It’s Two Seasons all year round

I often say that if you haven’t found something worth dying for, you haven’t truly lived and loved. There are travel experiences that give us bliss that we cherish forever. And even when life is not perfect, just remembering this bliss is enough to give us perfect moments. Now, if these heavenly moments are found in our own backyard, the experience becomes even more significant. 

Three weeks ago, I discovered a paradise in Coron, Palawan called Two Seasons Coron Island Resort & Spa. My experience at the resort became doubly paradisiacal knowing that Palawan was recently voted the best island in the whole world by Condé Nast Traveller.

Two Seasons Coron Island Resort & Spa is resplendent with organic charm, luxurious eco-tecture, ultra-modern amenities and bespoke elegance set against the backdrop of Coron’s dramatic karst limestone, turquoise waters and verdant foliage. The resort also offers service with a heart because the staff members of the resort anticipate every guest’s need without any sense of intrusion.

The resort, located on a tropical peninsula in Malaroyroy, approximately 40 minutes from Coron town, rests between two expansive stretches of the beach. From the air, it looks as though an artist splashed some azure, turquoise, aquamarine paints creating such wondrous shapes. The islands that resemble an emerald garland are within the vicinity of the cleanest lake called Kayangan Lake, Barracuda Lake, Twin Lagoon, and very interesting Japanese wrecks that sank during World War II. 

 Forbes Traveler magazine has voted diving in Coron as one of the Top 10 scuba diving sites in the world. Gunters Cathedral is also a must-see dive site. To access it, one must swim through a small underwater tunnel to experience the magic and mystic of this haunting cavern.

My experience at Two Seasons ultimately changed my mind to be a habitué of the Maldives, which I have visited every year since 2008. At Two Seasons in Coron, I experienced something better — and the best part is, I don’t have to travel across the miles because Coron is just located within our own shores. I dare say that the beauty and glory of Two Seasons resort in Coron is a haven that is far more superior than my former island inamorata in the Indian Ocean. The proximity certainly makes it more convenient and I can proudly say that I have found my favorite season at Two Seasons.

 We experienced pitch darkness in the resort. I stared at the starless sky of Coron. Without any illumination in the sky, I still felt the peace. The following day, as the sun slowly rose, I was welcomed by the glory of this scintillating destination. That auspicious day revealed to me that Two Seasons is an island paradise perched on a creamy froth of waves, amazing views of sunrise and sunsets. You wish you would never leave once you have set your body, mind and spirit when you visit this place. In this island of the gods, I found myself simply thanking the Lord for such a shimmering sanctuary of beauty.

Just when I thought it was simply a beautiful resort with all the glistening sand, denizens of the deep, mangroves for kayaking and giant clams, I found out it is an eco-tecture (ecological architecture) miracle as the combination of modern amenities is synergized with the most creative and bespoke furnishings from Cebu and Bacolod. Eco-green sustainability is also taken not just seriously but very seriously at the resort.

 The owner and general manager of Two Seasons Resorts Jonathan “John” Peñaloza has truly planned to contribute to a new kind of travel culture. “This is your chance — take a trip of a lifetime that won’t cost the earth but will certainly improve it,” John told our group composed of my youngest sister Yvonne Romualdez and her husband Pael Romualdez and my friends Rita Trinidad and Yvette Lee.

According to Lonely Planet’s Code Green Book, each year 700 million people travel internationally and by 2020, it’s estimated 1.5 billion people will be hitting the road. Can you imagine in our very own shores, we have a fabulous resort called Two Seasons that is 100 percent responsibly sustainable as well?

As a traveler, it is my fervent belief that if tourism is done right, it can be a powerful tool for conserving wilderness and heritage ahead for local travellers and international visitors. It will increase the appreciation of the spiritual and environmental importance of conserving biodiversity.

After all what is the use of amazing developments if they are not preserved for future generations. Such is the thrust of Two Seasons resorts, whose advocacy relies heavily on eco-sustainability such as its desalination plant, which appreciates fresh water that has been converted from seawater using reverse osmosis. The resort also has rain catchers, generators, sewage treatment plant and solar panels that evidently manifest their cause for environmental protection. These facilities are painstakingly created for eco-luxury operation while maintaining maximum comfort for their guests.

Recreational activities at Two Seasons resort are also never second best. Try the resort’s exhilarating parasailing, have the ride of your life with their exciting speedboat and go to the depths of the sea and explore the wonders of the ocean by diving or snorkeling.

In this paradise, the world’s best will attract even more visitors and Two Seasons resort is determined to preserve for future generations and for the rest of the world a sanctuary for underwater divers, water sports enthusiasts, resort aficionados and those who simply want to follow and worship the sun. 

John fell in love with the Calamianes Peninsula where Coron is located and felt that since most resorts were near shipwrecks and lagoons, he decided to create an upscale resort paradise that would feature the white-sand beaches nearby. At the moment, the Two Seasons group is also constructing a four-story bayside hotel dive resort in the town of Coron very near the airport and the lagoons and lakes that Coron is known for. It is expected to open October next year. Many other developments are in store for all of us.

As an indefatigable steward of nature, John engages in improving and promoting the island resort as the supreme and most economically sustainable. The resort offers six tropical bungalow styles spread among the resort’s amazing gardens all with easy access to the beach. One can even bask in the glory of a sunrise and sunset from the same bungalow. The resort also has a Bahura bar by the swimming pool where you can enjoy your cocktails and snacks while submerged in the refreshing water. The Sulu restaurant has the most extensive and the most delicious menu we have ever tried in any resort in the world. Not to mention the food looks as fascinating as it tastes.

Its dishes are truly world-class as they are also prepared by world-class chefs. Try the four-cheese pizza, crocodile in coconut, lechon kawali, lengua sisig, double Angus burger, crispy soft shell crab with pomelo salad and more. You can also dine alfresco by the shore while blanketed with hundreds of stars. Island hopping allows packed meals and grilled barbeque.

The experience at the resort’s Narra spa is out of this world. I have tried a lot of treatments all over the world but as they say, “There is to each man his own madness,” and the experience of Two Seasons’ spa is just that. It is sealed to perfection and there is nothing less that you can say about it.

The masseuse is certainly in touch with my tired and weary tendons as she executes on me the spa’s signature massage. The tropical oasis mango-passion fruit yogurt body-wrap will transport you to a surreal world where only you can understand the magic of the experience. The scrub of cacao, coffee and honey proves to be an anti-oxidant that enriches the skin’s impurities.

Two Seasons resort has certainly enhanced the beauty and heritage of Coron, Palawan. Who would have known that this laidback rustic town would develop into a progressive enclave where world-class resorts such as Two Seasons would reign supreme?

We also visited the Culion Leper Colony where a museum and church perched on top of a hill are, according to those who have been to the island in the past, as interesting and nostalgic as they used to be. Spared from any bombing, the colony was once a hospital where lepers were confined. At one point, there were 35,000 lepers speaking different dialects since they originated from various places.

 I have traveled to many destinations but it’s been quite some time since a place such as this enchanted me and left me breathless. Two Seasons swept me off my feet the moment my eyes saw its glistening glory. Here, life’s luxurious moments unfolded when least expected. At Two Seasons Coron Island Resort, you will definitely find more than two reasons to stay much longer.

 Sometimes you need to simply submerge yourself in an experience that is unforgettable, surreal and one that makes your life worth living. It is true that if you haven’t found something worth dying for, you haven’t truly loved and lived.

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 For more information please check www.twoseasonsresorts.com/coron. Cebu Pacific and PAL Express fly daily to Coron.

E-mail the author miladay.star@gmail.com.