Bellarocca: Mediterranean dream

All the buildings of Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa are built in a distinctive Mediterranean style and guests have different options for their accommodations. The most luxurious are the garden and cliff villas, which have one and two bedroom versions. Each villa has a living room, kitchen and dining room, a veranda (for garden villas) or balcony (for cliff villas), and an outdoor deck with a private pool and jacuzzi. The villas are perfect for those who want a truly private vacation.




The two bedroom terrazas, built as duplexes, are all located on the ridges of the island and have the best views of Mt. Malindig. They have the same features as the villas, the only difference being that terrazas do not have private pools and spas.




I think that this particular cliffside terraza has the best location of them all, being on the northwestern tip of the island, with a magnificent view of the sun setting over the ocean while retaining its view of Mt. Malindig.




Currently being finished are the garden-view casas, which have one to three bedrooms. They are scheduled to be available to guests by the end of this year.




Last, but definitely not the least, are the hotel rooms. Adjoining the main clubhouse of the resort, the hotel offers standard rooms, junior suites and suites. I say "definitely not the least" for the hotel rooms are every bit as luxurious as the bedrooms of the villas, terrazas and casas; they just don't have living and dining rooms, though the suites do have sitting areas. There is also a lovely lap pool at the hotel if you don't feel like taking a golf cart down to the seaside pavilion and infinity pool.




I said at the beginning that the one and two bedroom villas are the most luxurious accommodations at Bellarocca. That is true only as of now. In a few more weeks, the three bedroom residential villa will be finished and that will be the most luxurious of them all: a wooden outdoor deck with patio furniture, pool and spa; three huge bedrooms with home theater systems and bathrooms with whirlpool baths; two large living rooms, one on each floor, with sleek modern couches and home theater systems; a full kitchen; and a roof deck with magnificent views on all sides.




Our accommodations at Bellarocca were for a standard hotel room, for which we had a gift certificate; it was part of my prize for winning second place in a contest last year, and I would like to thank JM Zozobrado for inviting me to join that contest. My husband and I were the only guests to arrive last Thursday (we purposely schedule our vacations for the middle of the week because there are always fewer people) and Bellarocca's general manager, Monsieur Jan Michel Gautier, upgraded our room to a junior suite, so I would also like to thank him—for the room and for many other things which I will still write about. I also owe a debt of gratitude to John Tanjangco, whom I have never met or even talked to; he knows what for. Thank you, John, and bless you. BELLAROCCA SERIES #4