on your skin.