Shangrila's Mactan Resort & Spa

The good question was: why did I chose this hotel over others?
I was having an indecision between Hilton and Shangrila but judging from my family experience, I made the right choice on this one and I had my reasons:

1)LOCATION- The location is perfect. The hotel has a car service and a shuttle bus at a nominal rate to take you to the resort straight. Since I was arriving with my family, we took the car. We were warmly greeted by Shangrila staff upon arrival. That was a good start.

2)ROOM- The room was just right for us but I think by standard, it was actually bit small for a family. There is a balcony that overlooks the ocean and lush greens all around the area.

3)FACILITIES- They have huge pools, putting green, restaurants that offers chinese, filipino, western and italian dishes. Of course, a spa. Best for my kids of course was the E-zone area where billiard pool, game machines and tables were available. The resort had an adventure quest package for kids for structured games and acitivities which includes lunch.

4)FOOD- One of the best part of holiday is indulging a bit on the food variety. The food was amazing but the drinks served at Buko Bar was even more outstanding. Total thirst-quenchers for those summer days.

5)SERVICE- The staff were polite and courteous, but don't expect smiling faces all the time. Although they were attentive to our needs, it's more in a formal way and not friendly, which for us was fine for as long as the service was kept above standard.

6)BEACH- In the morning, it's tranquility at best. Fine white sand, private beach, crystal clear bluish-green waters. The only living things with high energy level at that early hours were the fishes at feeding time. The resort keeps a marine sanctuary so fish-feeding was encouraged and swimmers were warned to be extra-cautious not to break the corals.

Of course they have all sorts of water sport activities to enjoy (waterskiing, scubadiving, boatriding, kayaring, snorkeling) even paragliding!

Many people (including myself) are complaining that this hotel is expensive (and during peak season, it could be VERY expensive). But we had a great stay and a great summer holiday altogether. So then for me, it was worth it. Highly recommended for travelers with kids especially.