Crimson’s new pool
Are we home yet?
The proverbial question has haunted modern-day hermits like me, who sometimes slip out of our comfort zone neither for necessity nor for leisure, but as a way of life.
Even hermits need that semblance of home—a place where we feel a sense of belonging that provides the yin energy balancing the excessive yang of the outside world.
It was supposedly in the middle of a busiest work week and scathing from cough and colds, the gods of adventure nudged me towards Crimson Mactan Resort and Spa. Privilege to have arrived in the vicinity on a sunny Thursday, it was worth the while to beg off from office work because when one is sickly, to rest and recharge should be one’s mantra.
And I am glad to have taken that last minute rain check (fit to go back to work, nudge and wink to my office human resource—next year’s summer outing should be here in this side of Mactan). On the list of classy resort rebounders, few outrank Crimson Mactan Resort and Spa.
Not my first time in the resort, it was just few weeks ago when it has amped its main pool. Now seemingly bigger, definitely best Crimson resort has a place for every taste.
Upon checking in to their villa, a symbolic ritual of sorts, a customary washing of hands in jasmine oil signifies to just let it go and sink into the Crimson experience.
Getting ready for a massage session at Aum Spa
And everything was home. The word urban and cosmopolitan may be the last words one will associate with Crimson as it has managed to retain its peaceful and calm appeal.
Traditional wooden carved columns, neatly lined shrubs and palm trees are sandwiched among cozy villas.
Starting the day with brunch at the resort’s Azure Beach Club with favorites like Boiled Edamame Miso, Tuna Tataki (seared black pepper crusted tuna loin with Chugang miso sauce, herring fish roe and greens) and the Garlic Noodle with Rock Scallops.
There’s so much to take in with the view of the sky, the ocean breeze with its selection of cocktails and the panorama of the outdoor experience, Azure Beach Club is indeed a gastronomic adventure from beginning to end.
Asked to name the best restaurant in the city—meaning the entire Cebu—I can only offer one reasonable answer: Enye by Chele Gonzales. A degustation of Tartar de Cangrejo y Salmon (crab and salmon on toasted bread), Conqueta Jamon y Pollo (Bechamel croquettes with jamon and chicken) and the highlight of my night—the Lechon Cebu Tacos.
Tacos with mango salsa, jalapenos, frijoles and sour cream.
Now careful from each bite with the drippings oozing down to your chin. The Enye experience can’t be summed up in this story as it deserves a blow-by-blow seven-course narrative.
It should be that rest and respite is Crimson’s attraction.
Or if you want to chart your day with fun and adventure, take a pick— wining at your villa’s private plunge pool, or the choice of hitting the beach with its white sand or go jet skiing basking in its clear blue waters as it meets the azure skies.
There is so much to do here, indeed it lives upto its reputation as the premier resort-spa-facility.
There is a sense of ceremony to a spa visit, which makes it something that most of us reserve for that special occasion.
But with the resort’s Aum Spa it’s all about making it a part of a weekly or a monthly routine without the time commitment or the astronomical price tag attached to more traditional pampering treatments.
The spa, looking more like an upscale treatment center, boasts of airy massage cubicles reminiscent of the spaces of the old Turkish baths and a welcoming walk-in policy that goes until closing time.
Services range from a foot massage, facials to special sessions for the pregnant and expecting mothers administered by therapists with various specialties and styles.
Be it done al fresco by the pool or inside with beds that can be separated by curtains, there seems to be a noise cancelling machine in every space. It is just peaceful and silent at that.
And the clean, sparse woody interiors, and the lack of hardware keeps clamor to a minimum. Aum Spa caters to a new age of mindfulness—the next step in holistic healthcare.
You work out hard, you’re eating clean. And you begin to realize that the power of touch makes it healthier, too. It is while writing that I began to ponder the meaning of home.
Perhaps home is where you can feel a connection, that sense of belongingness. This is why you always go “home” to Crimson Mactan Resort and Spa.
