We recently took our first family trip to Boracay after avoiding this destination because we assumed that it had been highly overrated and would be too touristy for our liking.  Yes, it was touristy, but the beach and ocean views were so wonderful that the touristy aspect was not a big issue for us. (It helped because we were not travelling there over holiday periods like Easter or Philippine summer break in March and April.)

We used a Deal Grocer voucher to stay at the lovely District Hotel located in Beach Station 2 near D’Mall.  The voucher gave us a pool side room with two double beds, two days of buffet breakfast for two (our four year old daughter was free), one buffet brunch for two, two complimentary alcoholic drinks, wifi access, and airport transfers.  We had to pay a small fee (500 pesos) for our daughter for the whole stay which included accommodation and her airport transfer.  The hotel also allowed us to pay a small fee (850 pesos) for my mother’s airport transfer even though she was staying at a different hotel located nearby.

The airport transfer was quite smooth, even though we were moved to an earlier flight, as the hotel provided us with contact details for the hotel transfer personnel so we could advise them of our travel progress and possible arrival times.  We were met outside baggage claim and whisked straight to a van (with proper seat belts – a rarity in this area of the world) for the two minute drive to the ferry terminal.  The short boat ride took us straight to the pier where a second van was waiting to transport us to the hotel.

The van dropped us off along the main road near a short path from the road to the beach, where the District Hotel was located.  Hotel staff took care of our luggage and the walk was easy even with a small child.

Upon arrival at the hotel, check-in was extremely efficient and friendly and we were in our room nearly immediately.  The room overlooked the pool and, while small, was clean and well appointed.

After buying snacks for our daughter and a beer for my mother at a small food shop near the hotel, my husband and I went up to the Star Lounge on the third floor for our complimentary drink and enjoyed the ocean views and fresh air while our daughter played on the patio and near the pool with her grandmother.  (Win-win for everyone!)

The complimentary drink choices included a handful of house cocktails and local beer.  My husband ordered two beers for himself (using my voucher as well) and I ordered a gin and tonic.  The drink price point was quite reasonable, likely due to the local competition which offers very low drink prices after 5pm.

We ordered nachos as a quick snack, as our lunch was small due to the travel.  It did not look like much but the cheese sauce, meat topping, and fresh salsa was very tasty and we liked the deconstructed nature of the presentation (each component was placed in a separate bowl) as this allowed us to combine each ingredient to customise each bite.

After this quick break, we rejoined by mother and daughter and ordered room service from the hotel’s Italian restaurant located on the first floor.  The dishes were not included in the room service menu, but you could walk up to the restaurant staff and order and the food was delivered within a short period of time to your room.  We had a freshly baked pizza and pasta – both of which were very good. We also ordered side salad to share amongst the adults.  The price for the dinner was reasonable considering the fact that it was room service and no additional service fees were added to send the food to our room rather than us eating in the restaurant.

After dinner, we had a good night sleep partially due to comfortable beds and the fact that we did not hear any of the late night noise emanating from the party-goers on the beach only a short distance away.

The next morning we enjoyed our breakfast buffet overlooking the beach in the hotel’s second floor restaurant.  The items in the buffet were basic, but good.  Items in the buffet included fresh salad ingredients like lettuce and tomato (that were quite fresh and tasty, which is not a given in the Philippines), local dishes and rice, cereal, an egg station, upmarket yogurt cups, and fresh fruit.

After breakfast, it was beach time! The day started a bit overcast, but the sun was out by mid-morning.

The beach is not busy at this time and the tide is low. Beach goers tended to be people exercising or kids playing in the sand with their parents watching.

Because of low tide, the beach as parts of it that are littered with small shells, which can hurt your feet. But the patches with shells follow a pattern so you can easily avoid stepping on them.

The District Hotel provides comfortable beach chairs and bright orange beach umbrellas. Towels are checked out near the pool. The area is monitored by District staff for both security and comfort reasons.  They also ensure that non-hotel guests do not use the District’s beach side facilities.

After a bit, once the sun came out, I left my husband and daughter playing in the sand so I could go for a walk to explore the rest of the beach. I started by walking from Station 2 past Station 1 to the north.  The beach was less busy towards Station 1 and it had a different sort of atmospherics than Station 2.  Around Station 1 there are a few larger upmarket resorts like Discovery Shores and it appears that additional beachside condos were under construction at the end of the beach.

At the end of the beach, there is a small cove that you can walk to on a small path around a rocky point.  It is quite picturesque and a lot of wedding photos have been taken here.

There is a few small resorts in the cove area and local children appeared to love the space to play. There is also a well loved religious statue along the path to the cove.

After returning to Station 2 to check in, I walked the other direction towards Station 3. Again, like Station 1, Station 3 had a completely different vibe.  At the far end, there appeared to be more budget friendly hotels and inns.  I think of the three, I preferred Station 1 for the peacefulness, but liked the proximity to shops and food in Station 2.  When my husband and walked to Station 1 just before sunset, the place had come alive with beach volleyball and other activities but still looked family friendly.  On the other hand, night time in Station 2 is much more bar and restaurant driven, as all the restaurant set up outdoor seating areas on the beach. (Avoid the beach bar crawl crowd if you can. While they are relatively well behaved (at least when I saw the group at 9pm), they are very jovial (ie drunk). You can spot the group easily as they are given bright yellow t-shirts!

We then went to lunch at Epic Restaurant in Station 2, as it was near to the hotel.  It had a nice view and good food.  Epic was founded by a group of investors who manage a number of upmarket clubs in Manila.  Epic is billed as a world girl by day and a beach club at night.  We did not go there at night, but during the day the place was suitable for children. The restaurants website is http://www.epicboracay.com.

We ordered the tomato, basil and bread soup, which my mom enjoyed; calamari freshly caught that day; Seseme Crusted Tuna;  The Crab and Mango salad, and the Epic burger and fries which contained 200 grams of beef, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, a fried egg, pickles, and grilled onions.  It was massive!  The calamari was super tender and not greasy. The burger was good, but it was inconsistently cooked and one side was rare while the other side was medium rare (what we ordered).  Our favourite was the tuna dish as it was fresh and light and the wasabi dressing had a kick, but was not overpowering.

Epic had a decent kids menu which included spaghetti and meatballs, a mini corn dog with fries, a hamburger with fries, gooey mac and cheese, and chicken fingers.  We did not order from this menu, as our daughter was able to eat the food we ordered for ourselves.

After lunch, everyone but I went back to their hotel rooms to rest.  I ventured through D’Mall looking for milk and fruit for our daughter’s snack.  The place has the normal tourist shops, but a few little gems were scattered about and some of the restaurants looked ok (except for the Hobbit House, where all the staff were midgets…).

I also did an open water swim for 30 minutes, which I highly recommend.  The waves are small, the water is clear, and you can swim for over a kilometre without running into anything.  It is a great place to train for a triathlon!

After dropping my mum and daughter at the hotel, my husband and I headed out for a happy hour drink next door at De Paris Boracay Beach resort.  The restaurant is small, but friendly and have a good selection of 2 for 1 cocktails (which are served at the same time) in the early evening and a good musician, who starts singing around 8 or 9pm.  Based on my observations, he gets to know the crowd and a number of diners have come back to see him more than once.  During the day, the cafe serves coffee and what appeared to be decent French style cafe food.

After drinks, we visited Aria Cucina Italianna on the beachfront outside D’Mall.  We were given a table behind the outdoor bar in the evening beachside dining section.  The sound of the waves was relaxing and we were not bothered by the children trying to sell things on the beach, which is a bonus.

The seafood dishes were great and the house wine was good and relatively inexpensive.  The service was ok considering how busy it was, but lacked bit of charm.  The place is busy all day long, so I assume that the consistent quality of the food is good.  The website for Aria is http://www.facebook.com/AriaCucinaItalianna.

After another restful night at the District and a good brekkie at the hotel, we spent a wonderful morning at the beach. We got there early enough to watch the local children play in the surf. (For some reason, the children disappeared around 9am.) After run on the beach and another ocean swim, we had lunch at the brunch buffet at the hotel, as it was part of the package.  It was similar to the breakfast, but had a pasta bar and some additional hot lunch choices, like BBQ ribs, which were excellent. If you wanted to purchase this buffet, it is only circa 500 pesos. For the quality of the food and the view, it is better than a lot of the other options in the area.

After lunch, we checked out and headed home. The transfer was again easy (unlike the flights on Philippine Airways) and we enjoyed the boat ride and easy access to the airport.

We can’t wait to return to Boracay. We may try another hotel next time to compare, but the District is a great choice if you want good service, a small but nice pool, and a boutique hotel environment close to the action of Station 2.

The pros and cons of the District Hotel are as follows:

Pros: Well serviced beach, good food, nice pool in a courtyard setting, friendly staff, and close to good restaurants.

Cons: No kids room or children’s amenities, Station 2 is a busy at night, and small rooms.

The contact details for the District Hotel are:

Hotel Phone and Email: (02) 986.1075 & (036) 288.2324, info@thedistrictboracay.com

Manila Office Phone and Email: (02) 234.9058 & (02) 994.2707, reservations@thedistrictboracay.com

Website: http://www.thedistrictboracay.com