Coast
Luxury Redefined At Boracay
Coast by HSAI Raintree, as witnessed by writer Judy Samson and photographer Gabriel Dela Cruz, is showing how luxury and value can come together in one delightful package.
WORDS BY JUDY SAMSON
IMAGES BY GABRIEL DELA CRUZ
The sixty-something British gentleman was visibly nervous. We learned, from snatches of brief exchanges he had with various airline attendants, porters, drivers and even, us, his fellow travelers, that this is his first time to visit Boracay.
Like many tourists from the West, he has heard of the famed island from friends. One of his friends is already waiting for him in Boracay. He’s already been there a while, and he’s checked in a new resort hotel called Coast.
The gentleman’s measured, polite smile quickly turned into a broad grin when he saw his friend – who looked a little like him, save for the tan – greet him in purposeful strides and outstretched arms.
Like many of the visitors to Boracay, he came here on the recommendation of a trusted friend, which pretty much sums up why Coast, barely a year old, has been experiencing 90 percent occupancy levels. Online praises from sites like Agoda and booking.com, as well as organic raves from TripAdvisor, are bringing in guests from all over the world. They compete for rooms with the locals, and from the looks of it, there’s plenty of reasons for such.
“It’s really the software that sets us apart,” said Coast general manager Randy Salvador. The property is managed by HSAI Raintree Hospitality Management, which has had plenty of practice with its experience with the Discovery hotels, both in the city and in resort destinations like Boracay and Tagaytay. It is now stretching its wings to explore other properties.
IT’S FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE FOOD
Raintree kept at Coast some of the nice little touches that made every stay at their Discovery hotels quite a pleasure. There is the signature peanut chocolate ChocNut candies everywhere in the resort; at Coast, however, Raintree made everyday a free popcorn day for all in-house guests, except on weekends, when it’s free ice cream day.
The showpiece for Coast’s prowess in food and beverage is its all-day dining outlet, ChaCha’s Beach Café. The menu offers an extensive range, and the bar has an even more impressive inventory of alcohol to whip up some very creative cocktails.
“It’s very rare for a Boracay hotel to also have good food,” said GM Salvador. “That’s because running a resort is a challenge in logistics,” he explained. For food and beverage, Coast turned to F&B veteran Erika Avancena, executive chef Kalel Chan and chef Romy Aumentado to come up with a menu that stands out from the rest of Boracay’s dining scene. To supply the resort with the necessary hardware for an excellent F&B operation, it built a walk-in freezer-chiller to make sure the resort has at least two weeks’ worth of supplies demanded by its menu.
The breakfast alone is enough to entice. Rooms at Coast include a breakfast buffet (which normally goes for Php 550 for non-guests), while rooms at their entry-level rooms called Blue Marina get a set breakfast, also from the kitchens at Coast. Blue Marina guests get a Php 350 discount at the Coast buffet should they decide to upgrade their first meal of the day. And Coast is giving them plenty of reason to upgrade: fresh bread, a wide choice of fruit, homemade jams, butter blends, generous heapings of bacon, sous-vide eggs and quirky specials like ube champorado.
IT’S FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH BORACAY
Yes, it is possible to have a love-hate relationship with arguably the most beautiful island in the world. This is especially true given the massive crowds on the beach, the commercialization, and that May 1 bacchanalia called Laboracay.
At Coast, you can choose to be in Boracay but not be in Boracay. The hotel’s open design lets you take in some of the action on the beachfront, and the common swimming pool courtyard is big enough to afford a little privacy yet still get some sun.
You can watch the world go by at the bar at ChaCha or at sectioned-off areas on the beach itself, carefully watched by hotel personnel so guests won’t be totally at the mercy of the heavy foot traffic along the beach. And if things get a little too much on the beach, you can lock yourself in and have a Netflix marathon (Coast is one of the first to have smart TV on the island) on your 43-inch TV.
At Coast, you can choose to be in Boracay but not be in Boracay.
IT’S FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE TASTEFUL, THOUGHTFUL DESIGN
Coast looks like something from the 1960s: Clean lines with solid geometric shapes to break up the monotony and keep from looking too staid and cold. Designed by a Filipino team, the hotel is pleasing on multiple levels, with always something intricate for the eyes to look at.
The rooms are not particularly big at 25 square meters, but the white walls, floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors make the rooms feel bigger than they are. The attention to the more important things makes a lot of difference. The hotel uses Sealy mattresses, goose down pillows and 400-thread count linen for the beds, and 850-gram Pacific Coast towels for the bath. The toiletries are by Home Spa Essentials (made by the eco-conscious Turvill couple) and have the hotel’s signature coconut and pineapple scent. Berrotia Diamond chairs and Saarinen tables make up the furniture. The bed runners are fabrics made from Zamboanga weaves by the Yakang-Yaka group. Indeed, these quirky, luxurious details make all the difference.
IT’S FOR PEOPLE WHO PUT A PREMIUM ON VALUE
But how could a hotel located in the noisiest and busiest district of the island possibly offer refuge and calm from the crowd? The three-story hotel itself is a wall on three sides of the property, and the rooms open to a central courtyard where two pools make up the center of the property. Only one public entry and exit point to the hotel makes sure the 24-hour security has eyes on everybody.
However, it is its location that adds value to the rack rate on Coast. Because it is accessible, guests can choose to experience the island’s other attraction: its vibrant nightlife, while offering ready access to the world-famous powdery sands of its white beach.
The room categories reflect this value. The entry level “rooms” are at another location some 10 minutes away in its satellite hotel Blue Marina and are quite affordable at an average of Php 5000. The deluxe rooms at Coast start at Php 8000, premier rooms at Php 9000, loft rooms at Php 15,000 and a one-bedroom at Php 14,000.
Then there’s the service. While unobtrusive, there never seems to be a lack or a lag in service. The guest-to-staff ratio is almost one-is-to-one, but the difference, as GM Salvador explained, is in how every member of the staff is trained to be versatile enough to do everything from front-end to cleanup jobs.
Booking at Coast comes with boat transfers via two dedicated speedboats. Transfers are fast becoming a luxury given the volume of guests on the island; this is expected to rise with the opening of the new international airport at Caticlan.
In fact, there seems to be no more lean-season in Boracay. The tourists, like the elderly British gentleman who came to the island, are being convinced by the positive word-of-mouth, and the affirmation given by established media about the wonders of Boracay. In fact, on day two of his visit, the gentleman was already looking quite at home on the beach, sipping his San Miguel, marveling at the hundred-and-one colors of the sky at sunset, and possibly thinking of how he will describe this experience once he gets home.
Coast is located on Station 2 Beach Front, Brgy. Balabag, Malay, Boracay Island, Aklan, Philippines. Tel: +63 36 288.2634. Email: reservations@coastboracay.com, or visit coastboracay.com.
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