Send me to the most beautiful white sand beach in the world, but it I do not get any running water or internet, it is not going to be a fun time. I don’t fancy carrying kilos of raw food to cook in a fire I’m going to have to build myself like Tom Hanks in “Castaway”. I don’t want to trek into the woods, or jump of a water fall like Leonardo de Caprio in “The Beach” to get to my dream resort vacation. I want to drive up leisurely, get on a plane, and have a personal butler or guest assistant at my beck and call to cater to my every whim, fancy and need; and when I con’ t need you, I don’t want to see you.

Now that’s what resort living is all about and that’s what Amanpulo is all about.

Let it begin

Avon Wong, Media Officer fir the Aman Resorts Group tells us we must be at the Check in counter at the Andres Soriano Hangar 45 minutes before the scheduled flight, and dutifully, being the well traveled bunch that we are, we arrive right on the money an hour before the flight. It isn’t a frenetic entrance we drive up to but instead it feels like we arrive at the resort lobby with a door man that opns th cr door and bursts out a welcome, “Welcome to Amanpulo Mr. Maglutac!” Big smile handshake and we get off the car and walk through a well manicured alcove leading into a trellis planted path. Our bags are whisked away to inspection by Aviation Security who take a cursory look into our open bags and promptly seal the zipper with a thin puce of tape and we will never see these bags again until we land at the island. Off to the left a sliding door opens up intoi what appears to be a first class lounge, with a fully functional bar. It is then that we recognize our co-passengers on the this flight, a Japanese couple with their toddler, a Caucasian businessman dressed in casual slacks, golf shirts, laptop in tow, and a Filipino couple, decked in al their casual finery, signature of course, name on every article from Florsheim to Anne Klein, casually sipping into steaming cups of coffee engaged in light banter. The lounge is built with heavy wood clad walls and hardwood floors. Cool dark undertones lit by incandescent bulbs creating a rich atmosphere of opulence and luxury. From the moment you step into the lounge it’s an immersion into new dimension of leisure. Right at the outset, the mystique of Amanpulo reveals itself and we haven’t even gotten off the ground yet!

The name of the resort is a play of the Tai word “Aman” which means “peaceful” and the Filipino word “Pulo” of island. It was opened in 1993 and remains the only property of the Aman Resorts group in the Philippines. A quick check in one of the many internet sites that have reviews of the resort, seems rather redundant, because I have seen so many stars in the ratings given by the individual reviewers, nonetheless, I take pains to read it as it says “…haven of luxury..” and words like ”one of must sees places I the world..”. We certainly will see soon enough. As we polish off the last drops of espresso we take outside the lounge under the shade of a heavily planted trellis, one barong clad chaps tells us, “Boarding in 5 minutes sir, if you must, please feel free to yse th loilet before the flight,” stated in blasé muted tones.

Up, up and Away

We board the Island Aviation Inc,’s Dornier 228 aircraft seating 19, each seat a window and aisle seat all at once. The aircraft is a wonder in modern aviation which despite its turbo prop setup, still manages to maintain a comfortable atmosphere. The propellers are right beside us and they start first the right engines then the left and we almost immediately taxi out into the runway, a few meters then a steady crawl into the strip where the captain guns the engines and we’re off. Cruising at 10,000 feet you can still make out the details of the land below, any cars or boats in the water, clouds appear to pass you by and you can make out the detail first of Taal Lake, then the tip of Batangas, then Sombrero island and Puerto Galera. We pass all that and suddenly a vast expanse of water. A trip into a blue azure sky across turquoise waters with nothing but the air but this plane from the deep blue. Convenience unmatched by any otyher trip we’ve ever taken thus far we begin to understand why Amanpulo consistently reaps awards and accolades worldwide. This is starting to play our quite nicely.

Earth calling

The island of Pamilacan belongs to the Manamoc-Quiniluban group of islands and is approximately 63 kilometers northwest of Cuyo. At its widest, it is no more than 500 meters wide I the Northern Part and tapers towards the south. The plane flies over the clear blue waters right into an airstrip graded down to a smooth paved consistency that allows the Diornier to land gracefully and comfortably. As we taxi into the main arrival hall, we see a line of guest relations assistants with individual gold carts by their sides, each one carrying the biggest smile humanely possible. Each guest is lei’d with a sampaguita garland, and greeted by name as a cold towel smelling discreetly of Citronella is offered and graciously accepted. “…and we’ll take you on a brief tour of the island before we go to your room…” as the guest assistant speaks an obviously memorized spiel that just drifts out because you’ve arrived and your mind is racing, contemplating on your arrival on a deserted isle in the middle of a large ocean which is the Sulu Sea. The arrival hall is decked in what is an apparent Modern Asian motif, inspired by the lowly “bahay kubo”: or nipa hut but supported on soled concrete walls and sturdy hardwood floors. This is the typical setup we encounter in most other structures of the facility.

So back to my room

There are 3 levels of casitas at Amanpulo, the beach side casitas have their own private access to the beach on the west shore; treetop casitas are on stilts elevated above the island at the palm tree level while hillside casitas offer the most spectacular views of the Sulu Sea and surrounding islands. Separately, the Nature Villas (Casa Kalikasan) and West Villas offer larger groups and families the privacy of their own kitchens, beach clubs and separate staff. The tows on one corner leading to the sundeck where twin divans allow sunning on the deck, another his and her set of divans line themselves up inside the casitas while the beds look out into the picturesque view. Almost half the casita is devoted to the bath and dressing room when either side is where the mangers and “aparadors” reminiscent once again of the typical “Bahay Kubo” setup against the wall. A tub facing out into the forest view occupies one corner and the twin sinks are aligned between shower and bathroom stalls.

The casita is the standard term for the accommodations and like the “bahay kubo” of old, there are no divisions according to western standards that demand privacy for each individual resident as the structure is one continuous space and rather than have a division of functions there are only what appears to be sliding shutters separating the bathroom and dressing rooms from the bedroom, the bedroom itself hasn’t a distinct division between bed space and sitting area with divans aligned along the large picture windows looking out into the forest leading to the beach, A state of blissful seclusion does not seem possible be still, as Augusto Villalon put it in 1999, “…means not being able to see the others, but still remaining with in full hearing range. In the one-room bahay kubo, privacy is sometimes achieved by turning one’s back to the room, by the bacin the wall for a grew moments of solitude, but the separation is never total.” And never is this seclusion going to be total as we are about to see from the lever of service and attention we get from our hosts.