Siargao evokes 1960s travel destinations. The tiny island just north of Mindanao earns cachet by having a name one needs to be in the need to know to pronounce: "Shar-gao.”
A mainly rural island coated in mangroves and coconut groves, the runway evokes Air America with a concrete runway with grass growing between the cracks. A field of vegetables lines the runway, which brings in the small numbers of surfers and the white-collar types who have hear the word about a tucked away gem.
These businessmen and their families realize that this is an island one needs to be in the need to know. but when reached, delivers with lodging and personalized service on the level of a Mandarin Oriental. I am a fan. if one stays at the Kalinaw.
A mainly rural island coated in mangroves and coconut groves, the runway evokes Air America with a concrete runway with grass growing between the cracks. A field of vegetables lines the runway, which brings in the small numbers of surfers and the white-collar types who have hear the word about a tucked away gem.
These businessmen and their families realize that this is an island one needs to be in the need to know. but when reached, delivers with lodging and personalized service on the level of a Mandarin Oriental. I am a fan. if one stays at the Kalinaw.
Kalinaw, tucked away on the tiny island of Siargao, makes no such claims and delivers.
The welcome we received at the Kalinaw resort was friendly but informal. The owners sat down on the purple modernist couches and surfed the web on their reliable internet connection.
From the moment we stepped on the polished ebony floor I was tempted to abandon my shoes. I later did, as the softness of the crushed rocks and sand that lined the path to our villa. The villas may not be Balinese as the owners suggest, but they suggest they echo many of the boutique hotels lining the streets of Kuta or Seminyak. Kalinaw addresses a dearth of boutique hotels in the Philippines, which has not made it on the spa circuit as fast as its SE Asian cousins.
They share the dark ebony flooring, the local hardwood, and nipa—thatch peaked roofs. Inside the modernist furnishings are a nod to clean modernist design. The bathrooms feature local abaca furnishings and a shower pavilion with a slatted bamboo floor.
A full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows face the bay. Not for swimming in the largely coral and limited sand. A dedicated grounds keeper rakes the sand every morning. Swimming is not a viable option in low-tide; surfing is a 10 minute walk down the dirt road to the Cloud 9 Pavilion, home to international competitions, or a boat ride away.
The gray slate infinity pool also casts clean
lines, perfect for lounging with a view of the ocean with a cocktail or San Miguel Light in hand.
Service earns high marks. Unlike other Filipino establishments outside of Manila’s five-star hotels, staff in the restaurant promptly takes orders and delivers the food according to course, and will give patrons the bill the moment they are asked. Foregoing the usual cocktails, which are good, my husband and I enjoyed a French sauvignon blanc.
As for the cuisine, the restaurant boasts the best pizza in town. Liberal dollops of mozzarella, fresh basil and a Which is saying something, but really everything is good, and fresh. Salad with capers; French wine; Thai spring rolls. The pizzas served as a nightly favorite. The wood-fired oven takes three hours to warm up so are only available after 7 o’clock.
Daring predictions of the “next” Phuket aside, I plan to return to Kalinaw for a longer stay. I plan for the lodging to be the same but my surfing ability to have improved.
The welcome we received at the Kalinaw resort was friendly but informal. The owners sat down on the purple modernist couches and surfed the web on their reliable internet connection.
From the moment we stepped on the polished ebony floor I was tempted to abandon my shoes. I later did, as the softness of the crushed rocks and sand that lined the path to our villa. The villas may not be Balinese as the owners suggest, but they suggest they echo many of the boutique hotels lining the streets of Kuta or Seminyak. Kalinaw addresses a dearth of boutique hotels in the Philippines, which has not made it on the spa circuit as fast as its SE Asian cousins.
They share the dark ebony flooring, the local hardwood, and nipa—thatch peaked roofs. Inside the modernist furnishings are a nod to clean modernist design. The bathrooms feature local abaca furnishings and a shower pavilion with a slatted bamboo floor.
A full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows face the bay. Not for swimming in the largely coral and limited sand. A dedicated grounds keeper rakes the sand every morning. Swimming is not a viable option in low-tide; surfing is a 10 minute walk down the dirt road to the Cloud 9 Pavilion, home to international competitions, or a boat ride away.
The gray slate infinity pool also casts clean
lines, perfect for lounging with a view of the ocean with a cocktail or San Miguel Light in hand.
Service earns high marks. Unlike other Filipino establishments outside of Manila’s five-star hotels, staff in the restaurant promptly takes orders and delivers the food according to course, and will give patrons the bill the moment they are asked. Foregoing the usual cocktails, which are good, my husband and I enjoyed a French sauvignon blanc.
As for the cuisine, the restaurant boasts the best pizza in town. Liberal dollops of mozzarella, fresh basil and a Which is saying something, but really everything is good, and fresh. Salad with capers; French wine; Thai spring rolls. The pizzas served as a nightly favorite. The wood-fired oven takes three hours to warm up so are only available after 7 o’clock.
Daring predictions of the “next” Phuket aside, I plan to return to Kalinaw for a longer stay. I plan for the lodging to be the same but my surfing ability to have improved.