Welcome to Solea Coast Panglao, catering luxurious and value-for-money experiences for travelers of all ages
Two years or so of sporadic lockdowns and stay-at-home orders held us back when it came to traveling. With the whole world shuttered, our minds languished and longed for spaces far away from home.
The wait is over; revenge travel is here. Book those flights put on the back burner, use those untouched vacation leaves, and cop products for sun protection. It’s time for a well-deserved vacation! Need a recommendation? Top of mind—Solea Coast Panglao, an idyllic destination for the modern-day traveler.
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Welcome to Solea Coast Panglao, a tropical escape for the modern-day traveler
Half an hour from Manila via plane is the province of Bohol. The town proper brims with busy resorts and quaint hostels, homegrown restaurants and vibrant stores. A quick drive from the airport is Solea Coast Panglao, a must-visit getaway, which opened in November 2021, catering luxurious and value-for-money experiences for travelers of all ages.
Close by is Alona Beach, where you can laze around and revel in the white sand and tranquil waters and later on in the day, experience the busy nightlife. It’s also a popular scuba-diving and snorkeling spot for those always on the lookout for adventure.
Float your worries away in the outdoor swimming pool, created with a connecting bar where you can enjoy midday cocktails
You might be wondering: what can Bohol offer the modern-day traveler? With ever-popular destinations like Siargao and La Union—the Gen Z and Millennial hubs—is it worth revisiting a place from your early years (may it be a faint memory of visiting the Chocolate Hills or seeing a tarsier up close)? My answer is a firm yes.
At the resort, every room has a balcony. You’ll be greeted every day with the most incredible view of the ocean
We had three days to soak up the sun and cast our worries aside—a brief reprieve from a taxing schedule back home. At the resort, every room had a balcony, greeting vacationers with the most incredible view of the ocean, almost as if it was where the waters and the sky met. Every day, I saw a postcard-worthy scene and stepped out with gratitude.
A postcard-worthy scene awaits visitors at Solea
For the introvert, the quiet beachfront is a godsend. And if you can’t escape deadlines, working remotely is made possible with the fast WiFi throughout the property. You might also change your mind about hotel food with Solea’s very own Earth Restaurant, boasting of different cuisines like Filipino, Japanese, Korean and American. You can’t leave Bohol without having their incredible sinigang that can rival the likes of Manam back home!
Experience the quiet beachfront, a godsend for introverts, where you can laze around with a book and a cocktail, too
If you need more reason to visit Bohol, the resort just opened the Salt & Sky Bar, the first-ever rooftop bar in Bohol that gives a 360-view of Panglao. When I tell you this is the best sunset I’ve seen in my life, I’m saying the truth. Even the cocktails are inspired by the beautiful afternoon hues.
Need more convincing? Here’s the unbelievable view from the Salt & Sky Bar
At the helm of Solea’s leadership is Chris Gothong, from whom I learned is an empathetic leader from time spent with him. After getting an internship in his younger years, where he essentially had the job of a housekeeper, his perspective changed. He reveals: “It impacted me a lot. It’s different when you know something—you know it’s work, you know it’s hard—but it’s different when you experience it on a day-to-day basis.”
This has led to a more compassionate kind of leadership from Chris, who makes sure his employees are treated with the utmost respect and have a work-life balance. He tells me, “I think in this day and age, that’s one thing lacking…we lack compassion for people. If [we want to keep serving] our guests better, I think we should start by serving our employees or our staff better.”
Alona Beach is a few minutes away from Solea Coast Panglao, where you can laze around and revel in the white sand and tranquil waters and later on in the day, experience the busy nightlife
On his biggest learnings from the pandemic, especially with the traveling industry affected badly by it, Chris shares, “Sometimes when you’re up, you won’t stay there long. Sometimes when you’re very down, you won’t stay there long as well. Just keep pushing, just keep riding it out.” He adds, “And the next day probably gets easier. It gets easier when you’re with people that you can trust, and when you are with people that are just like your family.”
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If there’s a takeaway I had from this quick trip, it’s that I spent so much time wanting to leave the Philippines, but it’s only occurred to me how much of it I still haven’t seen. How “small” and familiar it becomes when you’re stuck in the city sustaining your everyday grind. Yet there’s this vast, seemingly endless space I still have to discover to remind me how there’s really no place like home.
To know more about Solea Coast Panglao, visit soleahotels.com/coast/ and follow them on Instagram.
Photography Elisa Aquino
Art Macky Arquilla
