A hidden gem called Antulang

MANILA, Philippines - An hour’s drive south of Dumaguete, through paved roads and rough terrain, flanked by placid sea and craggy peaks, past lush farmland and thorny bush, skirting fishing villages and upland communities – indeed, at the end of a long, winding road, awaits Antulang.

“Yes, we are in the middle of nowhere. And proud of it!” says Annabelle Lee-Adriano, whose family owns the beach resort.

Antulang does lie off – far off – the beaten path, but that’s part of its charm. Enter its portals and a sense of anticipation builds. You do not travel this far for the mundane. And then it unfolds: Ten hectares of sparkling pools, lush gardens, fruit trees and tropical flora, sprawled across limestone cliffs that plunge sharply to the pounding surf below.

From this vantage point overlooking the Sulu and Bohol Seas, Antulang commands some of the most sublime vistas anywhere in the country. To the tired visitor, such panoramas are the best balm.

There are plenty of those to go around in these parts, owing to the unique geographical location of the place. Antulang sits at the southernmost tip of Negros island, allowing an unobstructed view of both sunrise and sunset.

On nights with a full moon, even that nocturnal celestial body gets into the act, with the moonrise chasing the sunset across a vermillion sky, producing a vivid tableau. At nightfall, the seclusion that harried city folks yearn for comes to the fore, blanketing Antulang with a dreamlike calm.

Here, the crowds typical of most resorts in the Visayas are absent. Nature takes over and serenity reigns. It’s not, however, a monastic kind of isolation. Antulang is arguably the most luxurious resort on Negros island and all the creature comforts are at one’s beck and call.

Indeed, the accommodations are something else. Antulang is the first resort in the country to offer pool villas – well-appointed private residences with a full-size swimming pool and heated jacuzzi out front, hugging the cliff’s edge and gazing out to the vast sea. With such amenities and views, staying in the whole day is an enticing option.

For even more beguiling quarters, check out the one-of-a-kind presidential suite – a villa perched imperiously atop a huge boulder, within splashing distance of the waves lapping the rocks below, with nothing between you and the open sea but your dreams and whispered wishes. For sheer drama, few resort rooms anywhere in the world come close.

“As an added bonus, guests can actually fish from the balcony at high tide,” says Adriano. Yet another reason to stay indoors.

Complementing the in-room amenities are outdoor activities unique to this part of the country. The waters off Antulang harbor some of the richest marine life in the world and there are 17 documented dive sites around the resort alone. For the serious diver, Apo Island, hailed as Asia’s top dive site, is a mere half-hour sailing time away by the resort’s trimaran.

For the less adventurous, a sunset cruise around mangrove-fringed Tambobo Bay, surely the prettiest bay in the county, is an exhilarating experience. The bay is a natural marina, so well-sheltered that yachts and pleasure craft from all over the world come to berth in its coves.

Finally, as if all these pursuits were not enough to keep guests occupied, Antulang boasts a facility only literary-mad Dumaguete can conjure up – a library. Named after the late National Artist for Literature, the Edith L. Tiempo Reading Room will put many school libraries to shame. It’s stocked floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall with over 5,000 books – and counting.

With titles ranging from Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky to Tom Clancy and Neil Gaiman, from science fiction guru L. Ron Hubbard’s Mission Earth series to cosmetics guru Paula Begoun’s The Complete Beauty Bible, there’s a tome for everyone in this eclectic library.

Indeed, one can spend hours digging through and browsing for a favorite book in this collection – an apt leitmotif for the resort itself. Like a hidden gem out in the boondocks of Siaton, Negros Oriental, it takes patience to reach Antulang. But once there, it’s not easy to let go.