My hubby and I flew to Davao in 2019. My husband and I spent our first day in the city of Davao visiting the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos, at the base of Mount Apo.
However, that was not the only location we visited; we also drove by Malagos Garden Resort, which was only a few minutes away from the Eagles. While I was aware that this resort has a large land area, I was unaware that it appeared to be an ordinary resort from the exterior. I was astounded by the size of this resort, which is also entertaining and instructive. Today, I will describe the Malagos Garden Resort experience.
About Malagos Garden Resort
Home of the renowned Malagos Chocolates, a local brand created in the Philippines that has defeated Chocolatiers from across the world. However, they offer more than just chocolates. This 12-hectare land area uniquely mixes the untamed beauty of nature, animals, meaningful activities, and education into one amazing encounter.
The goal of the Malagos Garden Resort Davao was to be at one with nature, therefore they essentially created a destination for getaways, family gatherings, and even soul searching! The amusement park attracts a wide variety of folks in search of their interests, be it animals, nature, educational areas, playgrounds, chocolates, food, or a swimming pool. Everything appeared available within the resort.
As James and I approached the Malagos Garden Resort's entrance, I was relieved to see that we could leave our heavy backpack at their courtesy booth. I was lugging a backpack containing our clothes for a three-day excursion from the Philippine Eagle Center to the hotel, therefore I am quite grateful that they offer this service.
The admission charge is Php 250, which provides access to all resort areas for a whole day. The staff presented us with a printed map upon payment in the lobby, which amazed me even more! As previously noted, the entrance area did not resemble a gateway to a vast area, but I was blown away by the number of things that we could check out and investigate just on the map alone.
In addition, it was overwhelming; my eyes scanned the entire map and I was unsure if I wanted to examine everything. I discovered the Malagos Chocolate Museum by a combination of reading and route tracing. So, our objective was to travel the trail that leads to the museum and then assess whether we have time to explore more locations. Unfortunately, we arrived about 1:00 p.m., so we only have approximately four hours before they close at 5:00 p.m.
What To See at Malagos Garden Resort
Upon reexamining the map, which now reveals evidence of paper folding, I noticed that we neglected to visit a number of locations because we were solely focused on the Chocolate Museum; nevertheless, this will be the subject of a future blog post. Permit me to describe the many parts of the resort that we attempted to conquer for the time being.
It is truly hard to explore the entire resort in a single day. I had to concede that two days would be sufficient if you truly wished to enjoy and explore it, take beautiful shots, and be knowledgable about its contents.
From the front desk or main gates, you can see a skate park, a music lounge to the right, and a swimming pool in front of their Viewdeck Cafe. On our route to the bird feeding dome, we passed by the attractive restaurant Roberto's and a Santol Pavilion. We were unable to access the petting zoo and bird park located behind this part.
Next is a mini-park that they refer to as the garden symphony, and there is also a Zen garden nearby. I was interested in visiting Noah's Deck, but we were so eager to visit the Chocolate Museum that we decided to skip it and return later, but we never did.
Behind Noah's Deck are the Koi Cafe, Moonlight Theatre, Malagos Bird show, FlyWire, and Malagos Villas, all of which we visited and photographed extensively due to the abundance of pine trees and the beauty of the villas. The Koi Cafe appeared abandoned, yet its beauty still shone through. I observed that although there were Koi fish in the pond, it was somewhat unclean. I'm willing to wager that they have not yet cleaned it because it is not yet Saturday, when the hotel offers buffet lunch packages to its visitors.
The Coral Pavilion was another area we neglected to inspect. We also passed by Waling Forest because our destination, the Malagos Chocolate Museum, was nearby. Therefore, we walked directly to the museum and took hundreds of photographs of what we saw inside and outside the museum. There, they supplied information on the history of chocolates, interactive voice information, images of various sorts and appearances of these beans, how they were processed, the selection process, and even the steps involved in sprouting, planting, harvesting, etc. They refer to this as the Tree to Bar Experience. I shall elaborate in my upcoming blog post.
After getting our sugar levels inflated at the Malagos Chocolate Cafe, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon, and we had only an hour to investigate other matters. Mindanao Contemporary Art Gallery, an outdoor adventure for children, Skywalker, Malagos Greens, which I guess is a farm where they produce salad for cafes, Durian Pavilion, and Butterfly Dome were all present. The next museum in line is the Museo de Mariposa, a museum dedicated to butterflies. The Treeline birdwatching deck and Powerplay educational park were also present.
Was It Valuable?
I have read on their social media accounts that visiting here was not worthwhile, but I respectfully disagree. When visiting a location, I strongly advise that you conduct your own research into what it has to offer. When one has high expectations, disappointment is inevitable.
The price of Php 250 was reasonable in light of the property's size and availability to all of its amenities. The Miracle Art Happy World Museum in Cebu is one of the other locations we have previously visited that I feel to be even more affordable. This transaction cost us almost 700 Php, but we moved on.
I was also interested in the Php 600 Malagos Garden Resort weekend package that includes a lunch buffet. Unluckily, we arrived on a Friday. Still, it is worth more than Php 250 to be able to observe the effort that the resort has made into this location. In addition, the Malagos Garden Resort is the first property in the Philippines and the forty-ninth in the world to be accredited under the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Businesses and Properties of Audubon International, a global environmental organization located in the United States.
