Imperial Palace

Our first stop on our tour in Mactan was the Imperial Palace Resort, a wonderful five star resort with around 550 rooms and villas.  I understand that this was built as a time-share around 7 years ago by some Korean entrepreneurs, and the concept was expanded to include a water park, some villas and a spa.  I also understand the project was partly funded by the Land Bank of the Philippines, and that the hotel is now owned by some Cebuano businessmen.  The hotel was bustling with activity when we arrived, and I noticed that a good 70% of their target market were Koreans on family vacation.  I would suppose that since Cebu is a mere 5 hour plane ride from Korea, the resort is sold as the ideal long weekend getaway--a boon for Philippine tourism!

Facilities are top notch.  Dining at the resort will probably go for around P1,600 per head on the average.  We were informed that room rates would be placed around P10,000 per night on the average (a bit above US$200). 

The main attraction for the kids is the Water Park, which has a river-like feature that runs around the complex.  Water slides are another favorite, and the water park also has a feature that injects man-made waves in the swimming pool.  I understand that the resort also has a day-rate, which includes swimming and lunch for around P3,500 per person.

The beach area isn't anything spectacular.  It's not a true beach, but you can see in the picture below that they have a stairway gently sloping into the water.  The water is very clean, no jellyfish or stones, and I could see that the water was waist deep for around 30 meters into the sea, which is good for swimming and snorkeling.

The villas are very near the beach and are popular for bigger families.  I like the relaxed and private atmosphere the villas project.  A good place to bring the family--I was hoping that Vicky and Monique would approve my vacation plan, but since they are not beach people, it doesn't seem plausible for the summer of 2013....