Cebu, Philippines — I have been itching to get that sandy feel on my toes and salt on my hair the entire summer. Truth to be told, I dreamed of becoming a mermaid and spend life underwater, much to my disappointment. I never knew how to swim beyond my height, though I had tried diving thrice in the beautiful underwater world of Maribago [Kontiki]. I still had this hydrophobia that gnaws every single time I wanted to learn how to swim. I easily get cramps but that does not hinder me to enjoy the azure waters of the ocean.

When my friend, Orly Darnayla, invited me to a soft launch of a dive hostel, I figured out that this is another reason for me to get wet and get out there. I have to unwind and release the stress of being in a complicated and very messy relationship both in work and personal life. I always believe the best part of being happy is to be with your friends or like minded individuals who share your best practices or advocacy. Such was what happened during the Dive Hostel Review.

On the morning of Saturday, May 12, we had gathered around in a fast food chain in a mall where the van was waiting to take us to the venue. To my surprise, I saw familiar friends. I was ecstatic! I never thought I would see CJ, Aldrin and Dulce Ken again. They had been acquaintances but I never got the chance to really travel with them. I also met Nova, a fellow traveler introduced by Madilon, whom I met online. During that day, we were able to reconnect with my old acquaintances like Glyth, Ly and Kim. When we arrived at the hostel, I was kind of amazed that a place existed in a quite and almost far neighborhood that is also walking distance from a famous resort in Mactan.

How The Hideaway Dive Hostel Came About

Tucked in a secluded place in Marigondon, the Hideaway Dive Hostel is located inside Adamsville, a few minutes away from Plantation Bay and Marigondon public beach / port. It is owned and operated with The Dive Channel Group of Mark Song, hailing from Singapore.  They had continued the vision of their previous dive center partner who passed away. The hostel is a result from the rising need of affordable places to stay for divers who traveled all the way from the globe just to experience our best underwater dive spots in Cebu.

The hostel is a welcome answer to the growing needs of the budget traveler and flash packers, those who are always on the go and doesn’t need the unnecessary frills of luxurious hotels and resorts. They also have affordable rates and are flexible enough to stretch for those who have limited resources.

The hostel also answers the need for fresh and nutritious meals, as the owners themselves are quite health and diet conscious. We observed that most of our meals are laden with fruits and vegetables and there are fruit smoothies to accompany it with.

Here is their Facebook Page: HideAway Dive Hostel Cebu

Here are some of the hidden discoveries I found in HideAway Dive Hostel:

1. The hostel is a home to a co living space where digital nomads converge for either weekly, monthly or daily basis. This provides an environment suited for working on digital tasks without being disturbed by the urban crowd. This is named Baybayin, a local term for a series of alphabet used by early Filipinos.
2. The hostel is eco friendly, too. They make sure to use sustainable materials like Bamboo in their native huts, and advises guests to mind their water and electricity usage. They also have a common CAFE where guests can converse, connect and enjoy good food.
3. The rooms are also equipped with snooze worthy beds and comfortable blankets. It is a far cry from most hostels because comfort is still being prioritized.
4. There were no tables and chairs in the ground floor rooms, making it minimalist and almost bare except for a cabinet.
5. There is a make shift clothesline at the back portion of the property, making it suitable for guests to hang their wet clothes from diving or any water based activities.
6. They do not have a sundry/souvenir shop where guests can buy bath essentials, and other travel related stuff. They should put up one considering that the area is FAR from the sari sari stores in the vicinity.
7. They should have a generator back up in case the power trips off. In my stay, the AC on our assigned room broke down so we need to transfer to another room in the middle of the night. It was physically exhausting for the guest.
8.  They need to keep up with their eco friendly sustainable mandate by encouraging guests to avoid the plastic straws and use metal straws instead. Also, enforce on a PACK IN, PACK OUT Rule for their own TRASH.
9. They should have signage from the main road to the hostel itself so that the guests or potential walk in guests wont have a hard time locating the area. It will result into a hassle free experience for the guests.
10. Lastly, we appreciate the move where we were able to paint our message on arrows for the future guests to understand our own advocacy both personal and general. It was an uplifting activity for all of us.

Our Snaps 🙂

 

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