The age of Discovery

MANILA, Philippines - How do you top paradise?

How do you make “the best” even better?

That’s the challenge for any beach resort on the Philippines’ most famous beach island of Boracay. But only Discovery Shores has a winning formula that’s been singled out by Travel + Leisure magazine, which named it the “Top Hotel Spa in Asia” in its 2012 survey, and included it on its World’s Best Hotels list for three years running.

We were there for a special media event during Earth Hour — Discovery Shores was awarding its annual “Top Producers,” those travel agencies that had generated the most bookings for the resort paradise. Awardees were flown in to the island (by sponsor Seair) and pampered with a two-night stay. As Discovery Shores sales and marketing director Joy Anne C. Denoga told us, it was a night to showcase “the best of the best.” Toward that end, we enjoyed an excellent beachside menu of Alaskan gindara and grilled Palawan lobster prepared by a two-Michelin star chef, Anthony Raymond. We watched, during the lights-out Earth Hour, as the Manila Boys and Girls Black Light Theater lit up the shoreline with a fluorescent spectacle (set to Katy Perry’s Fireworks, Black Eyed Peas’ Time of My Life, et al) that trumpeted the resort’s special place in the pantheon of Bora beach getaways.

Again, how does Discovery Shores excel at something that’s practically perfect already? Boracay is regarded as one of the top beach destinations in the world. Not to take anything away from the proud awardees (Hana Tours, which does a brisk business in selling Korean honeymoon and wedding packages to Discovery Shores, won the top honors), but how hard can it be to sell tickets to paradise? Well, it turns out it’s this extra effort that makes the resort such a memorable experience. While agreeing that write-ups in Travel + Leisure, The New York Times and even the prestigious Small Luxury Hotels of the World guide are “a great help, a boost in our popularity,” Denoga said that maintaining Discovery Shore’s excellence becomes even more important: “We need to make sure that we do deliver, because people have high expectations. We want to deliver because, honestly, it’s good for the Philippines. It’s really about local pride.”

So how do they go the extra mile? Well, it’s worth noting that, in Discovery Shores, your enjoyment is meant to be seamless: from the moment you enter the wooden platform and check in until you check out. Your initial view of the beachfront is mesmerizing. “It’s like entering a dream,” Therese remarked, gazing at the serene blue waters, the perfect sky, the paddle boarders lazily drifting by, the trademark white globes and cocktail tables dotting the sand. And from the moment you arrive, your experience is meant to be effortless. Yet, as with most effortless things, it’s not surprising to learn that lots of people are working behind the scenes to make yours a memorable stay. We noticed first, upon entering our room, a banner welcoming us for our stay; then we spotted a dessert dish with chocolates and a cupcake topped by the Philippine STAR logo. Other little touches — the iPod dock, the wooden tic-tac-toe game, the bedside rack of classic Western novels (The Great Gatsby, Sense and Sensibility, etc.) — remind you this is a place that’s always seeking to win you over.

Well, they had us at the incredible junior suite (one of 88 available rooms), with its raised bed and personal foot-bathing area; the balcony that’s perfect for gazing out across the Boracay treeline and swimming  pool below; they continued to raise the bar as we sauntered past the lobby desk (with its glass jar of Easter cookies for guests to nibble), its billiards table and children’s recreation room and library with computers for Internet use; then it was a stroll down to the (still) perfect white-powder sand to a couple of sprawling beach chairs, where we were quickly attended to by Discovery Shores’ staff (beachfront butlers) who presented beach towels and a cool carafe of pandan water. Later, if you need a ride to D’Mall or other Bora locations, just ask: Discovery Shores provides free shuttle service.

Then there was the jar of Choconut candies discreetly placed at our table as we waited for our al fresco lunch to arrive. Not a moment passed when our needs went unattended.

So: just imagine you’ve arrived at the Pearly Gates, and you see Saint Peter standing there. And you sheepishly ask, “Do you have anything up here that’s… just a little bit more special?”

That’s Discovery Shores.

Located at Station 1’s White Beach, set back comfortably from its commanding beachfront, this resort still offers the bluest waters, the nicest sand to squash between your toes, and that extra bit of seclusion that’s getting harder to come by in Station 2’s summer party zone. Yet you’re still a barefooted beach walk away from the action, if that’s what you crave.

Food is something else that sets Discovery Shores apart. With chef Raymond as the executive chef of Discovery properties (previously he was with Peninsula Hotel Beverly Hills, preparing for a flurry of very particular Hollywood stars), the food at Indigo is awesome enough to earn it two features in Philippine Tatler’s Best Restaurants List, as well as being shortlisted in the 2010/2011 Miele Guide to Asia’s Best Restaurants.

Resident manager Leeds Trompeta pointed out that Discovery Shores has a loyal following of repeat guests, people who book their next three or four stays in advance, sometimes even the same rooms. And let’s not forget weddings: Discovery Shores arranges about 15-20 a year, from elaborate to simple, all of them memorable — like the American/Filipina couple who held a full-scale nuptial on the beachfront just a day before our arrival, complete with a seven-foot wedding cake. The staff works with wedding planners and guests to get every detail right. The wedding and honeymoon market is particularly strong among Korean guests, notes Trompeta.

Another highlight was a visit to Discovery Shore’s award-winning Terra Spa. The 90-minute Terra’s Touch signature treatment is thoroughly relaxing: choose from four oil blends — Alaga with rosemary and ginger (soothing), Sigla with lemongrass and peppermint (energizing), Gayuma with ylang ylang and palmarosa essential oils (for romance) or Hulay with ylang ylang and lavender oils (for relaxing). Let Scott describe his experience: “Being a Gemini, I’m attuned to a certain symmetry in most things: my left and right side should be equally balanced, especially during a massage. At Terra, I was pleased to find that the series of signature strokes was delivered with exactly the same pressure and in the same sequence to both my right and left sides.” (Yes, that’s a little OCD, but Geminis do notice such things.)

Therese, always on the lookout for the best ways to take the hurting from her flamenco-abused feet, also tried the one-hour Dagdagay, a native treatment in which two sticks are used to massage the feet to stimulate blood circulation. “Though the therapist scratching your feet with the sticks takes some getting used to (I was trying not to laugh, actually), the rolling motions were really soothing. I can’t wait to do this again in Manila!”

Discovery Shores is the kind of place where people like to nestle and feel at home. Seeing those colored globes and tables lighting up the beach at night, wandering its tranquil wooden walkways, curling up with a book or a drink on its shaded lounge chairs and sofas — surrounded by the pacifying sound of waves crashing into the shore — you feel something akin to being home. This is the experience that Discovery Shores has raised to a level as fine as the white sands.

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To book your stay at Discovery Shores this summer, contact 719-8888 in Manila, e-mail inquiry@discovery.com.ph  or dsbrsvn@discovery.com.ph, or visit their website (www.discoveryshoresboracay.com).