The rain poured buckets while we were in the middle of the choppy waters separating the mainland Cebu and the island of Malapascua. The waves, thank goodness, didn’t rock n’ rolled with the heavens. It remained as calm as it can be.

We already contacted our resort of choice a few days before venturing to Malapascua Island. Browsing through various travel deals; we looked for a balance between affordability, comfort and location. The three filters narrowed it down to Mike & Diose’s Beach Cottage in Bounty Beach. A habal-habal motorcycle was waiting for us at the port of Malapascua as we hopped from the boat to the white sand beach of the island.

Zigzagging through narrow wet alleys, we splashed and careened, zoomed and vroomed until we reached a small fence that opened into the yards of Aabana Beach Resort. I’m really not sure what the exact name of the resort is, is it Aabana as the locals know it or Mike & Diose’s as advertised on their gates? But whichever it is, I’m liking what I was seeing.

The resort’s room rates range from Php500.00 for their fan rooms up to Php1,800.00 for their Deluxe Aircon Casablanca rooms. The cheapest ones are simple but spacious huts with a terrace running around its walls. The higher priced rooms are elevated concrete cottages located on the far end of the lot. A few of these has its own kitchen where one can cook his own dishes.

It’s interesting to note that the cheaper rooms are nearer the sea than the more expensive ones.

Two friendly dogs greeted us as we entered the spacious veranda fronting the Standard Casabonita aircon room (Php1,200.00). Two hammocks lazily hang over the edges of the terrace and a small table laid with two chairs sits on one corner.

The room was surprisingly nice for its price. A queen-sized bed neatly sits snugly along with warm lamps, colorful paintings and slick cabinets. The only thing missing is the TV, but who needs television when you have a great beach that’s just a few steps away from the door.

Another thing to note about Malapascua is the price of electricity, it is freaking expensive. Due to this, Aabana has imposed a Php30.00 per kw/h in excess of the free 1kw/h per day. So although our room is air-conditioned, we hardly use it, preferring to use electric fans instead to save on power.

The toilet and bath is located right outside the room which can be accessed through the veranda. There is ample space inside and enough shelf space for toiletries and what-nots. Cleanliness-wise, it would pass the most stringent travelers who are sticklers for clean comfort rooms.

Breakfast is usually served at the veranda of our Casabonita room. The resort has a limited menu so we always end up choosing the egg omelette. The resort’s dogs, ever alert when it comes to food, hangs around as soon as we start eating. It’s fun eating with these two huge dogs around.

But the real draw at staying at Mike & Diose’s is the beach.

Located at the far end of Malapascua’s beach strip, it is quite far from the crowd and restaurants lining the main part of the beach. The sand here is blinding white and is very fine.
Small and large huts line the beach along with palms and other greens where one can have a quiet picnic with friends. In fact, we usually have our lunch at one of the larger huts. Nothing beats eating your meals with your bare feet buried under the sand.

The water in front of the resort is crystal clear and good for swimming during high tide but is quite hard to navigate when the tide ebbs. Lush underwater plants abound in the area and I advise wearing sandals or reef shoes when swimming.

We had nothing but good memories during our stay in Malapascua. It is due in part to Mike & Diose’s Aabana Beach Resort where the kindliness of the staff is surpassed only by the friendliness of their two guard dogs who were constantly tailing us wherever we went. Beautiful place, affordable price, excellent staff and lovely dogs; we couldn’t have asked for more.

Mike & Diose’s Aabana Beach Resort
Address: Malapascua Island, Daanbantayan, Cebu
Telephone: (0917) 524-4105 | (032) 254-4105
Website: Click Here
E-mail: office@malapascua.de
Room Rates: Click Here

GPS Coordinates: 11.3302,124.121313
View Location on Google Maps: Click Here