2021-030 | ESKAPO VERDE RESORT

TWO YEARS AGO, I WAS part of a mixed team of tourism-service specialists and outdoor educators contracted by the Department of Tourism-Central Visayas Region for their Tourism Industry Skills Program. The TISP was designed for local government units to equip their respective local tourism programs with the proper guidance and training. 

The first municipality that availed of the TISP was Badian. The training was held at ESKAPO VERDE RESORT, located on a rocky islet off the mainland, still a part of Bugas, a fishing village of Badian. That evening of August 17, 2019 when I first arrived at Eskapo Verde, the first thing I noticed was the long bamboo bridge that was built over an estuary filled with mangroves before I arrived at their reception area.

In daylight, I was totally impressed at what beheld me. Eskapo Verde is the only resort that I have seen yet which has not created an artificial landscape like most do. In fact, the management encouraged the unabated growth of native trees, shrubs, mangroves and low-growing vegetation. Even the structures blended well with the natural landscape. It has no fences. The sea is its own barrier. 

It is built on a protected area at over two hectares of land coverage with blessings from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The only structure that used steel and synthetic plastic material is their pier located on their water-sports area that serviced their kayaks and SUP boards. A bouncy path paved with sawdust and mulch lead you to the different areas of the resort.

The living quarters are generally made of mixed coconut lumber, hardwood, imported lumber and bamboo with GI sheets as roofing. It used concrete, nails and steel bars minimally. While its exterior design is generally conventional but, once you go closer, especially the interiors, you would be amazed at the very neat workmanship. It fused our local material and design with Western carpentry and technology. 

There are four cottages which could accommodate two persons each. Each has a mezzanine that has enough space for two children up to 15 years of age; a private bathroom and a balcony. There are two dormitories with two rooms each. Each room has ten bunk beds. A separate dormitory-type bathroom complement each dormitory. It could host 48 people, at any one time, for overnight or multi-day conventions and seminars.  

Underneath the bathrooms are intricate septic-tank systems, designed for European standards that harnessed wasted “gray water” from the bathrooms for toilet use, after undergoing treatment. “Black water” or dirty water are sucked up by solar-powered pumps to mobile tanks which are then disposed by a collection service company. All bathrooms use environment-friendly liquid soaps and shampoos.

I slept that night – and five nights more – in one of the dormitory rooms. On my bunk is an overhead switch that turns on a reading light. Impressive! I travel with a book. Instead of a bare wall, are two small jalousie windows, with screens, and below it are screened slit holes that allow outside breeze to pass underneath my bunk or swept out by two electric fans hung from a very high ceiling.

Each set of bed bunks has a furniture to place things, clothe hangers and electrical outlets to charge those mobile phones, tablets and other gadgets. The floor is made of coconut lumber, fine-sanded and lavishly coated with varnish. Each slat is a centimeter apart from the other which helps to ventilate and cool the insides of the large room. The room is accessible by a stair, then through a shared balcony, but you have to leave footwear below. 

Now, let me tell you about my first breakfast there which left an impression on me. It is their Eskapo Burger! It is something so different from your usual burger. The putty is a combination of ground pork and veggies with a generous slice of tomato and cucumber. Now eat it al fresco, paired with brewed coffee, on a rocky promontory overlooking the width of Tañon Strait and distant Negros Island. Heavenly!

Eskapo Verde has a restaurant called The Boardwalk. It serves its guests and diners with varied choice of menus from Filipino to Western to vegetarian and vegan dishes, whatever time of the day, be it breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks. Ingredients are fresh and sourced locally from farmers and fishermen. Like everywhere else in their resort, you have to leave your footwear outside before entering. 

Food is one of the secrets of Eskapo Verde, why guests keep coming back aside from a green peaceful environment and superb amenities. The first thing you would hear upon waking up are the cacophonies of different birds. A tour around Eskapo Verde would show you the different native trees, each labeled with their common and scientific names and, of course, you might espy one of their resident monitor lizards or spot an Eastern glossy starling overhead.

Kayaking or paddling a SUP board are the two main water activities they are offering, each with a guide. When the tide is right, you could glide through the mangrove forest and underneath their bamboo boardwalk, going through open sea towards a half-sunken boat wreck then going full circle to their water-sports area. During sunsets, Tañon Strait explodes into fiery colors from burnt orange to crimson red. 

A function house sits in the middle of the residential quarters where it could host seminars, wedding receptions, small conventions or off-the-boardroom corporate meetings of up to 40 people. The use of projector, laptop and screen is a separate package though. Food could be arranged to suit your appetite or the theme of the event. Of course, an assigned washroom shall be opened to accommodate people.

When I went back there the third time last October 26, 2020, I was invited by the management. Of course, I brought the same team that had been guests here two years ago. The pandemic had greatly affected their business but, once the lockdowns have been relaxed, they opened their doors, limiting only to their restaurant operation at limited hours and selected days of the week.

We stayed there for four days and three nights and sat with management to help them create another strategy to adopt with the new normal and focus more on local tourism. Eskapo Verde Resort will have to re-boot itself to claim back their market. Their image as a clean resort should be optimized by placing signage at the right places, placing emphasis this time on their food, which is really very good and affordable.

I can generally recommend Eskapo Verde Resort as the one resort that you would really love to stay and, at the same time, enjoy being close to nature. In fact, it has the best deck to view a sunset, especially on a low tide, where you could see locals combing the tidal flats at waist level, with the fiery red sky reflecting light on placid water. 

Eskapo Verde Resort is not your conventional resort that offers a beach and a bath. What it has are abundant sunshine and wind and sea spray as you paddle a kayak or a SUP board to a shipwreck or skim among mangroves along the coasts of Badian Bay. After a long day, the food would totally win you over to come back again and pick a familiar note from your favorite bird. 

For more inquiries, Eskapo Verde Resort has its own website and Facebook page. Or you could email at info@eskapoverde.com or call and send an SMS to these numbers: +63928 7404182 (Smart) and +63915 4658085 (Globe). By the way, Booking.com rated Eskapo Verde a 9.6 for last year, despite a terrible business climate caused by the pandemic. Likewise, Agoda rated them a 9.8 out of a 10.