If you prefer a quiet and romantic honeymoon at the beach, you might want to consider Microtel Inns & Suites at Diniwid Beach. It’s located at the other side of Boat Station 3, just about a few minute’s walking distance from Boat Station 1. And yes, it’s quite secluded. I know this for a fact—not only was I able to sleep soundly every night we were there, but I was also able to get some work done on my laptop.

Room with a view
What’s more romantic than having a room with a view? This is actually what sets apart Microtel Boracay from all the other Mircrotels in the world. Although Microtel lives up to its tagline, “the same hotel everywhere you go” (or something like that), the one in Boracay is their first ever resort hotel—and have rooms with a beautiful view of the beach and the hotel’s pool.

The room we stayed in didn’t come with a view, but I was privileged to explore and photograph a beachfront suite thanks to Anne (Microtel representative) and the head of housekeeping (whose name I totally can’t remember, sorry!).

The room design itself looks like any other room in the hotel (it looked exactly like ours), but what sets it apart is the beautiful beachfront view you will get when you go out into the balcony. From there, you can also see Microtel’s pool and dining area.

I think they have around six beachfront rooms (four on the second floor, and two on the ground floor).

Chiropractic beds
These are Microtel’s pride and joy: their chiropractic beds. According to Dean, the hotel manager, they had to ship those beds all the way to Boracay from the US. This is a requirement, he said, when opening a Microtel franchise. You can’t get any other bed other than those they use in all the other Microtel franchises around the world.

If there’s one thing I can’t complain about, it’s their beds. It’s not too stiff, but not to soft either—you won’t feel like you’re sinking when you lie on their bed. The old bed Marc and I have here at home seems like a torture chamber compared to the beds in Microtel—it’s just that comfortable.

Most of the rooms in the hotel have double beds, but each is big enough for two so you can always share if you want a more romantic setting. However, if you really want to get a room that has only one bed, you can consider getting a suite. But the thing is, it might not have a beachfront view. Microtel Boracay only has two suites with a beachfront view, you’d have to be fast if you want to reserve one of them before someone else does.

Shuttle
Let’s say you and your husband want a taste of the Boracay night life. The Microtel hotel really is on the other side of Boat Station 2 and 3, which are the prime spots for dining, shopping and partying. That’s far. Really, I’m not kidding. Together with a few bloggers, Marc and I braved walking about 3-4 kilometers to Boat Station 2. I thought my legs would fall off by the time we reached the Regency Hotel.

Microtel has a shuttle service you can call to pick you up. I can’t remember exactly, but I think this service is free. I suppose it’s their “remedy” for being far away from the Boracay night life. One thing you should know is that it’s really not that advisable to call the shuttle when you’re in a hurry. They have two shuttles taking visitors within the island, but remember that there are 51 rooms in the hotel and you aren’t their only guest. We had to wait for about 30 minutes for the shuttle to pick us up from Station 2 in the afternoon, but when we asked for the shuttle service in the evening, we only had to wait for about 10-15 minutes. So… If you got to pee, make sure you answer nature’s call first before calling the shuttle You never know what time it would arrive.

Here are a few more pictures I took of Microtel Boracay.

For the Microtel Boracay fact sheet, you can get more info on the second page of this post. Microtel actually provides this on their website, but I just added the info here for your convenience.

Before choosing Boracay as a honeymoon destination (or even the spot where you’d like to have your wedding if you’ve got enough cash lying around), there is something that you should first ask yourself: Are you there to party with crowds or enjoy quiet and romantic moments with your husband? This matters a lot, especially when choosing the hotel you’d be staying in. Either you get one right in the middle of Boat Station 2 (where the night life is), or you get one on the far end of the island where it’s quiet and secluded. The same goes if you want to have a wedding in Boracay: it’s either party or privacy. Fortunately, I have been able to see both for myself.

Last January 11 to 13, Marc and I joined Pinoy travel and photo bloggers on a trip to Boracay sponsored by Microtel Inns & Suites, in partnership with South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) and Zuzuni Boutique Hotel and Restaurant. They wanted us to try out and review their services.

But the thing is, I would like you to have the most comprehensive review of these three as much as possible. As a former bride-to-be, planning all aspects of my wedding required thorough decision-making. After all, weddings are very special, and so are honeymoons. As such, I’ve separated my reviews into a series of posts for your reading convenience:

Part 1: A romantic Boracay honeymoon with Microtel
Part 2: Honeymoon alternative: Dining and night life with Zuzuni (coming soon)
Part 3: SEAIR: Taking your wedding on the air (coming soon)

As usual, I will try my best to be as objective as possible. Enjoy!

Through extensive research and canvassing, my husband then-fiance, Marc, and I determined that a garden reception was just a bit too pricey for us. Outdoor venues in Quezon City are just way too pricey. And the thing is, we wanted our wedding ceremony held at a church which held sentimental memories of my late grandma. That’s our main priority, so we just contended ourselves with an indoor reception.

The more popular outdoor venues include The Oasis (Quezon City), Gazebo Royale (Quezon City), SOLEA Garden (Quezon City), Blue Gardens (Quezon City), The Big Tent (Quezon City), Mango Farm (Antipolo), and MMLDC (Antipolo). If you have a bit of cash to throw around, you might want to check out these outdoor venues.

As I have said, I’m pretty fond of nature. If they weren’t far (not to mention expensive), I’d go for an outdoor venue out of town.

Reception at Fantasy World in Lemery, Batangas

Idyllic scenery at sunset (Fantasy World)

Frontage of The Oasis in Quezon City

Spacious outdoor venue of Fontana Leisure Park in Angeles City

A bridge leading to the Fontana outdoor venue

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I dunno how much it costs to reserve venues at Fontana Leisure Park and The Oasis (I’m not even sure if you need membership in order to have an event at Fontana), but you may inquire at Fantasy World through 02-8336566. Last year, the cost was Php50,000 for the first four hours of use, and Php10,000 per hour succeeding. See? I told you it was costly