Nov. 11, 2011
We arrived at Grace Island around 11am. We were supposed to be fetch around 7am at sikatuna hotel but ended up getting fetched around 9:30am. Since the waves were kinda strong at sikatuna, we were forced to ride the boat at camanauit port which is around 4km from sikatuna beach. Estimated tricycle ride time is around 10 mins. And we paid P70 fare for 4 pax.
The boat travel time to grace island is 1 hour. Fortunately, the weather was fine and the water was perfect for sailing. After an hour, we saw Grace Island from afar and the site was so apealing. Grace Island doesnt have a website yet and it seems an unexplored place for travelers in San Jose. We only learned about G. I. In San Jose airport. But it is much nicer in real life than in the poster.
What to expect: when we arrived the island, we were greeted by its friendly staffs - Daphne and Jess with welcome drinks. Then they made a short orientation about the activities on the island. You can take a swim in front of your cottage. The cottages are floating on top of the seawater. How cool is that! they also have tree houses on the side of the mountain and villas which are still under construction.
Pros: Lots of activities available. Water activities like boating, canoe, kayak, jetski, fishing are available for a reasonable price. They have bike rentals if you like to tour the island. They have a mini zoo with monkeys, eagle, falcon, and pythons. They also have basketball courts and badminton is also available. We got a free island tour but the beach is not quite swimmable coz of the corals and rocks.
Cons: Overnight cottages only have e.fans (no a/c) since the island is only powered by genset which starts at 6pm until morning. The rest of the day no power so better full charge your gadgets before coming here. Water is scarce so you only have mini portalets in your cottages. Shower rooms and CRs are at the hillside treehouses. NO Cellphone signals esp. For Sun subscriber.
When making reservations, Please make sure that you are talking to the staff on the island as sometimes the nos. Available are cp nos of staffs stationed in Manila. We experienced some problems re: transport and food due to poor coordination with the "right staffs".
They dont have restaurant on the island so you have to inform them the day before if you want them to perpare meals for you. Better to bring along food/snacks just in case.
In fairness, the staffs were quite helpful to us and cooked for us a hearty yummy dinner of inihaw na samaral and sinigang na lapu-lapu. Service is personalize - a plus factor for this resort.
The island is still undergoing construction but most likely, after a year or so, Grace Island will become one of the tourist destinations in San Jose, Mindoro. From a high of 5 stars, I give it 2.5 stars.
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