Quest for the True North

Thank You, Maribago Beach Resort!

Filed under beach, events, travel

The Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort wasn’t what I expected–it exceeded my expectations! I didn’t expect us to be treated like that, and I didn’t expect the event to be as well-planned as that either. I thought it was just another beach resort. My bad.

First, when I got to our meeting place at SM Cebu, Agnes greeted me with that big smile on her face and hang an ID on my neck. I said, “Oh, there’s an ID?”

That was just the beginning of surprises. The resort’s PR person, Ruben Licera himself, was there to greet us. The resort sent vans to pick us up, and we were more than happy to hop in. When we got there, we were greeted by Guest Service Officers who met us with white shell necklaces and this tasty lemon beverage:

One of them then took us on a tour. I never knew Maribago Beach Resort was that big! It sits on seven hectares and boasts of, among others, an intimate  island where a wedding was held while we were there, a shark pond (it was my first time to see a shark!), and The Cove–a restaurant where you could pick the seafood dinner that you want straight from the aquarium. I told them I wouldn’t eat there, because I’d probably take pity on the fishes and choose not to eat. There’s also the Allegro Restaurant, the main restaurant where we had our buffet dinner. It comes complete with cultural dances while you are eating. The food was okay, but there were so many to choose from. If I didn’t have a resolve to slow down eating I would have tried them all.

Ruben also took us to meet the management of the beach resort, where refreshments, kits, and a press presentation were waiting for us. It reminded me of press conferences that I used to attend in college. They gave us an overview about their resort and entertained questions from us.  All I could think of was diving–I’d heard from a diver friend that they offer diving lessons in Maribago. I’ve been wanting to learn how to dive. It usually costs around P15,000 to get a license. The manager, however, said I should just let him know if I’m interested to take the lessons, because he might give me a discount.

We were free to explore the resort on our own after that. I dipped into the water, of course. I just couldn’t let it pass, even though I still have sunburns on my back. Good thing it was twillight already. The others did not have plans to swim and did not bring swim suits, but they eventually gave in. They bathed in their underwear! I won’t mention who now. We didn’t let them off like that–they had to be subjected to endless teasing.

We tried the beach and one of the three pools in the resort. Too bad we didn’t have a lot of time–or was it because we had so much fun that it seemed time flew so fast? It wasn’t long before we were called in for the buffet dinner. Anyway, pictures!

Photos courtesy of Tiborsho, Bryan, Mikyu, Kai, and X.