Here is what I discovered in Boracay

There are folks who wear their hearts on their sleeve, and then there are those who place their hands on their hearts.

This is the emblematic gesture made by the staff at Discovery Shores Boracay, which has almost become their own equivalent of India’s namaste salutation: palms pressed together, with a slight bow.

And like this intimate greeting, it is hard not to respond in the same manner, offering back gratitude and thanks for their renowned and outstanding service.

While over half a million tourists make their way to Boracay every year as their ultimate island getaway, it is only at Discovery Shores Boracay, named the Top Hotel Spa in Asia, that always gives that warm, personalized welcome for each guest where your pied-à-terre — your home away from home — awaits.

Top of the world: Last July 7, the winners of the Travel+Leisure World’s Best Awards 2011 Reader’s Survey were revealed, naming Discovery Shoes Boracay as the Top Hotel Spa in Asia. Photo by PHILIP SISON

Even on my first stay some years ago, as soon as I set foot in my room, there was a banner near the ceiling of the living room suite that read, “Welcome home, Raya!” Every stay since then has had many such personal touches. On my last visit, by my bedside table was a framed photo of myself standing on the fields of Tuscany.

What they have also achieved is a winning balance of the idyllic tropical life with the luxurious, making for an ideal paradise.

Set in Station 1 where the sand is whitest and finest, you’ll find cushioned beach beds next to a bar and order a margarita or two while watching paraw boats, skimboarders, and the famed orangey-heliotrope sunset.

Chances are your room will be perched on the multi-terrace structure, where you’ll see the 14-meter-high manmade stone waterfall cascading from the infinity pool. At the nucleus of resort is an outdoor pool that, by day, is a dazzling reflection of the azure sky; and come evening, it mirrors the glowing multi-colored lights and the starry heavens.

The medium is the massage: De-stressing starts here.

Come dusk, my traveling partner asked me if I had ever seen the green flash, a phenomena that occurs for a mere one or two seconds immediately after sunset. I looked out to the panorama, and could almost swear I caught a glimpse of it. But then I looked behind me, and saw the flashes of green rays emitting from a laser light source by the bar. It was not the elusive green light, but I didn’t care. That only means that I would have an excuse to come back here again sometime, and patiently wait.

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 Travel + Leisure magazine has named DSB the Top Hotel Spa in Asia, and ranks number 16 among the World’s Best Island Hotels. Terra Spa of DSB is the only Philippine property on the list in the World’s Best Spas. For more information on Discovery Shores Boracay, visit www.discoveryshoresboracay.com, contact their Manila Sales and Reservations office at 719-6692 to 719-6695, or e-mail inquiry@discovery.com.ph.

Where the sand is finest and whitest: Now all you need is a margarita.