Abundance (Bugana Beach and Dive Resort )

I do believe it was time to put a short pause to some outside of the island trip – the beach was calling me again, but this time I headed south side of the island.

I have always been a beach bum, i guess i just love how the vastness of places makes me realize how tiny I am and my problems are.

And I wanted to wander where the WiFi is weak and nature stronger.

Bugana

Bugana is an ilonggo word for Abundant, plentiful, rich.

As you reach Campomanes Bay, the abundance of nature is served at its best, white sand, clear water and coral treasures.

Sipalay is well known for its rich culture, numerous beach resorts and diving spots. I already had my fair share of the best of the best beaches and diving spots for the past few months of my travel. What I was looking for this time was a short trip to catch a spontaneous sunset/sunrise with a coffee in hand, getaway from all the distractions of the city life.

As for me, it is both a blessing and trouble to live in the city, it takes an hour or three to get to a descent beach resort that will meet your expectation.

South Border

From Bacolod City you can take the Ceres Bus going to Sipalay city, though take note to hop in to a bus going to Hinobaan and not Sipalay. Why? Buses heading to Hinobaan will drop you off the main road going to the resort,

From there you can ride a Habal-habal for 30php each, a short 10 to 15mins bumpy trip won’t hurt.

Habal-habal : motorcycle with extended seat to accommodate more passengers in a row.

But if you happen to catch a Ceres Bus Sipalay instead, the drop off point is at the Market ( they have open market during Mondays, loads of cheap but good quality fruits up for grabs! )

From the market you can hail a tricycle to take you to the main road for 20php, or with luck on your side negotiate with the driver to take you all the way to the resort. ( we got ripped off with the costing so make sure to negotiate well )

As rowdy princesses as we are and for blogging sake and we also wanted to know all ways possible to get to our destination, so yah, we opted for the more challenging way.

Now for those who prefer comfort over adventure, good on yah! There’s a private Van owned by the Cuangco’s ( as mentioned by our driver ) situated near Ceres bus south terminal and at Siapalay Market. You can take that option and probably negotiate as well to take you to the resort. Bus or Van, price sticks at 250php per person.

Touch Down

Now let me give you a quick tour

Their 9feet deep swimming pool welcomed us with a friendly invitation.

The need to settle our stuff still has to be done by 12noon as check in time. We arrived at 11am, so we decided to grab brunch while waiting. ( corkage fee is 500php if you decide to bring some food.. I suggest better not )

Food price range from 180php to 350php, from sandwiches, burgers, pasta, pizza, Filipino dishes and breakfast. They surely have a wide range of food choices, also bottled waters, fresh juices, coffee, tea, soda and other drinks alike are available, you name it they have it.

It may sound to be too pricy for some, but let me tell you that the price actually meets the quality and quantity of standard serving.

We had Marco Polo for brunch, and boy was it good for 2 person already!

Terrace

Terrace rooms are located at the 2nd floor, where you can oversee the pool and without the tall trees surrounding the area you may be able to have a glimpse of the front beach.

Terrace room are for 2,200php good for 2 person, extra person will cost you an additional 400php.

Villa

There are 3 villas in the resort, so we asked which would they recommend and they suggested the Villa 3, the top most area where you can get a panoramic view of the bay, also that’s an 84steps heading to our room, we could all use some cardio from time to time.

Like duh, welcome to our Villa!

For a price of 3,500php you will really get what you paid for.

Fridge was loaded with drinks and also towels, soap and shampoo were available, we needed some assistance setting up the TV though, but asides from that we had what we needed.

We settled our stuff, freshened up and I decided to get a quick nap.

My partner in crime toured for a bit while I was sleeping, here’s some snap of our villa and few other spots.

 

 

We were too full during lunch time that we decided to just munch a burger for dinner.

There were another group of guest who checked in later that night but we had the jacuzzi for ouselves.

Resort restaurant was said to be open till 8pm, yet staff were too nice to offer us that they will be open for orders till we decide to call it a night.

The pool was even more inviting with its lighting effects during the night.

After hitting the jacuzzi we head back to our villa, but the night was still young and we were still up for an extended session.

The bright night sky wouldn’t let us sleep yet, so we dipped in, grabbed a couple of drinks in our fridge.

 

Though there was no network signal in our villa and neither did we have a resort phone to contact the front desk but then we realise that we have everything we needed. 

Kudos to the resto staff and resort guard who happened to check on us that night while we were in the dipping pool, asking if there was anything else that we needed that they could be of help.

Beach Front

 

 

I got up early the next day, thinking that this was what I came for; Beach, hot brewed coffee, the calmness touch of ocean, fresh summer breeze and quiet atmosphere in the morning, life is good indeed!

After an hour or two I went for a walk, though I wanted to try out the transparent Kayak ( 400php rent for an hour ) ,

but somebody was still asleep at the hour of 8 and i didn’t wanna go out on my own, and man the sun was up and temperature rise fast these days, so I gave it a pass.

Viewing Deck

About a few steps passed our villa there’s a an unfinished cottage, so I hiked another few heights.

The sunrise view was breathtaking. The spontaneous chorus of chirping birds, the wind that blew and the soft rays of sunlight that peaked through the trees, and this is why I love mornings.

Took a quick dip as well when th sun was finally heading its way up.

Stayed for a bit in our front porch at the villa for some another few minutes quiet time.

Then finally somebody decided to wake up, so we head down to the reto and had our Chicken Tinola for almost brunch.

 

 

What made me finally say that this is a vacation is when i realized I have no plans whatsoever, no agenda for the day. I guess we have to unlearn some things as the years goes by.

So I sit, sip, shut up, and smile.

Best plan, noplan, so here we are siezing the day.

 

 

Staff

To cap off our stay in Bugana, we would like to extend our gratitude to Marc, it was a favorable arrangement that we had with you during our stay.

To Doni,Front desk officer, who catered to our needs, never failed to smile and always on the look out every hour to ask if we had some concerns that she can be of help, from resort guard to staffs at the resto, thank you for being so accommodating.

We were treated with so much royalty during our stay, far off from having a well seasoned BPO experience I know how customer service should be done, and friends,this resort was determined to serve their customer with the best service. I gave 5 stars for my stay in Bugana. And I will be back anytime soon if my schedule permits.

In the end, we only regret the vacations we didnt take; so what are you waiting for? – Coach Ella

Visit Bugana Resorts page:

http://www.buganaresorts.com