La Vita Bella Bellarocca – Day 1

Typhoon Mina is lashing across Manila as I write this post.  I guess it’s perfect timing to reminisce about our trip to Bellarocca.

From Aug. 21-23, we were on this beautiful island

The DWs and I together with my siblings spent 3 days and 2 nights at the beautiful Bellarocca Island resort and spa in Marinduque. This trip was made possible by a Dealgrocer voucher. My brother emailed me about the deal and I just said yes. It was one of those “pikit-mata” moments where the opportunity was just too tempting.

The only flight to Marinduque was on Zest Air. The fare was almost double the amount I paid for our share of the voucher. It was expensive but we didn’t have a choice.

In fairness to Zest Air, the ride was smooth and the propellers kept DW amused. He called the plane a helicopter airplane because of the propellers.

Upon landing in Marinduque, we were greeted by Bellarocca staff who ushered us into a waiting van. We were all given cold and perfumed wet towels and cold bottles of water. It was a taste of things to come.

The land trip was around 40 minutes (the plane ride was probably just as long) and it ended when we arrived at a port. The trip was a bit rough, a substantial portion of the major road is being overhauled and construction was underway when we were traveling.

I hope that they’d build a more permanent structure for their port. I presumed the area is still under construction because the road leading to the port is under major repair. Anyway, at the end of the port is a rubber boat which is our ride to the island.

One thing they didn’t have though were kid-sized life vests. On our way back they had one for DW already. I was concerned that they overlooked this. If the resort is going to cater to families, life vests for children should be part of the supplies they have at the port.

The boat ride however was fast, steady and quiet. I guess it would have been acceptable to scream “WHEEEE!!” during the 5-minute ride.

On our approach to Bellarocca, we were welcomed with songs, garlands and golf carts. Golf carts are the main modes of transport around Bellarocca. A call to the front desk is all that’s needed  to be whisked around the island. The drivers are all very careful as some roads have an incline of about 40 percent.

We were welcomed at the hotel lobby by the resort manager, who gave us along with the other guests,  a brief talk about the resort. Welcome drinks and cold towels were served again. I didn’t get to stay for the orientation as a little dude was busy checking out the hotel. I did take a shot of this hibiscus flavored iced tea which was really refreshing!!

Our unit was a Terraza – a tall structure that was perched almost at the edge of a cliff. It had one downstairs master bedroom and an upstairs bedroom. The upstairs bedroom had two beds which were larger than a twin (a double?!). That room was large enough to accommodate a third bed. Each room has its own bathroom but ours had a bathtub.

DW loved the stairs for some reason.

The unit had a common dining area and this is where we spent our last dinner on the island.

This was our  king-sized bed. Our room was huge! It had a huge flat screen tv and a dvd player too which spent the whole duration of our stay playing Finding Nemo. We loaned the DVD from the resort’s DVD library 🙂 One of the highlights of our trip really is the bed with the wonderfully comfortable comforters and pillows. I think they’re goose down. An office mate also told us that the mattresses in Bellarocca were Tempur but I couldn’t confirm. Nevertheless, the bed had a magnet and it was an effort to get out of it during mornings. The lamps were all touch activated too. The room was perfect for lazing around and doing nothing. I miss that room. SO. MUCH.

This was our view

(To be continued: Next up: The main dining area and pics of the pool and beach!)