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B E S P O K E B O H O L
Led by Panglao Island, Bohol is emerging as a
premier “boutique” destination, where charming
resorts are run by owners who infuse a truly
personal touch in the way they do business.
By Maya O. Calica
Panglao
getspersonal
IN BOHOL,
small is beautiful. Peanut
kisses, a local delicacy, are tiny morsels
of sweetness shaped like mini Chocolate
Hills. The region’s famous primate, the
tarsier, is dwarfed by an adult male’s
hand. Alona Beach on Panglao Island,
measuring a mere 1.5km in length,
boasts soft white sand and blue waters
that have been compared to the beauty
of Boracay 15 years ago.
It’s a sentiment Ria Cauton couldn’t
agree with more. Her resort, Amorita
— a 34-room property perched on a
cliff that overlooks Alona Beach (
1 Ester
A. Lim Drive, Barangay Tawala, Alona
Beach, Panglao Island; tel: +63 (38)
502 9002/03, www.amoritaresort.
com
) — is built on two hectares of land,
and is diminutive compared to the
island’s massive chain hotels. “It’s our
being small and boutique that makes
us different,” says Ria, who has been
running Amorita with her husband Nikki
for the past five years. From day one,
the young couple has been very hands-
on with everything, “from the most
minute tasks to the bigger construction
matters, because we love what we do
so much!”
Their philosophy is simple: “At
Amorita, we welcome people into our
home just as Boholanos would open
their doors and hearts to visitors every
fiesta time.” They pamper guests with
little pleasures: a welcome plate of
freshly baked cookies in the room, hot
chocolate de Bohol and
broas
(a local
biscuit) on the rare occasion that it rains
in Panglao, and sweets left at their
bedside table with a handwritten note.