A Relaxing Stay at Natura Vista, Bohol

Every year, my closest friends and I plan an out of town or out of the country trip – one of the many traditions we’ve established since 2012 when we all first traveled together out of town to go to Boracay. Last summer, our travel brought us to the province of Bohol with two of my closest friends.

We stayed in Natura Vista Hotel located in Panglao Island. It’s a hotel I found through I searched for hotels located there in Agoda.com. I only tried the service of Agoda this year for my travels even though I’ve known of its existence for quite some time already. It’s cheaper pala to book through it than to go directly to the hotel especially when you’re booking way ahead of your travel! They even have a “Book Now, Pay Later” term.

Anyway, back to Natura Vista.

Natura Vista isn’t your usual kind of hotel. As the name implies, “Natura” stands for nature. It’s a tranquil eco-sanctuary located inside a fishing community of the San Pedro Public Beach. If you want to commune with nature and experience what a real provincial stay is, then I highly recommend this place.

Honestly, I’m a city folk and my idea of a hotel isn’t what Natura Vista is. But isn’t nice when life throws you a good surprise? It reminded of the time I went on a vacation with some of my other friends to Caramoan. That was a real surprise too!

Let me show you how charming this place is.

That’s our room upstairs with hammocks too! (“,)

Our dining area

At Natura Vista, you dine at this garden area where you can breathe nothing but fresh air and eat fresh food. This place is very popular according to Mae, their manager, to foreigners who want to observe local life. Some Filipinos also come to stay at Natura Vista when they want to go to Panglao Island Nature Resort and Spa since a day trip to the latter about Php800 (about Php400-500 of it is consumable for food) is cheaper than staying there. We didn’t know that. Good thing Mae, the manager, told us all about it and so we included that in our Bohol travel agenda.

 
There are these wooden bench seats too that you can just sit it on as an alternative to the hammocks. You can just relax here, perhaps sleep, ponder about life if you like, read a book or a magazine or sit with a friend and just chat away while you past the time.

Phone signal is weak in this area and Wi-Fi is weak. I’m used to always being connected online even on vacation so not being able to check my mail, get a phone call or text or check my social media news feed was a strange thing but it was exactly the kind of break I needed.

There’s a pool inside the hotel but it’s more for wading. Anyway it makes a good additional background for photo opps.

Our room at Natura Vista. It’s a nice room with TV. No cable though. Only local channels. But I didn’t mind so much since all I wanted to watch that time was Bridges of Love anyway.

Our (Mai Ann and mine’s) bunk beds.

I slept on top of the bunk beds and I was not crazy about that. I was always scared that I’d slip on the ladder or miss a step while climbing down. Plus there was a lot of ants – they were black but still! – on my bed which I loathed. But I suppose ants come with considering the place was surrounded by plants.  

Meet Chuckie, the adorable shih tzu who lives in Natura Vista. I loved playing with him. He’s so fluffy!

Natura Vista has received several awards already.

• Number 1 Eco-Friendly Resort from Consumer’s Choice Gold Seals Awards 2015
• Best Eco-Friendly Resort from the Golden Globe Annual Awards for Business Excellence Philippines 2014 and 2015
• Best Standard Accommodation from the Golden Globe Annual Awards for Business Excellence Philippines 2015
• Consistent Certifcate of Excellence Winner from TripAdvisor 
• Number One Bed and Breakfast in the town of Dauis, Panglao Island, Bohol, Philippines 

If you want to stay here, get in touch with Mae at mae@naturavistabohol.com. She is very responsive via email. When I was planning this trip,  I simply coordinated with her through email and all the details I needed were provided.