After three years, this family of four was finally able to have a vacation!
To celebrate our household’s fully vaccinated status, we decided to mark this milestone by heading to Boracay. Sherwin has been to the island for a number of times on work-related vacations, but for me and the two kids, it was our first.
Entry Requirements
As we are still in a pandemic, there are still border requirements that tourists have to comply with. Local Government Unit (LGU) may opt to update or change any of these depending on the alert level status of where you are coming from. In our case, since Manila is on alert level 1 at the time of our visit, there are minimal requirements. Being fully-vaccinated will surely make things easier and more convenient (example: no rt-pcr test needed).
Tourists can only process the entry pass application 3 days before the arrival date to the island. Confirmed hotel booking and flights are necessary in getting this pass. Aklan is very strict when it comes to the following:
- number of days stay in the island
- complete details of your traveling party
- the places you will be visiting in the island (if you have multiple hotel bookings or availing of packaged tours
Each tourist will be granted one QR code and its validity will only be until a few hours after the checkout date from the hotel. Any extension will warrant a new QR code application. This is, of course, subject to change depending on the covid situation.
Just keep checking Aklan official website days prior to your travel date for any updates. In our case, our hotel, Shangri-la, has been very helpful in guiding us through these requirements. It can be overwhelming at first (for first time travelers like me, with all the readings to be done hahaha) but they provided us the necessary details right away which made it so much easier for me.
Traveling By Plane Again
The situation in the airport is almost the same 2 years ago. It is now packed with people all wanting to finally travel. It is a good thing that Terminal 4 will be open again soon because Terminal 3 was really congested and busy. With that, I suggest to be in the airport at least 3 hours before your flight specially on a weekend. Checking-in online is always a good idea. The procedure takes a bit longer now because airline staff are also checking the completeness of your requirements in accordance what the LGU of your destination required.
Staying at Shangri-la Boracay
Upon thinking of Boracay, we knew that Shangri-la will be our destination because it is quite secluded and away from the crowds. This vacation was a big leap for us considering that we have not really gone out with the kids in the past 2 years, not even to dine out in restaurants or malls. Despite being on a vacation, we could not let our guards down just yet.
We immediately planned and booked everything with the intention of going to the island in March, wherein there is not much influx of tourists as restrictions has just started to ease.
For an idea on what to expect at Shangri-la, here is my quick vlog:
What we love about Shangri-la:
- Great airport transfer service
Shangri-la’s brand of service begins the moment we stepped out of Caticlan airport. A shuttle fetched us and brought us to their lounge by the jetty port. The lounge is relaxing and welcoming; giving the guests a much needed time to freshen up.
While the kids and my husband are in the lounge, a Shang staff assisted me to the port area to process our entry to the island. Everything was handled by Shang. I just needed to present our QR codes and our IDs. It took me less than 10 minutes to finish the whole process.
From the jetty port, a speedboat took us to the resort. Oh and our luggage? I almost forgot about them hahaha! They took care of it the moment they fetched us from the airport. By the time we got into our room (after we had lunch and the smoothest check in process), our luggage are already in, cleaned and sanitized.
- Rooms are clean and eco-friendly
Shang rooms have this refreshing smell and their Boracay resort is no exception. Major plus points for me that the hotel is obviously very environment friendly with their use of glass bottles for water and ceramic jars for liquid toiletries.
By the way, for a quick room tour, you may check out this vlog:
- We felt safe
For first time travelers after 3 years, this is super important for us. We felt and saw everyone’s effort to make the it a safe space for everyone; guests and employees. Social distancing are practiced in restaurants and staff are consistently wearing masks anywhere in the resort.
Also, the resort is always kept clean and orderly. Hardly anything was in disarray. No litter can be sound around the beaches and the entire property.
- Shang’s service is just amazing
In the review that I left for the resort upon checkout, I mentioned that aside from the awesome facilities, Shangri-la Boracay’s greatest asset is its people. From booking, until they brought us back to the airport for our flight home, we felt very well-taken cared of. They took into consideration that we have a differently-abled son and was constantly checking-in on us; asking if we will be needing a wheelchair, if there is anything we need, and most of all, making sure that our room is easily accessible to common areas. They gave us a room that has a quick access to the beach, the lobby and the elevator.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, that we were able to encounter has a smile despite wearing facemasks. Everyone was ready to assist us in whatever way they can. One thing that I enjoyed while in the resort was talking to some of the employees and ask how they were during the past two years with all the lockdowns. They spoke of so much gratitude that they were taken cared of and that how they hope that the tourism industry would soon be able bounce back. It made me realize how important it is really take care of your people because it will most definitely reflect on how they perform their jobs.
Even my eldest son was raving about Shangri-la’s great customer service.
Things you might want to consider before booking Shang
I know I seemed to hyped up Shang so much, but before you book that dream vacation there, please consider the following:
- Limited dining options
At the time of posting this blog, there are only 3 restaurants that you can dine at in the resort. The 4th one, a Greek restaurant i think, may open too if guests numbers start to pickup. Having said that, this will definitely limit your food options. You can opt to go out, like to Citymall or station 1. Shang has a shuttle service schedule to take you to any of these. But if you miss the pickup and drop off schedule, you will have to take the e-tricycle which will probably cost you around Php150++ one way.
In our case, my husband, Sherwin just went to Citymall (10-15mins. away) on our first day to buy some supplies such as snacks and drinks, and never went out of the resort vicinity again. We had our meals in the resort and we were able to try all three restaurants.
- No convenient store and shops nearby
The resort has a souvenir shop that sells some chips and snacks, but of course, since it is in Shangri-la, you can expect it to be quite pricey. Again, if you want to shop for pasalubongs or kikay accessories, Citymall or station 1 or 2 is where you can go.
Overall, Shangri-la is far from the more lively stations 1, or 2. But I can not really say that this is a disadvantage because I think this what most of the guests aims to achieve for choosing the resort.
Shangri-la is the perfect resort in Boracay if you are hoping for a chill vacation. The exclusivity and service is what sets it apart. For a family like us who just wants to be away from the city, this is highly recommended. We practically just swam, ate and took photos while there. The only eventful thing that happened there was the tree planting activity that we participated in.
However, if you are the type who is more adventurous in terms of food, beach activities or shopping, I say it will be more convenient to book a hotel in Station 1 where everything is more accessible.
It really depends on your goals for a vacation.
If you ask us if we are going back to Shang? Definitely! After all, we planted a little tree there that we can not wait to see grow in a few years.
To end this blog, just a reminder for us tourists, Boracay or anywhere else, to be vigilant and be considerate of others; our family members, fellow tourists, and employees that we will encounter (hotel and airport staff, drivers,etc..). Especially for the latter, they are exposed to so many tourists on a daily basis. In one of my chats with a hotel staff, he mentioned that they are still in a bubble and gets to go home to their families on their scheduled off days. He spoke of this with so much understanding as way to protect their guests and their families too. They are doing their share in ensuring our safety, so let us do ours as well in keeping theirs. Wear your masks (especially on enclosed spaces), practice social distancing and always wash or sanitize your hands. While there is still this evolving virus, we can only continue to have this much freedom in terms of traveling if we are considerate of one another.
Alright, game? Book Bora na! 🙂