Gorgeous blue waters envelop beaches of warm white sand. Pigmented pink and fuschia flowers wrapped around greenery look out onto the warm ocean waves. The sky is a watercolor mixture of shades of blues, pinks, and oranges. The crushing sounds of waves greeting the beach is a welcome ASMR. In your hand is a fresh coconut, cold and refreshing on a hot, tropical day. This is heaven. This is paradise – “Paraiso” in Tagalog. This is Cebu, Philippines and our new favorite spot in Cebu is the Shangri-La Mactan.
The Philippines has long been on my heart as a top destination to visit. Not only does the country itself boast such beautiful islands and magnificent escapes, but also the people are extremely warm and welcoming. As a former Miss USA, I can vouch for just how incredibly kind and loving everyone is in the Philippines. Some of my greatest fans since my Miss USA days have called the Philippines home, and I couldn’t have been more excited to bring my daughter and husband there for my first visit.
Cebu is only a short, 2-hour flight from Hong Kong. This makes it super easy for us since we live in Hong Kong, but it also makes it easy for those transiting through Hong Kong to just add an extra stop in Cebu. Even before our plane landed, we could see the turquoise blue waters from our windows and the endless water sports being enjoyed on such a gorgeous, sunny day. We visited during the week in early May, before school is out for summer and just before the notorious monsoon season begins. It ended up being the perfect time to visit and honestly it’s the time of year you should consider your visit, too.
Right after we collected our bags and exited the airport, the team at Shangri-La Mactan eagerly greeted us with big smiles and a warm kumusta (“Hello” in Tagalog). Although we were expecting a long drive to the hotel, Shangri-La Mactan is about a 15 minute drive away. As we zipped through some of the streets of Cebu on our way towards the beach, shops were busy with patrons buying food, and we could see everyone beginning to gather in outdoor cafes for lunch.
As soon as we pulled into our home for the week in Cebu, it was not a surprise to see little bean already feeling quite comfortable. The lobby is extremely open and airy as it is partially outdoors. It felt like a grand, elegant living room on a beachside terrace which made it all the more relaxing as we were all handed fresh calamansi juice (little bean’s favorite) while ocean breezes invited us in.
The ocean breezes continued even up to our room. Everything at Shangri-La Mactan is open and airy, even the hallways leading to the room. And our room was an oceanview room, which meant those warm ocean breezes happily awaited us on our private balcony overlooking the water. Our view also gave us a view of the expansive pools, which immediately called little bean’s name.
Before we could dive in, our midday tummy rumbles meant we needed some fuel before we engaged in lots of swimming. Little bean chose a dim sum lunch at Tea of Spring, the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant (little bean will never turn down a chance for dim sum). We eat dim sum often at home and so we aren’t surprised she wanted a little taste of home on the first day of our adventure. While she munched on har gow, the beau and I enjoyed longjing tea and spicy chicken. With our stomachs full, we speedily made our way across the lawn and towards the main pool. I will be honest, we had been hyping up all the swimming little bean would get to do on this trip, so it’s no wonder she was eager to get her swimsuit on and jump into the water.
What do you get when you combine a large refreshing pool next to a water slide area next to a children’s pool? You get a mom with her feet up holding a fresh, cold coconut in the warm Philippine sun as her husband and daughter happily splash about. We had only been at the Shangri-La Mactan for an hour at this point, and already we were all feeling the reset our family needed. The beau is a commercial airline pilot who typically flies long haul routes, meaning he’s gone about 4-5 nights a week most months. Little bean has been transitioning to a more full-time school schedule, and I have been busy with writing, photography, and traveling for The A List. The Philippines was the perfect opportunity for us to rest and make memories together.
After spending all afternoon at the pool, we leisurely made our way back to our room for a quick rinse and outfit change for our exciting first dinner at the Shangri-La Mactan. We had checked in on a Tuesday, which happened to be one of the 3 nights a week that this very special dinner is offered. Kasadya Night is a very exciting experience that I had been looking forward to very much, especially for little bean. With our table right next to the stage, we were about to have a prime view of the elegant performers as they danced traditional Filipino dances and folklore under the stars. With little bean happily munching away on chicken adobo and pinoy noodles, she was completely starstruck at the magnificent dancers in their traditional costumes. This experience was the best way to begin our Cebu adventure, since culture is extremely important to both me and the beau. Kasadya Night highlighted the style, music, and history of the people of the Philippines which piqued little bean’s interest and curiosity about life in the Philippines. Unfortunately, before the show came to an end, little bean’s usual bedtime had long come and gone, and so the poor darling couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. I’ll never forget as the beau carefully placed her over his shoulder, and she sleepily looked back at the stage one last time as we left for the room before she closed them again and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, after a small little sleep in, we hungrily sped towards Tides for their famous international breakfast buffet. During peak season, Tides gets very busy, very full, and very quickly but as we were in the shoulder season in the middle of the week, it was much quieter and calmer. There was less rush as we explored every kind of food available, from sushi to spicy noodles to omelettes to freshly made waffles and pancakes – name a breakfast item and I’m sure they’d have it. They even came around with ginger orange juice shots – a drink I have at home every single morning – as if they read my mind. Usually I go for more savory food at breakfast but for some reason their freshly made thick French toast in chocolate sauce seemed just too good to pass up.
With the day before having been designated as a pool day, today we were going to be focused on having a wonderful beach day. It didn’t take long for the experience to become wonderful, with our family being greeted immediately as our toes touched the sand with lots of towels, water gear, and a big bucket of fish food for little bean to feed the fish. Even though we live near the beach in Hong Kong, our neighborhood’s beaches aren’t exactly the cleanest so this was going to be little bean’s first chance to really swim in the ocean. After giving the fish their breakfast, she plopped her goggles on to look at them underwater, and suddenly my 3-year old toddler turned into a fearless mermaid.
Despite having a large breakfast, we still felt hungry for lunch. We debated between lunch on our beach chairs by the ocean or taking a break from the sun and having some pizza at Acqua. In the end, little bean was the decider and she was craving pizza. Just a stone’s throw away from the beach is Acqua, Shangri-La Mactan’s Italian restaurant that overlooks the ocean. Side note: there’s also another swimming pool here but there’s no children’s play area at this one, so we skipped it this time. As soon as we sat down on the comfortable sofa at our table, little bean’s busy morning as a mermaid caught up to her and she passed out for a rare nap.
As she slept while the chef was busy making our pizzas in the outdoor pizza oven, the beau and I sipped on rosé and indulged in burrata and beef tartar while getting to have an unexpected date lunch as little bean slept next to me. When the pizzas arrived, little bean grumpily woke up until she realized her crust had been stuffed with extra cheese – that woke her up! The chef also prepared for us a special off-menu dish of a spicy green curry ravioli – a marriage of his two cultures Thai and Italian – and it was amazing.
We did not eat dessert at lunch because we had something very special planned with little bean. Shangri-La Mactan is pretty much the most family-friendly oriented hotel we have ever had the pleasure to stay at, so it should come as no shock that a lot of activities are featured throughout the day for kids to enjoy. One of the activities that we knew little bean would love instantly was their Philippine delicacy class. Little bean loves to bake and cook at home, and as I mentioned earlier we love to incorporate local cultures into our travels with her, so this experience was perfect for her. We made our way back to Tides for the class with the head chef as he had us help him make coconut macarons. Little bean’s favorite part was the mixing, adding the coconut, and putting raisins on top. After they were baked in the Tides kitchen oven, three boxes of little bean’s handmade coconut macarons were delivered to our room. She ended up gifting one box to our flight crew on our flight home.
The beau was extremely eager to have daddy daughter time with little bean, since his job is so demanding and often causes him to be away for frequent periods. With little bean wanting to spend more time in the water, the beau shooed me away to have a lengthy 2.5 hour spa treatment at Chi the Spa on the other side of Shangri-La Mactan. With little bean squealing in the pool with her daddy, I made my way through lush greenery and peaceful ponds with koi to end up at Chi. After a much needed immune reset in the sauna, I was escorted to my own private spa villa for my treatments. For 90 minutes, tension melted away from my body with a blissful aromatherapy massage. Then, I was treated to a relaxing and hydrating 60 minute facial. My little mommy retreat was much appreciated but by the end, I was definitely missing my family.
You can’t come to Shangri-La Mactan and not spend one night dining under the stars by the ocean, so that’s exactly what we planned on doing for dinner at Cowrie Cove. As the fire-lit torches welcomed us into our dining haven for the evening, it was the squeaking little bats flying out of their nests amongst the trees that made little bean very excited. And then as the sun began to set behind the Shangri-La Mactan, the first stars and planets made their debut for the evening in the sky. Little bean loves astronomy, so every new star or planet that appeared did not go unnoticed by her.
Something that I really appreciated as a parent was not only does every restaurant at Shangri-La Mactan have a kid’s menu, the menus are well thought out. Little bean will never say no to pasta, so pasta at Cowrie Cove with her favorite vegetables mixed in was a winning dish in her book. For me and the beau, a glass of Tempranillo alongside medium rare steak and hamachi was the chef’s kiss. When it comes to making family memories, our dinner at Cowrie Cove definitely stands out.
Our week in Cebu really was a complete paraiso. We settled into a routine of mornings at Tides for big hearty breakfasts before skipping our way towards the beach for morning swims with the fish. Mid-morning breaks consisted of us happily sipping on fresh coconuts or calamansi juice before diving back into the water for more fun. Lunch was either pizza at Acqua or pasta by the pool, before our afternoons were taken up by more swimming. Little bean has always been an excellent swimmer (she’s had lessons since she was 6 months old) but on this trip she truly became fearless, eagerly learning how to dive into the pool and swimming underwater so she can see the fish. Dinner each night was always welcomed by the darling bats waking up for their big fruit feasts and always ended with countless stars and planets for little bean to point out.
Our visit to the Philippines definitely made a lasting impression on our family. Shangri-La Mactan gave our family a perfect week of spending time together, learning together, and relaxing together. It was the reset we really needed, and it made such an impression on little bean that she keeps asking two questions – when can we go back and who else can we bring with us? Shangri-La Mactan is without question one of the best family escapes you could ask or hope for, and it certainly has become a home away from home for us in the Philippines. Kita kits, Cebu.
Thank you to the Shangri-La Mactan for partnering on this post. Although we were guests of Shangri-La Mactan, all opinions written here are my own.
