Waking up at Crimson

Greeted upon arrival with a shell lei, a welcome drink and a personalized gift for a complimentary overnight stay at the garden suite of the Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, I instantly knew that I was in for a treat at Cebu’s newest stunning five-star resort!

The day began with a hearty lunch at the main dining room, Saffron, together with the very welcoming Anna Galicia (PR and Marketing Communications Manager) and Manuel Sandagon (Director of Sales), who had just arrived on a flight from Manila.

With outstanding main course signature dishes, choice picks are the Grilled Fish Fillet in Banana Leaf (crème dory and slices of green mango and tomatoes wrapped in a banana leaf served with sweet chili jam and steamed rice) and Tiger Prawns in Red Curry Sauce (a Malaysian cuisine of prawns braised and cooked in coconut milk, served with taro chips and steamed rice), a must try! Other appetizing dishes are the Chicken Tandoori (Indian spiced roasted chicken), Stir Fried Beef (a Vietnamese dish infused with lemongrass and shrimp sauce) and Kalbi Chim (a Korean beef short rib beef stew). Wash it down with refreshing Crimson Iced Tea or some health drinks. I chose Mango Malunggay.

Remarkable are its speciality platter desserts, the Saffron Trio, (a signature dessert with three delectable sweets – saffron cheesecake, saffron panna cotta and saffron crème brulee) and the Crimson Chocolate Paradise, (a trio of sinful flourless chocolate cake, chocolate pudding and chocolate rum cake with white chocolate pillow). Couldn’t miss out on a Philippine favourite, the Crimson’s Buco Halo-Halo exotically served in a coconut shell as well as a Myanmar quenching mix, the Golden Heart Cooler (coconut cream, jelly, sago pearls and glutinous rice). The desserts are truly exceptional!

Directly after lunch, Aileen Adlawan gladly gave us a tour of this luxury six-hectare resort. Decked with a total of 290 rooms, suites and villas, there are three types of accommodations to choose from. There is the Deluxe Room at 36-square meters with a choice of a twin or king-sized bed with a uniquely designed open-plan bathroom with a bathtub and separate shower, the Garden Suite at 44-square meters with a flat screen television in both the bedroom and bathroom overlooking a garden and the Private/Ocean Front Villa at 115-square meters with a 4-poster bed, private plunge pool, flat screen television sets in the bedroom, bathroom and living room, a 24-hour butler service and an indoor garden. It is really interesting to see how each room has so many modern amenities and such exquisite attention to detail. Just absolutely charming!

The rest of the tour included the Grand Coral Ballroom, which could accommodate up to 600 people (theatre style), the piano/music lounge called Tempo with a cozy connecting tearoom for afternoon high tea. Do choose to sit on the balcony for a nicer view of the resort. Then there is the dynamic Score Sports Bar that has pool tables, games of chess, card tables and a bar featuring sports TV channels (sport fans wouldn’t hesitate to spend all day here) and Azure, a beach bar overlooking the pool and ocean.

Laze on one of the sun beds or indulge yourself at the 2000-square meter Asian Spa called Aum (with fourteen treatment rooms) for meditation, relaxation and tranquility or sweat it out at the fully equipped fitness centre, located in the main building.

There’s also an indoor and outdoor playground designed for children. The Crimzone Active Kids Centre that the little ones would just love. I admit that I did spend a few minutes enthralled at this centre. Adults would also be entertained with some of the resort water sports complete with a dive centre, three indoor badminton courts and the resort shop (due to open very soon).

Towards the end of the day, I finally took a dip at one of the resort’s three infinity pools. It is so easy to spend hours here as I was very much looking forward to a swim all day. Watching the sunset was perfect.

We opted for room service in the evening to sample some signature cocktails, the Crimson Red (a mixture of gin, white wine, pineapple and cranberry) and the Virgin Vanilla (a mixture of white rum, vanilla syrup and pineapple juice). Blissful drinks for a goodnight sleep!

I woke up in the morning with the anticipation for a wide selection buffet breakfast to start the day with. The scrumptious breakfast variety is one reason to help you get out of bed! Having enjoyed all three meals at Saffron, I was overall impressed with the quality of food together with its excellent presentation and highly trained staff.

The Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan is managed and operated by Filarchipelago Hospitality, Inc., a joint venture of Filinvest Development Corporation and Archipelago International Pte, Ltd. a hospitality management group registered in Singapore. Now welcoming resort guests, the grand opening for Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan will take place in September 2010. For booking and other inquiries, you may check www.crimsonhotel.com