As what I’ve written on my previous entry, Day 2 was definitely our favorite. 🙂
We woke up early to have breakfast at Verbena’s restaurant. Since there’s only 1 free breakfast (no free drink), we bought another meal (Php75) and a cup of hot chocolate drink (Php20). There’s free mineral water from the resto’s water dispenser so I suggest not to buy hot chocolate or coffee since it’s just a sachet of Milo or a sachet of a 3-in-1 coffee (or try bringing your own sachet! Hahaha!).
A month before our trip, my boyfriend and I emailed Shangri-La Mactan asking about their day tour called Day in Paradise. According to the service manager, the payment of Php2,500/adult (Php1,300/kid) shall be made on the day the package will be availed and would not be available when the hotel is full. (So we were hoping that Shang would not be full on the date we’re planning to go to Mactan. Evil us! Hahaha!)
The Day in Paradise package is from 8AM to 9PM and the free lunch buffet at Tides is from 12NN to 2:30PM. The package inclusions are the following:
Lunch Buffet at Tides Restaurant
Free use of beach, pool, towels — you can use as many towels as you want
Free use of Gym and Health Club facilities (sauna, steam bath, jacuzzi)
10% discount on Health Club and Salon Services for adults
Complimentary 2 hours use of Kid’s Adventure Zone for kids (kids must wear long sleeves and socks)
25% discount on Dinner Buffet at Tides Restaurant
Anyway, after having our breakfast, we hurried to hail a cab going to Shangri-La Mactan. Some drivers would ask for a higher rate (Php350 and above) to drive you to Shang. I suggest you look for a metered cab since it just cost us less than Php300 to get to Shangri-La from Verbena Pension House.
As soon as we stepped in Shang’s grounds, we felt like we were indeed in paradise. The place is really beautiful (and looks really expensive, too). The front desk officer pointed us to Senses Souvenir Shop where we can pay for our day tour. The lady in Senses was really nice. However, she answered us in Tagbisaya (combination of Tagalog and Bisaya) when we asked her questions in English. Good thing, I could still understand her even if I don’t know how to speak Cebuano.
When availing of the day tour package, I suggest you immediately hit the beach to get the first dibs on the chairs with huge umbrellas. Foreigners may love to bask under the sun, but they still like shade. 😛 By the way, there are no lockers at the beach area. You just have to leave your things on the shore.
After having a hearty lunch at Tides, my boyfriend and I decided to try out the pools this time. And man, we loved the texture of the water! It’s like swimming in Evian! Seriously, are they using distilled mineral water for their pools? Hahaha!
Shangri-La Mactan offers a ride to SM or Ayala for only Php100/head. Since Shang is far (if you’re coming from Cebu City and we saw that there were a few cabs on the road), we decided to take the shuttle’s last trip, which is at 5pm. Had we known that the guards from the entrance by the road could hail a regular metered cab for their guests, we could have stayed longer. We initially thought that the cabs hailed by Shang guards could have a “hotel rate” for their fare.
Anyhow, at 3:45pm, we decided to go to the Health Club to have a shower since we have no room where we could change our clothes. FYI: Males and females have separate room. According to my boyfriend, males would have to get naked when they enter the locker room/changing area when trying out the steam bath, sauna, and jacuzzi. For the females’ room, it’s fine to wear your swimsuits.
After taking a bath, my boyfriend and I met up at the common area in the Health Club. We still had time to take pictures before our shuttle arrived to drop us off at SM Cebu City.
From SM, we took a cab to get to Tabo-An Market. It was a HUGE mistake not to check out the local products’ prices in SM before going to Tabo-An because the products are indeed cheaper in SM Cebu’s Snack Exchange area in the departmet store. Take for example, a 200 gram dried mangoes in Tabo-An is Php120 (it’s Php119.75 in Manila), but in SM Cebu, the same brand and weight is only Php94.75! So I suggest to just shop in SM. You can use your credit/debit card and even get points for your SM Advantage card!
We went back to SM Cebu to compare the prices of the pasalubongs we bought from Tabo-An. We then decided to try out Jonie’s in SM. It’s a local restaurant in Cebu whose radio ad we heard on our way to hotel on our first day in Cebu. The prices are pretty affordable. For only Php59, you could get a slice of sizzling porkchop with gravy, buttered vegetables, and 2 cups of rice! Busog! Hehehe…
Here’s our ITIN for Day 2:
06:30AM Breakfast
08:00AM Day tour in Shang Mactan
12:00NN Lunch buffet at Tides Shang (12:00 – 2:30PM)
01:30PM Pool
03:45PM Health Club
05:00PM Last trip of Shang’s shuttle to Cebu City
05:35PM Cab to Tabo-An Market — fare: Php90 (wrong move!!!)
06:00PM Cab to SM from Tabo-An — fare: Php90
06:30PM SM Cebu
Dinner at Jonie’s
08:00PM Cab back to our hotel — fare: I could not remember (sorry)
Who would not fall in love with the Shang? It definitely is a paradise in Cebu! It made our second day in Cebu legend… Wait for it… dary! Legendary!!! 🙂
Entry about our Day 3 to follow…
would you know kung merong pang ibang guests na nagpunta for a day tour, pero nireject kasi too many guests na? hehe baka kasi pag nagpunta ako, mareject kami! (tears start flowing..) ^_^
another one – bawal magpicture sa tides? kumpleto yung buffet?
Sa mahal ng overnight accommodation sa Shang, I doubt it na super mapuno yun. Hehehehe… Nung pumunta kami, may conference and may wedding pa nga e. Basta, be there ng 8AM para safe and para wala pang masyadong tao. 🙂
I’m not sure if pwedeng mag-pic sa Tides. Gutom na kami kaya di kami nakapag-picture e. I think pwede naman. 🙂
Yung buffet, may Jap, Korean, Thai, Pinoy, and Western dishes. Yung desserts, mostly pastries e. Pero may fruits, ice cream, and halo-halo din. Malay mo pag punta niyo, better ang buffet. 🙂
@chyng: It would be best to give Shangri-La Mactan a call prior to your visit to make sure that the resort is not fully booked or there’s no pre-booked event during your planned visit. For more info, you can reach them at (+63 32) 231-0288. Also, we took photos at Tides and no one prevented us in taking photos so I guess it’s okay. By the way, they serve complete buffet — appetizer, salad, pasta, entree, dessert with a variety of international dishes. They change their menu every now & then.
Hi! Did you avail the 10% discount on health club kaya you can take shower there and change ur clothes? Or its included na in the package?
Thanks! I’ll wait for ur reply 🙂
Hi Mitch!
No, we did not avail of the 10% discount for the Health Club. With the day tour package, you’ll have free access to the steam bath, sauna, and jacuzzi. Inside the room where the sauna and the jacuzzi are, there are shower rooms, toilets (cubicles), and changing area. So you need not have to avail of the 10% off since the sauna and jacuzzi room already has shower and changing areas. That room has powder, oil, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant powder, towels, cotton buds, etc. that you can use for free. Great, right? 🙂
Wow! Yeah, really great! We’ll go there on November and we’re so excited.. Your blog is very helpful.. Thank you esp. for replying! 🙂
God bless!
You’re welcome, Mitch!
Enjoy your Cebu trip in Novemeber! Hope you’ll love Shang Mactan! 🙂
@twitterpatedme wrote: “Shang is really far and it’s not in the city (it’s kinda in the looban)”
Hi. What exactly do you mean by “Shang is really far”? I think that would depend on whose point of view you are referring to. Actually, if you’re coming from the airport (Mactan-Cebu International Airport), it’s just 10-15 minutes away. You also mentioned that “it’s not in the city”. I guess you’re talking about Cebu City. Shangri-La Mactan in located in Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan Island. Lapu-Lapu City is geographically located in the Province of Cebu. Quite a number of people think that when someone says that a certain hotel or resort is in Cebu, they presume that it’s in Cebu City when it’s actually not. “Cebu” is a general term people use to refer to the “Province of Cebu”. In fact, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport is located in Lapu-Lapu City. Even well-known resorts such as Shangri-La, Plantation Bay, Imperial Waterpark, Crimson, Maribago Blue Waters, etc are all in Lapu-Lapu City.
Hi 2500 po ba per head? sa shang?
Hi May!
As stated on the entry, it’s Php2,500/adult for Shang Mactan’s day tour. So yes, it’s Php2,500 per head. Thanks! 🙂
Exactly what I want to know… hehe Thank you!!!
Hi,
if you’re not gonna use sauna, jacuzzi and steam bath, do they have private shower cubicles where you can “banlaw” in peace? hehe
also, are boardshorts and sando acceptable sa jacuzzi?
If you’re not going to use the sauna, jacuzzi, and steam bath, just go straight to the shower area to rinse off the saltwater and sand off of your body. 🙂
Unfortunately, there’s an attendant in the jacuzzi/steam bath/sauna area. He/She would inform you to take off your clothing — that’s what happened in the male room. But in the female room, we were not asked to remove our swim suits (but we were all without shorts and/or extra shirt).
Hey there! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d
ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest
writing a blog post or vice-versa? My blog discusses a lot of the same topics as yours and
I think we could greatly benefit from each other.
If you’re interested feel free to send me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you! Awesome blog by the way!
We will visit shangri la mactan this december 20. Do you think they will change there price for day tour for seasonal reason kasi christmas season yan ei. Thanks.
hi,,,if you’re ngonna use d sauna, jacuzzi and steam bath, using of bath towel is not allowed in male quarters?should i get naked?lol
tnx.
I’m not sure though. I think so. Hehehe…