Pamalican
A turquoise halo marks the destination: a speck of land 2.4 kilometres long and 500 metres wide, accessible only by private plane, which touches down on a runway in the forest.
Amanpulo, one of Aman’s suite of ultraluxurious resorts (aman.com), occupies all of Pamalican Island, 360 kilometres south of Manila, in the Sulu Sea.
Walking the perimeter of the island takes about 90 minutes, during which it’s unlikely you’ll encounter another soul. It will be just you, the whispering palm fronds, the sugar-white sand and the surrounding sea, a shimmering palette of cerulean and aquamarine.
Amanpulo pampers guests with a sense of space and privacy. There are 42 casitas and 18 villas, their plain exteriors belying the opulence within. A large bathing and dressing area occupies half of each “little house”. In the other half, floor-to-ceiling windows, which frame a sumptuous bed, open onto a secluded deck. The villas are even more sumptuous. Each has private beach access, living and dining pavilions, a private pool (some with a cabana) and a dedicated chef and butler.
For all that, the resort’s infrastructure is remarkably restrained. Only the central Clubhouse restaurant has the manicured look of a luxury hotel. Elsewhere, there’s a lovely sense of wildness, with tangled vegetation and minimal signage. Nature and the sounds of the wind and ocean are a constant presence. Guests – mainly couples from Europe, Japan and the Philippines – use bicycles and golf buggies to travel between the four restaurants, sea sports hut, tennis courts and spa.
On daily snorkelling excursions, you can swim with tropical fish, as well as sea turtles, whose conservation the resort actively supports through its hatchery and turtle release. You’ll experience the quiet elation of being close to these beautiful, wild creatures, some more than 100 years old.
At day’s end, sip cocktails while being serenaded on a sunset cruise or sit down to a lamplit, privately butlered beach barbecue, savouring the seclusion and serenity that are arguably Amanpulo’s greatest luxuries.