Abaca is such a magical place.
The boutique resort is very exclusive with only 6 suites and 3 villas. My friends and I were fortunate enough to secure the garden pool villa despite making our reservations quite late. It came highly recommended by P and ranked #1 hotel in Lapu Lapu by Trip Advisor.
The airport pickup was a good start. We met one of the butlers who whisked the 4 of us quickly into a van – ice cold water and towels were served immediately.
The resort is a short distance away from the airport (<15 mins). The villa we stayed in is actually bigger than a typical 4 room hdb flat, standing at 110 square meters. It can be split broadly to 5 areas below:
1. Outdoor area with private pool and sofa lounge. 2) Study area complete with a Mac Computer – wireless internet access is complimentary but the connection in our villa was really bad.
3. Sleeping area. There’s a LCD TV in front of the double bed.
4. Sofa/Entertainment area – Second LCD TV with DVD player. We had to add 2 more single beds for our group (Max capacity for the villa is 4).
5. Toilet – Bathtub, 2 sinks & shower. Loved the Laura Ashley towels provided.
The entire villa is decorated with many interesting ornaments made of abaca. I read that abaca is one of the strongest natural fiber in the world and originated from Philippines. It is a significant export goods of Philippines and many communities in the country depends on abaca for their livelihood.
Our welcome drink – Calamansi juice. Very thirst quenching and refreshing. It also came with the local snack which tasted like love letters.
The infinity pool was where we spent most of our time in (when we were not in the spa or sunbathing in one of the cabanas). The pool overlooks the clear sea & fluffy marshmallow white clouds – we could spend the whole day there.
The butlers work like magical silent workers in movies. They set up the cabana/tanning chairs quickly when you are in the pool. Fresh towels/ice cold water appeared when you come up for tanning. A butler appears in front of you with poolside refreshment when you are taking a rest from swimming! The refreshment changes every time we swim (Read: mixed fruits sorbet, mango popsicle, coconut ice cream). When you are done with the icy treat, the butler will appear miraculously again to pick up the bowl so you can resume swimming. This is HEAVEN!
The gourmet breakfast is mouthwatering. There is a good variety and you can choose to dine in the restaurant, your villa or even the cabana at the pool.
From top left, clockwise – SCRAMBLED EGGS with sausages and potatoes, OMELETTE with bacon, mushroom and cheddar, CINNAMON TOAST, EGGS BENEDICT with potatoes – All competently executed but nothing really WOW-ed me. The eggs benedict would be my top choice for a re-run. The portions were very generous which is commendable.
I love the bread basket – Different variety everyday and always came warm and toasted. They threw in a large fruit platter daily. Interestingly, in the land of mangoes, the mangoes were very sour.
Complimentary cocktails every evening. They can be ordered anywhere – spot my long island in the restaurant. Evening snacks like brownies or banana cakes were also provided in the villa.
We HAD to try the abaca restaurant for dinner which came strongly recommended by P as well. One of our Cebu friends told us that abaca first started off as a restaurant then branched out to the resort – We definitely had to try it!
The restaurant was dimly lighted- very suitable for a romantic date. It accepts outside guests as well and that evening, the place was nicely filled.
WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN with sautéed asparagus, dirty mash, olive oil, fresh lemon – The chicken was tender and tasty . I actually liked it but my Filippino dining companion felt that it was too bland by local standards – and it’s true that all the local food we ate had very heavy flavorings.
[Left] THE ABACA ORIGINAL FLATBREAD PIZZA (Marinara seafood with gremolato) – Thin crust pizza with fresh toppings is always a winner.
[Right] MACARONI & CHEESE – Well executed but nothing too special.
Overall, Abaca struck me as a place that takes great pride in quality AND service. Sure, you pay more but the service is 6-star. We ordered fast food delivery (Jolibee) for lunch – when the delivery was here, the butlers actually unpacked the food and assembled them onto proper plates with the appropriate cutleries before bringing it into our villa. P’s previous experience is even more amazing – She asked for a weighing machine and because they do not have a bathroom scale…
They brought in the huge weighing machine from the gym and placed it in their bathroom for the entire duration of their stay!
If I were to go back to Cebu again – it’s because of Abaca. Now I know why people say ABACA-DEBRA.
Abaca Boutique Resort
Tel: +63 32 495 3461/ +63 32 236 0311
Opening Hours: Restaurant is open to the public for lunch and dinner.
Add: Punta Engano Road, Mactan Island, Lapu Lapu City 6015 Philippines
Spend: Villa – P28700++ per night, Restaurant – P2110++
Twice as Delicious 
sounds like heaven – a place to seek inner peace? ‘)
Definitely! Comparable to the Mira’s experience! 🙂
nice.. really nice.. where do u book the hotel? — and how much u pay for 1 nite? – really nice.. is the hotel far from the beach? 🙂
Hi Eric,
We booked the villa directly from Abaca- Check out the rates here http://www.abacaresort.com/rates.html. Do note that there is a promotion now (Book 3+ nights @ 25% off)! The only downside is that the resort is not near to the beautiful beaches in Cebu!
nice=’)
Thanks! 🙂