What does the package include? You can enjoy a 2-night stay at P7,900 nett or a 3-night stay for P10,900 nett. This rate includes daily breakfast plus a choice of either a buffet dinner or Sunday brunch for two people. You will also have the chance to observe traditional religious practices with your whole family.

Following are the activities:

Maundy Thursday: Visita Iglesia
Good Friday: Way of the Cross at Cebu’s famous Celestial Gardens
Easter Sunday: Salubong and Easter Mass at the Lobby

For the kids, there will be activities like: film showing all day; Cookie baking and pizza making with the chef; arts and crafts by Crayola; Egg painting competition; and Easter Egg Hunt. These will be held at the Children’s Activity Center.

For reservations, you may call:

(632) 887 1263 or 845 4573 (in Manila)
(63 32) 253 1111 (in Cebu)

Marco Polo Plaza Cebu is located at Veterans Drive, Nivel Hills, Apas, Cebu City, Philippines. You can visit their website at www.marcopolohotels.com

Here are the rates:

Hilton De Luxe: P4,850 ++
De Luxe Plus: P5,850 ++
1BR Spa Suite: P6,850 ++ (This comes with a complimentary in suite Jacuzzi floral bath.)
2BR Ocean Spa Suite: P8,850 ++ (This comes with a complimentary in suite Jacuzzi floral bath.)

Since only a limited number of rooms will be available for this promotion, it is best to book early. Those who book will also be given a 15% discount on F&B and Spa services.

The above rates exclude applicable government taxes and service charge. Pre-payment will also be required upon booking.

For those booking for December 31, 2007, there will be a Gala New Year’s Eve Dinner supplement.

Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa is located at Punta Engano, Mactan Island, 6015 Cebu, Philippines. You can call (63-32) 492 7722 for Reservations. You may also e-mail reservations.cebu@hilton.com

There are also 2 fresh water swimming pools and various recreational and sports facilities. Guests can choose from 4 types of rooms or suites, with the nightly rate per person ranging from USD 70 to USD 145. Some of the suites offer a seaview.

For more details on the resort, please visit their website: www.costabellaresort-cebu.com

The resort offers a beach, a spa, and various amenities. As in Pulchra, the suites are roomy (a little over 60-80 square meters per) and as a result, the rates are also on the high side. Per person, per room, per night rate ranges from USD 81 to USD 196. You should also note that certain suites will require 2-3 paying guests in the room per night. The resort charges quite heftily for transfers. They also have an all-inclusive package which is a little over USD 200 a night per person.

There are several excursions available to guests. These include: trips to Kawasan Falls; Glass Bottom Boat Tours; a picnic at the Coral Garden, among others.

To learn more about the resort, please visit:

www.badianhotel.com

The word Pulchra comes from the Latin word that means beautiful. It is located farther off from Mactan Airport. My readings put distance from the airport from about 45 minutes to one hour and a half. The resort is located in San Fernando, Cebu.

The villas there are large — the smallest is about 61 square meters they say, bigger than a two-bedroom condo for some. I guess that’s why the nightly rate is so expensive. There are 4 types of accommodations and of the 4, 3 have their own private pool. So in addition to the resort pool that is open to all, your family can swim in the privacy of your own pool throughout your stay in Pulchra.

There is likewise a beach but my research says the beach is not too pretty. The resort has a good base of Japanese clients — even their website has a Japanese version.

To learn more about the resort and to see if it is worth your while and that amount of money, you can visit:

www.pulchraresorts.com

The most memorable thing there for my kids would be the swimming pool with the slide and the playroom. Activities are not as organized, nor as plentiful as in Plantation Bay or Shangri-la Mactan. Prices/rates are more reasonable.

To read more about our Maribago Bluwater Resort experience, please read:

Maribago Bluwater
www.viloria.com/maribago-cebu-resort/

or you can visit their official website at:

www.bluwateresort.com/main.html

It is ideal for families as the resort has several facilities that parents and kids can enjoy. They’re also quite organized about the schedule of their activities. At the time that we were there, service was good — although pricing is really on the high side. The resort has a “no tipping policy” and there are several nice spots where you can take photos.

To read more about Plantation Bay, you can visit the following sites:

Plantation Bay
http://www.viloria.com for our first-hand account or

www.plantationbay.com

We visited Alegre Beach Resort ages ago when our son Adi was barely 2 years old. It is not that ideal a place for toddlers as the ride from the Mactan Airport to Alegre would be about 2 hours. It is a place worth considering though for honeymooners or for families with bigger children.

To learn more about the resort, you may want to read about what we wrote about them then, with a comparison too with our Shangri-la Mactan experience:

Alegre Beach Resort
www.viloria.com/viloria/alegre/

You can also visit their official website at:

www.alegrebeachresort.com

Shangri-la Mactan has all the modern amenities that make it very convenient and promising for a family with small kids. It’s over-all relaxed feel, though, also gives you the satisfaction of getting away from it all while having everything you need at the same time. The pools are good, the man-made beach, acceptable, and there is a good number of restaurants and activities to choose from.

They have a Chi Spa now with a pretty good menu of treatments available — and that is why they are on my “to visit again” list. To read more about Shangri-la Mactan, you can visit www.shangri-la.com/cebu/mactanisland/en/index.aspx

What can one do in Cebu, the so-called Queen City of the South? You can visit historical places like Magellan’s Cross, the Casa Gorordo Museum, and Fort San Pedro. You can hear mass at the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino or if you are UP graduate, you may want to check out the Oblation at UP Cebu. There are of course, some of the best resorts in Cebu: Shangri-la Mactan, Plantation Bay, Maribago at BlueWater, Alegre, Badian Island Resort, and Pulchra.

In terms of shopping, you can go to Ayala Center Cebu if you wish to go malling or you can try out the markets Carbon and Taboan. What is Cebu known for? It is known for good chicharon (crunchy pig’s skin), danggit (dried fish), pusit (squid), and otap (flaky biscuit topped with sugar). You may also want to buy guitars.

Whatever it is that you may buy and wherever else you may decide to stay, you are bound to be charmed by this place called Cebu.