The tariff is about $1,000 a day, for which guests get a
65-square-meter wooden bungalow called a casita. These elegant buildings are
modeled loosely after a Philippine bahay kubo, or village home. There are
only 40 such dwellings in treetop, hillside and beach settings, and because
Amanpulo takes up the entire 3.5 miles of Pamalican Island, privacy is assured.
This is definitely a sophisticated resort at the elusive six- to seven-star
level.
Top: The spacious casitas resemble traditional Philippine bungalows. Middle & Bottom:
Nearly half the space in each is given over to a Cebu marble bathroom. (Click images to enlarge)
Each casita has its own buggy, named after individual islands
in the Cuyo group. Within the casitas are pebble-washed walls, coconut-shell
tables, rustic Palawan rice-and-knife baskets, a king-size bed with rattan
headboard, and sliding glass doors that reveal outdoor decks with his-and-hers
divans, from which many colorful birds and the occasional iguana in the
undergrowth can be seen. Nearly half the space in the casita is given over to a
Cebu marble bathroom, with twin vanities, separate changing areas, a shower, an
elegant and deep bathtub, and timber-shuttered windows.Two secluded villas cater to larger groups or families. There
is also a library, boutique and gallery, a 30-meter swimming pool with poolside
loungers, a restaurant, bar, » beach club, picnic grove, lagoon retreat,
meeting rooms, and a spa with massage and beauty treatments. Activities such as
tennis, nature walks, biking and stargazing, as well as cruising, snorkeling,
scuba diving, windsurfing, waterskiing, sailing, fishing, island excursions and
fish feeding are also available to guests.
 Few angles have been overlooked to provide guests opportunities
to relax. Manamoc Island lies across the strait. (Click image to enlarge)
Coral reefs teeming with fish lie off the powdery white sand
beaches, but we found sea life such as turtles, trevallies and rays when
swimming close to shore. Dolphins and sea cows, or dugongs, are common to the
region, and we encountered many other fish species. Clams, octopus, lobsters,
squid, prawns and mangrove crabs round out the local underwater fare.The Philippine sun proved perfect for getting a deep tan
without burning, but liberal quantities of resort-supplied repellent were
needed to keep sand flies at bay in the evenings. The beach club offers
sailboards, kayaks, Hobies and Lasers, ski and fishing boats, and a double-deck
pontoon vessel. Dolphin 1, Amanpulo’s 31-foot Gulf Craft, handles most
charters, and she has a 34-foot sistership equipped with twin 200-hp outboards
for longer voyages. During our visit to Amanpulo, we decided to explore larger
Manamoc Island, which dominates the view from the beach club. Here, the
conservation-minded will be intrigued to find a program in place to discourage
dynamiting of fish or stun-poisoning of potential aquarium fish with sodium
cyanide. These two activities have become a scourge of Asia-Pacific archipelagos
like the Philippines and Indonesia, destroying coral reefs and devastating
fish stocks. The Andres Soriano Foundation, working from a largely donated
$100,000 budget, has developed new marine revenue sources on the proviso that
the dynamiting and poisoning stop, policed by a sort of neighborhood watch
system. Marine tourism is paramount because many Manamoc islanders are now
trained and employed at Amanpulo.
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