El Nido Resorts Pangulasian Island

The resort calls Pangulasian the Island of the Sun, and the island has the shape for it: one steep hill of forest in Bacuit Bay, from which both the sunrise and the sunset can be seen. Along its foot runs 750 metres of white sand, with a reef just offshore and the sheer grey cliffs of the bay's other islands across the water. Conrad Onglao's 42 villas, opened in 2012 and built with reclaimed materials, keep low under thatch, some at the back of the beach and some up the slope in the canopy. Inside, timber framing rises to beams and woven thatch over a bed hung with white curtains. The Pool Villas each have a plunge pool of 22 square metres on the deck; the four Kalaw Villas share one of the same size, which is the same water with more company.

Recommended for couples who want a private island with a reef at the end of the sand, and for families whose children are small enough to share: a villa takes two adults and two children, and there is a kids' club and a children's pool. Kayaks and snorkelling kit are included, and the resort's own dive centre takes divers out to the bay's reefs. Boats run across to El Nido Resorts' beach clubs on Entalula and Dibuluan, and out round the lagoons. The island has one trail, up through the forest to a view deck over the whole bay, which is the place to be at either end of the day. Amianan is the one restaurant, so for a change of scene it will arrange a picnic or a dinner on the beach, or cocktails on a raft out on a lagoon.