Others find that Boracay island is not as beautiful as it used to be. The shores are tainted with trash, the sand not as fine, the common areas over commercialised and the island swarmed by numerous tourists that contribute to the island's degradation. It's a sad but somewhat true statement, as I've seen photos of the place and visited the island years back when "Laboracay" and "batch Boras" were not yet in place. It looked bare and clean, contained less structures and was surrounded by more natural greens. The boats could easily be counted and the waters clear of bits and pieces of a tourist's last meal. It may not be exactly the same as it used to be, but despite the horrific image that these truths may put in your heads, I must say after my visit last November, the island still holds a beauty worth going back to.
White House, the go-to for 7am-7pm happy hour.
The Strand
We tried out The Strand for this visit since we were able to get our rooms at 50% off thanks to our friend Marga. It cost us Php 3,000 a night for a suite that looked as though it could fit 8-10 people. Though the place is quite a walk from D Mall, located a few resorts past Fridays and a minute walk into the back area, it was a comfortable, beautiful place to stay in.
Our room was very spacious and clean, had a lanai, a living room, a mini kitchen, a big bedroom with a king sized bed and separate toilet and bath.
It was always clean upon returning from our daily activities, and we'd be left with a little note from our cleaner wishing us a wonderful stay.
When our flight got cancelled and we ended up having to rebook to a much earlier flight, we had to leave at 5AM to get to the airport on time. Leave it to The Strand to lighten up this inconvenience--the staff happily got up at 4:30AM to check us out, help us with our bags, call us a trike and even prepare a sandwich breakfast for takeout.
The Strand also has a pool and lounging chairs by the breakfast area.
As for the food, I was only able to try the free breakfast since we spent the rest of our days out. It wasn't anything grand and came in small servings, but surprisingly I still got full during all my breakfast meals. You have the option of a Filipino or American breakfast, and it comes with coffee, juice, and a mini fruit platter.
It was my first time to visit the island outside the summer season and it was surprisingly more filled than I expected. The beach wasn't empty despite the bipolar weather and the bars were pretty filled come night. It wasn't as packed as summer, I'd say just the right amount of people, so it was comfortable, relaxing and easy to get seats in restaurants. I was a bit worried about Boracay in November because of the weather, but even though the rain poured on us a few times during our stay, the bits of sunshine on the island, the beautiful beach, wonderful people, delicious food, and of course, great company, definitely made the trip worth taking.
