Hotels & accommodation

Amanpulo

Aman · Private-island resort on Pamalican Island in the Cuyo Archipelago, reached by private plane from Manila

Amanpulo occupies the whole of Pamalican Island, a low, green island in the Cuyo Archipelago of northern Palawan, ringed by white sand and a coral reef that forms part of a marine sanctuary. There is no public ferry: guests arrive on the resort's own plane from Manila, landing on the island's private airstrip after a flight of about seventy minutes — the journey that has made Amanpulo the Philippines' defining private-island escape since it opened in 1993.

Accommodation takes its cue from the bahay kubo, the traditional Philippine house: casitas are scattered along the beach, up the hillside and into the treetops, each with a private club car for exploring the island's tracks. Seventeen private villas sit closer to the sea, each arranged around its own swimming pool with living and dining pavilions, a private chef and a dedicated villa host.

Days organise themselves around the water and the island's five venues: Filipino and Southeast Asian dishes at the Clubhouse, Mediterranean plates and grilled seafood at the Beach Club on the west shore (pictured), Japanese dining at the Lagoon Club, pizzas at the Picnic Grove, and drinks from the Kawayan Bar, a bamboo raft anchored off the beach. The hilltop Aman Spa sits above the treetops, and the resort's dive and watersports centre runs trips across the reef, where green and hawksbill turtles are resident.

For travellers building a longer Philippines itinerary — the audience this guide serves — Amanpulo works as the still, splurge end of a Palawan trip: a few nights here pair naturally with the lagoons of El Nido or the wreck dives of Coron, both covered in the tiers below. It is included as an editorial showcase of the country's most storied island resort; rates and availability are via Aman.

• Private-island Aman resort occupying all of Pamalican Island in the Cuyo Archipelago, northern Palawan
• Reached by private plane from Manila to the island's own airstrip — about 70 minutes
• Casitas modelled on the bahay kubo, plus 17 private villas with pools, a private chef and a villa host
• Five dining venues including the Clubhouse, Beach Club and Japanese Lagoon Club, plus the floating Kawayan Bar
• Hilltop Aman Spa, and a protected house reef home to green and hawksbill turtles

Visit the property — Amanpulo aman.com

This featured showcase is an editorial selection by our editors. We have not stayed at this property and it is not a paid placement; no rating is implied. Paid placements never influence the Philippines liveability score, safety rating or warnings.