Precious Garden of Samal
One of the surprises I encountered during my visit to Samal Island recently was the Precious Garden of Samal. I had planned to drop by there to try their pizza and coffee, and if schedules were to work out, meet the owner. I’ve had a few online communications with Uli Kronberg prior to this trip to the Philippines, and I knew he was a busy guy. The Samal Island Guidebook is one of his many projects. I was thankful that we were able to catch up with each other and I enjoyed learning more about his many ventures, including this resort that he has been building for his wife.
As I said, I was surprised because I was expecting perhaps a decent pizza or meal, but I wasn’t aware of all that Precious Garden entailed. Not only was the pizza more than decent, it was excellent by any standards, the coffee was also top notch. The pizza is made in a wood fired brick oven and well worth the effort to get there to try it.
What really caught me off guard though was the extent to which the restaurant/coffee house is being transformed into a full resort. They are building a 12 room inn that is mostly completed. I was given a tour of the rooms and I was very impressed by them. They were very new, modern and comfortable. Had I not had arrangements elsewhere, I would have surely been glad to stay there. The rates were very fair, too.
There is also a beach area, that seemed to be under construction to some degree yet. I would not compare to some of the nicer beach areas, but it was more than adequate for a large outing, or a private affair. It will be interesting to see how this develops more in the future, and I understand that is the intent.
I think Precious Garden is a great place for a romantic get-away. With the exclusiveness of the location and the beautiful rooms, not to mention the fantastic food, it is the perfect environment to spend some precious time with the one you love.
They are located at:
Sito Libudan, Brgy. Miranda
Babak District
Island Garden City of Samal
Phone No. 082 303 2818
email:info@samal_island.com
They advertise themselves as such:
• Pizza & Pasta House
• Pinoy Favourites
• European Dishes
• Seminar House
• 12 Room Inn
Give them a try, if just for the food. I think you’ll be impressed. At least I was.
sir, thank you for loving samal. by the way i am from samal. it is really kind of you to blog the things you love about samal. it is sad to admit that i myself have not explored samal. your blog is really helpful to those tourists who wants to visit samal. this time, the cope of their interest will not be limited to beaches alone. maybe i’ll count myself in (a local tourist.)
Thanks for the comment and kind words, Cham.
There is a lot more to Samal than just the beaches, and I am still learning about that myself. I am glad to pass on the information, and hope that people continue to find it useful.
I chanced upon this beautifully-designed, quaint, elegant resort when I was searching for nearby resorts from Babak Port. I was quite pleasantly surprised at the wonderful amenities waiting for me when I got there.
I’m from Davao, so surprising me with any resort that Samal can offer is very rare since I have traveled there since my childhood. Been to Paradise, Talicud, Pearl Farm, and even Playa Azalea which are all so beautiful (but expensive!) but none can compare to the almost idyllic beauty of Precious Garden.
I’ve referred my good friend to host their beach wedding there (you can see their wedding video that we also edited here http://www.precious-garden-samal.com/occasions/) and from then on everybody keeps on asking me about the place!
Though I loathe to make it just another public resort, I would also love to share this wonderful place to them.
Just yesterday, Sunday, we also had an pre-wedding shoot at Precious Garden. It was a perfect place for the couple. There, I also saw your Samal Guidebook on our little table in the cafe.
More power to your blog!
Hi Aicha – yes, I agree this is quite a nice resort. Very different than the others there.
I’ve seen the wedding shoot – very nice. From what I can see Precious Garden does a great job, and offers beach or garden weddings and other occasions.
I’m afraid the Samal Guidebook is not my work, but a publication of the owner of resort. His line of work is in publishing from Germany. I just resell it here, as it is not easy to acquire unless you are visiting Samal.
I might know someone that would be interested in discussing a wedding shoot. Drop me an email via the contact form, if you are interested.
Hello sir,
Yes, I agree!Precious Garden is such a wonderful place to visit for a relaxing holiday. I’ve been there yesterday with some friends and very impressed with the beautiful garden. I tried their pizza too and super loved it!
I’ve never seen a beautiful comfort room in any resort I’d visited in the past, it is such a very luxury comfort room at Precious Garden!We visited the beach too and it was such an amazing area because it is not crowded, very quiet (which I love), the water is calm and clear and the ivory sand is terrific.
Precious Garden is worth recommending to tourists. Thank you for writing a blog about it. I am also preparing a post in my travel blog about this resort.
Hi Joyce – I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed Precious Garden.
It is somewhat different than the other resorts. While it started out as mostly a restaurant and coffee house, it has grown into much more.
I’ve always had good pizza there. The hotel is very nice, too, especially for the money.
I’m sure they will be very happy to know that you are writing an article for them.