Maia’s Beach Resort – Bantayan’s little Garden of Eden

Posted by on March 16, 2015

Maia's Beach Resort Bantayan

The road is rocky and bumpy, taking me deeper and deeper inside the island of Bantayan. Small patches of rice, coconut trees, some badly bent by the recent typhoon, and scattered settlements pass by slowly as we rumble along. I’m on my way to Maia’s Beach Resorts, my home away from home for my brief stay on this Filipino gem.  Bantayan Island itself is already a little paradise but what a lot of people don’t know, is that it has its very own little Garden of Eden. On the way East, towards Bantayan town, tucked away from the crowds of Santa Fé and embedded in a lush green oasis, you will find a place so enchanted, so beautiful and designed with so much love for detail that it comes as a big surprise. That Garden of Eden is Maia’s and as I finally arrive, I instantly know that the little journey was well worth it. Welcome to Bantayan’s own little Garden of Eden, welcome to Maia’s Beach Resort.

 

Exploring the Garden of Eden

Maia’s Beach Resort is a lush, tropical paradise featuring big patches of green bermuda grass, towering palm trees gently swaying their umbrella like leaves in the wind and an abundance of flowers, beautifully arranged by Maia herself as to complement a complex puzzle of nature. The center of the resort is the breezy restaurant, a big open cottage with dazzling views into the tropical garden and over to the sea. To the tunes of easy listening music I enjoyed the delicious breakfast (choice of American, Continental and Filipino) complete with fruit, coffee and juice to the sound of the ocean. It’s just the perfect way to start a day on the island.

Restaurant at Maia's Beach Resort Bantayan

The restaurant of Maia’s Resort in Bantayan

Maia's restaurant Bantayan

Breezy and relaxed. The view from Maia’s Restraurant

Restaurant at Maia's Beach Resort

The main entrance to the restaurant

If you feel lazy and just wanting to unwind, Maia’s features an azure blue pool which is accessed via a little walkway that leads over aged, dark coral and some of Maia’s intricate gardening arrangements. Even if the ocean is close, spending time at the pool is just bliss. Right at the waterfront, you will find a few cottages for family and group functions or just relaxing with your friends. If you head further down, you will end up at Maia’s beach bar which gives you the best views over the ocean; perfect for enjoying an ice cold San Mig Light to pass the heat of the day. Everything is connected by those little walkways and it seems like it has all been built to fit right into the place’s natural environment. The whole resort has been built in a sustainable fashion, integrating man-made structures into the existing surroundings. At Maia’s, architecture and nature have bonded for an almost symbiotic relationship. I don’t know much about it, but this place definitely must have a good Feng Shui.

Pool Maia's Resort Bantayan

Maia’s inviting pool. Bliss!

Bantayan Maia's

Did somebody say Garden of Eden? | Photo by focalglass.com

Beach resort Maia in Bantayan

Good Feng Shui at Maia’s Beach Resort

The resort’s six bungalows are set back in the garden, across from the restaurant. They are spacious, all equipped with aircon, a modern bath, a big terrace for some late afternoon lounging and they are usually good for four people. For a guy like me, who is used to travel on the cheap, it was a very nice change. And the fact that they only have six bungalows ensures that the place never gets too crowded.

 

Maia’s projects and the big rebuild

As almost every resort on the island, Maia’s was affected badly by the recent super typhoon Yolanda. I talked to Klaus, Maia’s German husband, and he said once he saw the damage the storm had done, they were both seriously considering packing up and going back to Europe. But then they realized that this move would not only affect them themselves. Being a true family business, it would also deprive Maia’s family members who all work at the resort of their main source of income. After a night sleeping on it, they decided to not give up, to be resilient and rebuild everything. It took them both lots of blood, sweat and tears and of course money, but when I was there, I could not even tell that the place was affected at all. Maia and Klaus must have worked a little wonder in just such a short amount of time. It was impressive to see, especially after Maia showed me the pictures of cottages left without roofs, bent trees and the garden utterly battered.  Realizing these efforts made the stay at Maia’s even more enjoyable than it already was.

Maia's Resort Bantayan Garden

Walkway to the big cottage by the pool | Photo by focalglass.com

Garden at Maia's beach resort

A symbiotic relationship of architecture and nature

Maia herself took the disaster as a chance to do even more than just rebuild the resort. She launched a project to provide local women with a new source of income. In collaboration with an European NGO, they were trained to weave intricate bags and purses out of recycled plastic rice sacks. The bags are now being sold at Maia’s among other places and the project seems to be a big success, having already sparked follow-up projects of the same kind. Maia is very passionate about these projects and is always for a chat about them.

 

Some practilities

As mentioned, the resort has six cottages, some with a double bed, sow with twin beds and some designed as a triple. All of them can easily be used by a group of four. Prices start at 1,950 PHP, depending on the bungalow and the season. You can check their pricelist here or book via Agoda.

Garden at Maia's Beach Resort

View over to the bungalows

Beachfront bungalows

Beachfront bungalows | Photo by focalglass.com

Getting there is pretty straight forward. You just exit the ferry in Santa Fé and make your way towards Bantayan. A bit before entering the town, you will see the resort’s big signage with a sailing boat. Just follow the bumpy road and you will be there in no time. If you book online, just let Maia and Klaus know about your arrival time and they will pick you up right at the ferry with one of their comfortable vehicles. It can’t get any easier than that. The same vehicles are also made available for tours and other excursions. And if you want to head to Santa Fé, they will arrange a drop-off and pick-up for you. If it gets too late because you had too much Red Horse and hung out far too long at the videoke bar, you can always hail a Habal-Habal, the islands motorbike-taxis, to drive you back home. It worked fine for me, even in a slightly intoxicated state at around 4 o’ clock in the morning.

Street scene in Santa Fé Bantayan

Sleepy during the day, lively at night. The port town of Santa Fé.

 

Last thoughts …

Maia and Klaus will go out of their way to make your stay as pleasant as possible. Maia is very articulate and passionate about what she is doing and chatting with her about the island, the Philippines and life in general is super interesting. The unique setup of the place, with everything being so in tune and in balance makes it an oasis for the body and mind. Just be aware that the resort is a little bit away from the center with all its bars, restaurants and videoke joints. But that exactly makes for its charm and special atmosphere. If you want to get away from it all for a while, relax and recharge your batteries, then Maia’s is your place. And if you still feel the need to party it up, to go for some drinks or show off at the videoke, there is always a way to get to Santa Fé and Maia will sure help. Summer is coming and maybe Bantayan is on your bucket list. If so, why not check Maia’s Beach Resort.

10 Responses to Maia’s Beach Resort – Bantayan’s little Garden of Eden

  1. vina

    i so love this place…..well said pipoy. thanks much!

  2. David

    hello Phillip,

    Wonderfull resort !
    It’s hard to get some accurate informations about the weather in Bantayan, do you know if July/august are good months to go there ?

    Keep on writing 🙂
    David

    • Philipp Dukatz

      Hi David, thanks for stopping by. I would say, July and August are not THE best months but also not too bad…. You will probably get some rain, but not as much as in the so called BER months of September, October and especially December. Temperature will remain almost the same all year round, just the amount of rain will vary. If you you wanna make sure, I’d suggest going in March / April. Hope that helps … Thanks for your feedback David, really appreciate it.

  3. April Violet

    Definitely sounds like a great retreat and just to chillax. Love the natural wood materials (not sure what it is exactly) used on the cottages/restaurant and the abundance of coconut trees throughout the resort. I’ll have to put this into consideration when I vacay next month…yes, finally got my vacay approval from work. There are so many other places I wanna check out that I have to do research/plan to narrow it down 😉 Btw, where in Palawan do you recommend? Is the Underground River worth seeing/experiencing?
    So great that the owners were able to rebuild such a wonderful resort…may they continue to thrive. They should read your write-up if they haven’t done so…i’m sure they’ll be delighted.

    • Philipp Dukatz

      Hi April, the material is actually not real wood. It is rather concrete and shaped and painted to resemble wood. It’s a bit of an illusion hehe. Great to hear that you received your vacay approval … that is a start. Now it is just about researching the best destinations for you. I actually wrote an article about the Underground River on the blog, you might wanna check that out. I think it is cool to see…but prepare for long waiting times once there… I like El Nido and Coron in palawan and I heard Port Barton is also very relaxed and nice. Maybe you can tailor your own little tour. Best of luck planning it all…it’s half ofthe fun already hehe….

      • April Violet

        Concrete would make more sense and more sturdy–thanks for clarifying. I’ve heard of El Nido and Coron but not Port Barton, so will have to check that out too. I found your write up on the Underground River–seems worth it to experience despite long waiting time u had mentioned (hopefully not too long hehe–thanks for the heads up) Your pictures made me want to check it out. I will have to dedicate a few days of my vacation for Palawan. On my list is to see Pagudpud Beach and Vigan…interested in Batanes too but the flight could be a bit hefty for a less than 2 hrs flight so i’ll see. Anyway, appreciate much your recommendations Philipp…yeah planning could be half the fun but can also be not so fun to narrow down places to see 😉

  4. Sonia

    Right, stay right there. I´m on my way!!!
    We can help the Feng Shui flow by sipping cocktails in the pool 🙂

    • Philipp Dukatz

      Hi Sonia, I will need to get back tere so serene. Improving Feng Shui by sipping cocktails sounds like a good plan to me. I am up for it! 😉

  5. twistedbade

    Great article! love the pathway to the pool area..its small and simple…very homey and private. Nice one.. galing