HUMA ISLAND is a resort island paradise on the Calamianes group of islands near Busuanga.
Its name is a tribute to the Great Galleon Huma and the legend of Captain Ibrahim.
It’s the first Maldivian resort experience in the Philippines, with its own signature Huma-zing hospitality. The resort is owned by Dr. Hamad, a Kuwaiti who believes and invests in the tourism potential of our country.
HUMA ISLAND RESORT & SPA
Dicilingan Island, Busuanga – Palawan, Philippines
Telephone : +632 553 0119
For reservation inquiries: reservation@humaisland.com
Facebook: HUMA Island Resort
Twitter: @Huma_Island
Instagram: @humaislandresort
Website: http://www.humaisland.com/
Here’s a must-read guide on planning your own Huma-zing Day at Huma Island…
Welcome to Huma Island! It’s a great place for a romantic escape, an intimate celebration, or a family pampered excursion.
Blog Post Outline:
- Huma Sunrise
- Breakfast: Waves Restaurant
- Kapuruan Spa at Huma
- Huma Villa
- Lunch: In Villa Dining
- Huma Beach
- Huma Sunset
- Cocktail: Al Dente Italian Restaurant
- Dinner: Al Fairuz Lebanese Restaurant
- Conclusion
- Tips on How to Get to Huma Island
Huma Sunrise
The beach villas have an amazing view of the awesome sunrise that wakes you up from your relaxing sleep.
The best beach villa is room 309, for its privacy and for the shade of the surrounding coconut trees that protect you from the sun.
Make sure to include ample time on your itinerary to enjoy these hammocks on the beach.
The water is clear, calm, and slopes down gradually to the corals. There’s a lot of seaweed underwater so its best to wear aqua socks to protect your feet.
After your morning beach swim, you can continue to swim in the kids pool by the main clubhouse.
Breakfast: Waves Restaurant (Breakfast 8.00am to 10.00am)
Waves Menu: Breakfast Kick Start Your Menu, Eye Openers, From the Pan | Breakfast International Favorites | All Day Dining
Waves restaurant is the all-day dining restaurant on the island. This is where every breakfast is held.
The Filipino. Chicken tocino, garlic fried rice, and two eggs cooked sunny side up.
The breakfast is decent. There’s a variety of options for different nationalities.
Rudy’s Wine & Cheese Bar
Rudy’s Wine and Cheese Bar Menu: White Wines, Rose Wines | Red Wines, Cheese
This wine cellar is cool…it has beach sand! It’s named after the architect of the island.
The owner has a good collection of international wines and an abundant stock of Musar Jeune Lebanese wines.
Kid’s Club
After breakfast, the kids can continue to play in the pool or in the kid’s club.
Library
They can also hang out in the library to read books and play table football.
Kapuruan Spa at Huma (9.00am to 10.00pm)
The Spa features 7 villas with different designs for specific treatments. Each one has a jacuzzi, changing room, and shower room.
(Trivia: Kapuruan, pronouned as “kapŭr/wan”, is a cuyonin dialect word meaning “group of islands”. It could also mean “secluded place”.)
The Ayurveda spa room feels like you’re floating on the water. Best to have your Kapuruan Spa Signature Massage while there’s still day light.
A closer look at the lover’s jacuzzi.
Check out the Huma Hammam Treatment, the traditional Moroccan indulgent bathing experience, now available for the first time in the Philippines!
For more details, see the Kapuruan Spa at Huma Treatment Offerings.
Huma Villa (Room 311)
All the villas have the same interior design, with air-conditioning, flat screen HD TV, DVD player, and iPod dock.
We like the signature banana leaf element on the bed. This is Baby Yugi’s first adventure with us. 🙂
The entire island has complimentary Wi-Fi and a strong Globe 3G signal connection, so you can still do your work effectively.
There’s a mini-bar with coffee and tea amenities.
All rooms are equipped with iron & ironing board and electronic safe.
It has a spacious bathroom with double sinks, bathtub, and rain shower.
The toilet amenities are complete and specially designed for Huma.
The Beach Villa has a secluded jacuzzi at the back. The Over-Water Villas have jacuzzis with a romantic view of the sea.
The Presidential Suite has the biggest jacuzzi on the island.
In Villa Dining (07.00am to 10.00pm)
In Villa Dining Menu: Waves All Day Dining Menu
We decided to stay in the room for lunch and took advantage of the 24-hour room service.
✮ Pan Seared Prawns. White wine caper sauce and garlic rice.
The seafood is fresh. Ordering them grilled or pan seared is the best.
✮ Grilled Rib Eye Steak. Prime Australian rib eye served with blue cheese sauce, baked potato, and steamed vegetables.
Meat lovers can also order steak.
Huma Beach
The beach area is perfect in the afternoon because the sun is already on the other side of the island.
I kayaked with my son Raphael and went snorkeling in the live coral reef near the beach.
Huma Sunset
We decided to catch the sunset all the way on the western side of the island, in Al Dente restaurant.
Here’s a view of the sunset with the silhouette of the Asian restaurant.
Al Dente Italian Restaurant (7.00pm to 10.00pm)
Check out the Al Dente Italian Restaurant Menu.
The Italian restaurant is the best place to hang out on the deck and watch the sunset.
You can also see the spectacular moon rise on the horizon.
There’s an option to have a private dinner inside the super cold wine cellar.
✮ Gambas Ajo E Ojo. Sauteed prawns in garlic and chili oil with lemon.
I would recommend the gambas for starters…
✮ Bistecca Salpicao Con Spaghetti Alfredo. Sauteed rib eye steak in garlic soy glaze with spaghetti alfredo pasta.
…and the spaghetti alfredo with salcipao on top for your main dish.
Order the refreshing Chateau Musar white or rose Lebanese wine.
Blu Bar (Open 24 hours)
Blue Bar Menu: Vodka, Rum, Gin, Whiskey | Brandy, Liqueurs, Beer, Cocktails | Martinis, Special Cocktails, Wines | Mocktails, Juices, Chill Out Appetizers
Blue Bar is open 24 hours and where you can hang out with friends and listen to good music.
Raphael enjoyed jamming with Arcy and Dennis, the music duo from Cebu.
Boutique Shop (8.00am to 12.00nn, 1.00pm to 5.30pm, 6.30pm to 10.00pm)
The boutique shop in Huma is very nice, with local products and souvenirs from Palawan.
They also carry beach wear from Spain and other international brands.
Dinner: Al Fairuz Lebanese Restaurant (Dinner: 07.00pm to 10.00pm)
My favorite restaurant in Huma is the Lebanese Restaurant, set on the highest point of the island, with a great view of the sea.
Check out the Al Fairuz Lebanese Cuisine Menu.
The restaurant is a tribute to a famous Lebanese singer.
✮ Mezza. Platter of Hommous, Baba Ganouje, Mutabel, and Loubeih Bzeit, served with pita bread.
Order the Mezza to get the different flavors of Lebanese cuisine.
Shawarma. Lightly spiced seared beef tenderloin served in a wrap with roasted peppers and onion with a cucumber yoghurt sauce.
The shawarma was good but relatively expensive for its serving size. I was looking for a good garlic and chili sauce to go with it.
✮ Samke Hara. Pan seared local catch with garlic & chili served with kabza rice.
I like their fresh seafood served with yellow rice called kabza.
Muhalabiah. Lebanese milk mousse, topped with rosewater, honey, and sprinkled with nuts.
The dessert was interesting, but it tasted like medicine.
Huma-zing Service
It’s really the island’s signature Huma-zing service and care that makes your stay awesome. Thank you!
Conclusion
I really like the Beach Villas for their view of the awesome sunrise, especially if you’re going with your kids. There are 12 Beach Villas and I recommend getting Beach Villa #309 for the added privacy and shade from the morning sun.
There are 25 Over-Water Villas on the north side, which are great for a romantic escape. The 42 Over-Water Villas on the south side of the island are still in repair from the destruction brought by Typhoon Haiyan. This would have been a better location, with a breathtaking view of the sunset.
As for the food, I love the fresh seafood they serve on the island. My favorite resto is Al Fairuz Lebanese because of the unique flavors they offer and the different experience they provide, which you really can’t get anywhere in Manila. I also love the wine cellars at Rudy’s and Al Dente, specifically the Lebanese wines, which were perfect for the weather.
The vegetable salads and breads need a lot of improvement though. And I was not impressed with the breakfast options. The Italian restaurant needs a good Italian Chef to ensure the quality of the dishes.
On the activities side, you can go kayaking and snorkeling just in front of the beach area. You can also organize an island hopping trip to the Black Island and other nearby islands. I hope to do that next time.
You must experience the Kapuruan Spa. Get your treatment in the afternoon when there’s still enough day light that you can see the water underneath.
Congratulations to the amazing staff of the island for the Huma-zing personal touch!
HUMA ISLAND RESORT & SPA
Dicilingan Island, Busuanga – Palawan, Philippines
Manila Sales Office:
Ground Floor, Units 104-106, Mile Long Building,
Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, 1229, Makati City – Manila, Philippines
Check out the Huma Accommodation Rates.
Telephone : +632 553 0119
For reservation inquiries: reservation@humaisland.com
For sales inquiries & group bookings: sales@humaisland.com
For marketing & PR inquiries: pr@humaisland.com
For in-house and operational inquiries: reception@humaisland.com
Facebook: HUMA Island Resort
Twitter: @Huma_Island
Instagram: @humaislandresort
You Tube: Huma Island Resort & Spa
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/humaisland/
Website: http://www.humaisland.com/
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Disclosure: We were guests of Huma Island Resort & Spa during our stay. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights. Read Our Awesome Planet Complete Disclosure Policy here.
P.S. Here are Tips on How to Get to Huma Island…
Make sure you book the earliest flight from Manila to Coron (Busuanga).
From Busuanga Airport, prepare for a 1.5-hour drive through rough roads via a private van…
You then take a 30-minute boat ride from Sagrada to Huma Island via a speed boat.
Here’s a map of where Huma Island is in relation to the Busuanga Airport in Coron.
nice pictures
hardly a review though, few critiques or comparisons, one would still have to try to place to decide if it was worth it
no price information either
whats the back story, history, how long has the resort been operational, you mention villas destroyed by Haiyan, was it open before Haiyan?
Hi Andre,
The resort opened on November 3 last year when typhoon Haiyan hit the resort badly on November 8, 2013. Its the first resort built on that island and still the resort is work in progress.
ANTON
Really not feeling the interiors of the room. Looks tacky / cheap compared to other high end resorts in the country.
This resort is for those who have too much money to throw around. P1,750 for 5 pieces of seared prawns? That’s simply ridiculous!
Thanks Anton thats useful info. Is that the owner in the pictures? So its a personal resort. Is he Lebanese?
Could you compare the service to a HSAI RainTree resort or something similar in the country?
Hi Andre,
No, the owner was not in the resort when we visited. Dr Hamads wife is a Lebanese if Im mistaken hence the Lebanese touch in the resort.
The service is Balesin-like since the General Manager Wilhelm Bolton was the one who opened Balesin. Also, its a bit different in a sense since the head staff are people they recruited from Maldives resorts.
ANTON
Ah ok I see the owners name. Credibility then looks good based on management.
Also interesting it seems this resort was supposed to be a Movenpick resort before:
http://www.philstar.com/travel-and-tourism/789521/soon-discover-palawans-beauty-m%C3%A3%C2%B6venpick-resort-spa-huma-island
Oh my! That place really look like Maldives. So amazing that it is located in the Philippines. So beautiful. Too bad we are not going to go there.
Do they have a day tour to visit the island? Or it is exclusive?