ISLAND'S PARADISE

Mactan Island Cebu, a beautiful island located about 1 hour south of Manila by plane is one of the reasons this area is called, Pearl of the South. Hosting not only world class 5-Star resorts, easily accessible by its International Mactan Airport , the island is home for the cities of Lapulapu City (also called Lapu-Lapu depending upon where you read), Pusok, and Basak. Cebu City is only a short drive away as well as Mandaue being accessible across either of the two bridges which connect to the island.

FLYING INTO CEBU, depending on which side of the aircraft you're seated, two things become quickly evident as you swoop over the brilliant azure seas. Firstly, there's a beautiful mountain spine running the north-south length of this long, relatively narrow island. Secondly, as far as the eye can see, there are no beaches. What? As the plane descends, you'll spot the traffic-choked smudge of Cebu City , then the factories and concrete of Mandaue (pronounced "maan-daa-weh") City, followed by the flat, barren wasteland of the adjoining Mactan Island , where the airport is located. As the plane banks over the derelict hulk of Philippine Dream, a rusting cruise ship whose casinos, discos and karaoke bars were once the toast of the town, you might wonder what on earth you're doing here. A ride away from Cebu city proper and just where the air port is located, Lapu-lapu presents its beauty from all foreign travelers. As the Mactan island offers distinct tourist spots. Of all of the places and business, beach resorts are the main highlight. Mactan Island offers to resort facilities and some of the best diving spots in the country. Mactan is a huge coral island that's only a short distance from the mainland and is equally famous for rope and guitar making. But the eastern coast is virtual paradise for residents and tourists as well: here you will find some of the best white beaches in the country, many of which have been developed as top-rate resorts. Best bets: Shangri-la's Mactan Island Resort, Coral Reef, Tambuli, Maribago Bluewaters, etc. All of these offer adequate facilities for tourists.

Your tour in the island of mactan will not be complete if you cannot take a dip of the crystal clear waters of its beach. The long coast line comprises the line of high class beach resorts but at an affordable cost. Dive with the coral mounted seas of the island.

One of the best business.

The pick of the resorts on Mactan is Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort & Spa. Set discretely in generous grassy acres with coconut trees, flowering plants and jogging trails, this is the getaway that put Cebu on the map when it opened in 1993. It's easy to see why. The spacious 547-room resort has two pools, putting greens, tennis, a private white-sand cove and more watersports than you can shake a stick at - snorkel the house reef, dive, jet-ski, fish, windsurf, parasail or head out to view coral in a glass-bottomed boat. Scotty's Dive Centre handles underwater adventures starting at US$50 for beginners. For pin stripers on the go there are ample meeting facilities, a business centre, and high-speed Internet inroom access (US$15 per day).+-

The inroom safe, alas, is not big enough to store a laptop but will handle a camera and video with ease. The Shangri-La offers a wide range of restaurants, good children's facilities and service in general is faultless. If none of this grabs you, switch on the telly and croon along to the karaoke channel.

Another feather in its cap is the CHI Spa Village with six luxurious 135sq m villas and several treatment pavilions that launched mid-2005. This "village" marks the rollout of the group's new spa line for its resort and city properties. Try out the "aromatherapy salt rubdown" or the "cooling cucumber slush". A water garden features hydro tubs, herbal steam rooms and body-scrub salas. Shangri-La is the sort of place you could easily spend a weekend in without needing to go out at all. Next door, the pink towers of the Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa are the only seriously vertical structures you'll find on Mactan. The Hilton certainly provides a vivid landmark, thrusting up from the flatlands in agitated pink with a blue roof, but the views from the rooms are superb with extensive seaside facilities to match. Both properties are just 15 minutes from the airport.

Midway down Mactan's east coast is the Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort. This is a pleasant resort with freeform pool, sandy walkways and thatch-roof cottages on the beach. It also offers an enclosed lagoon for swimming. The rooms have parquet floors and some offer verandahs.

The toilets are neat and clean and there's cable TV. In Cebu this can include everything from CNN and BBC to Korean and Indian as well as the obligatory stations pushing skin-whitening cream. There is no safe in the room so if you're lugging around the Kashoggi jewels you'll need to park them at reception. A Coke from the minibar will set you back just P70, and a San Mig P80.

Around the corner is Tambuli. This is a three-in-one resort strung along the beach. There's Tambuli East with standard and superior rooms, Tambuli West, with deluxe rooms, and the Cebu Beach Club with barracks-style thatch-roof cottages set in gardens. Tambuli East, a mock Intramuros affair with grey-stone lobby has simple but modern rooms featuring ceramic tile floors and red corrugated roofs. The place is friendly but borders on the tacky with the inroom colour scheme spanning everything from yellow and green to pink. There is no safe and a Coke from the minibar is just P45. Kids will enjoy the pool. The beach is just so-so. As a mid-range choice, the complex is fine and functional, especially if you have small kids. A 25 minute "seawalk" in a pressurised bubble mask with a tube feeding oxygen will cost $60 for adults and $50 for kids.

The small and cosy Cebu White Sands at Maribago Beach resort is not far from here. With just 15 rooms on offer, the place is quiet, grassy and not overrun by screaming toddlers. The accommodation is in two-storey white-stucco villas with dark timber balconies. Rooms feature parquet flooring with wrought-iron chairs and table in the balcony.

At the far southeastern corner of Mactan, is the much talked about Plantation Bay Resort and Spa. What sets this place apart from most is the fact that it's entirely "artificial". So what does that mean? Well, the lagoon, around which the resort is constructed, is really one vast concrete mould. Plantation Bay is an enormous sand-lined bathtub ringed by villas. Outlandish as this may sound, the effect is rather pleasing and the two-storey villas are attractive both in and out. The public beach nearby is undistinguished and one can see why the owners went to such lengths to create this fantasy.

The lagoon is ample and well spread out with a variety of water experiences from giant slides to pedal-boats. Around the lagoon are hammocks and meandering cycling/jogging tracks. A Coke from the minibar will set you back P85 and a San Mig P120. A Waterside room is described as "5-10 seconds from the water". Fair enough. Water's Edge room, however, is just "0-2 seconds from the water". Whoops. SPLASH! Well? Head on down to the Love Boat.

For businessmen, gamblers, or people who just love watching planes, there's the slick Waterfront Airport Hotel & Casino Mactan. It has a Cebu sister property that borders a bit more on Disneyland .