Pearl Farm Resort Part 2: Beach, Pool, Food and other good things at Pearl Farm

It's been a busy month of April for me, so it's only now that I've made a follow-up on my first post about Pearl Farm Resort. (Read Part 1 here.)

Pearl Farm has two beach areas, the Maranao and Mandaya beach. Maranao beach is short, about 200 meters, but it's the better one of the two. The sand is fine by the cabanas, but will get rocky closer to the sea. It gets better though as you go into the clear turquoise water. The Mandaya beach, on the other hand, does not look suitable for swimming. It's so rocky that we didn't dare try to go in the water.

One of things I enjoyed is their daily fish-feeding at the Parola. Ruel, the ever accommodating and helpful staff, identified the different types of fish available in the island and the resort provides bread to feed to the fish. You can also go snorkeling to get a closer view of the fish.

Another beach area is the Malipano Island. It's a small island adjacent to the resort. Pearl Farm has a boat going back and forth the Parola wharf and Malipano island every 30-minutes. It only takes about 2 minutes to get to the other side. I find the sand here the best compared to the two beach areas on Samal Island. Aside from swimming and diving using the board they've set-up, you can also snorkel here. Just be careful if you don't know how to swim. The water will suddenly go deeper a few feet from the shore.

Back at the main resort, they have two pools. The one near the restaurant and the Maranao beach is their famous infinity pool with the view of the Parola and the Davao horizon. There are several cabanas surrounding this pool. It's just lovely to laze (or nap, which I did) there while waiting for the sunset or resting from your swim. The second pool is on the other side of the resort, by the Mandaya villas. It's a good 10-minute walk from the Maranao beach or a quick 2-minute golf cart ride.

Pearl Farm only has one restaurant called Maranao. They always serve buffet meals here, which costs Php850 for breakfast and Php1,100 for lunch and dinner. With this price, expect a wide selection of Filipino and International cuisine. If you're not a heavy eater or on a budget, you can order a la carte. All the main entrees already comes with a cup of rice and their serving is actually generous. We've tried their Pork Tenderloin Steak (Php250), Chicken Pork Adobo (Php300) and Pinakbet (Php200). They also have a selection of pizza and pasta for groups that want to share.

I've really enjoyed our overnight stay at Pearl Farm Resort. There's almost not enough time to see and experience everything they have to offer (probably also because I fell asleep early after the tiring planning conference).  Aside from swimming and taking pictures, you can play billiards at the game room, watch an ethnic weaving, get a massage or learn about and feed different fishes. With all that activities, the most important thing is to take time to relax and revel in Pearl Farm's comfortable setting amid nature and all it's beauty.