photography by GPA Art and Photography

A three-hour drive, or more, depending on traffic, the fishing town of Moalboal in the southwest of Cebu Island is an extremely popular destination for divers and weekenders who love the white sand and pink sunsets. It is also a favorite place to stay for expats looking for a laid-back life of endless coffees or cocktails.

Thankfully, the big chain resorts haven’t discovered it and places to stay are mostly small family-run resorts. But if pampering is what you are looking for, there is only one hotel to book in Moalboal. Club Serena Resort is a 1.7-hectare beachfront property perched above coral rocks, presenting a unique union of luxurious accommodations and a host of activities to be enjoyed. This hidden gem is reached through a dirt road away from the main highway. Fronting a wide swath of white sand beach, it is an easy walk past several smaller resorts to reach the main town.

Recently renovated by noted architect James Jao, the new Club Serena has 17 rooms, three swimming pools, a restaurant, and a beachfront event space, all designed with modern Filipino aesthetic. On the drawing board are more rooms to be added, an expansion of their modern dive shop, and their popular Kids’ Club program. Their food outlet, Mira, offers all-day dining, favorite among visitors and locals, as well as the growing expat community that has settled in Moalboal. 

Club Serena offers diving courses for adults and kids by their resident operator, Seven Seas Aquanauts Phil. Corp, a PADI 5 accredited diving facility operating since 1988. For a complete list of the courses and their rates, please call (+63) 917.872.6367 or (+63) 905.459.5307.

The resort encourages above-water activities as well, and they have several paddle boards and kayaks available for guests to use.

For rates and more information, visit www.clubserenaresort.com or email sayhello@clubserenaresort.com or (+63) 917.872.6367 or (+63) 905.459.5307. You can also visit their Facebook page for updates.

Enjoying some down time with a cocktail drink in hand among friends and a great view of the cityscape doesn’t get any better at the newly opened Imagene Bar. If you’ve been meaning to find the right after-hours place, then head no further than Imagene Bar – a cozy enclave tucked along the hill-side of Nivel Hills on Cebu Veterans Drive.

On the menu you’ll find over 60 drinks and cocktails as well as some delectable Bar Chow put together by Imagene Bar founder Eugene Dy who’s been serving up bottled cocktails online with a mobile event bar after a stint at the Spago in Marina Bay Sands Singapore.

Imagene Bar accommodates up to 80 guests and is open Tuesdays to Sundays. Bar hours are from 5pm to 2am but it’s best to make reservations on weekends.

The holidays are fast approaching and you know what that means — your calendar’s about to be filled with Christmas parties and family gatherings! What better way to liven up a gathering than with a game? Board games are so much more than just Scrabble, Chess, and Monopoly — there are tons of great games to play that are funny, exciting, and sure to put everyone playing in a great mood. Here are our top 5 picks for the best board games to play with your family or friends during the holidays:

1. Codenames

In this game, players separate into two teams. Each team has a spymaster and the spymaster’s responsibility is to get the rest of the team to guess correctly which words on the chosen cards belong to their team. However, they need to be careful because if their teammates guess the words of the other team, the points go to the other team instead! Codenames is an absolute blast of a word game. The entire party is sure to have a great time as the spymaster struggles to come up with the perfect clues and the other team members struggle to figure out what words the clues refer to!

2. Dixit

Dixit is the most beautiful game you’ll own, with 84 cards of nothing but gorgeous illustrations. The game is great as well — on an active player’s turn, they pick a card from their hand and come up with a clue to describe it. The possibilities here are endless — your clue can be a word, a phrase, a sentence, a poem, or even a song! Once you’ve given your clue, everyone gives a card from their hand they think matches your card. The cards are all revealed and now all other players need to guess which card is yours. It’s a fantastic game that’ll really challenge the creativity of everyone playing it!

3. Cluedo

A classic for a reason, Cluedo is the murder mystery board game where someone is murdered and everyone needs to figure out who did it, what weapon they used, and where the murder took place. The first person to figure out all three wins the game. Was it Colonel Mustard with a knife in the library? Or was it Miss Scarlet with a pistol in the lounge? Everyone playing will have tons of fun as their deduction skills are put to the test! (There’s a great film based on this game as well which we highly recommend watching after playing!)

4. Cranium

Another team-based game, Cranium will test how well your team works together. In this game, everyone gets to shine!With four different categories, Cranium has got something for everyone — really into performing? Star Performer is for you! More into reading and writing? Test your word skills out with Word Worm! Consider yourself something of a trivia lover? Data Head’s your category! Love drawing and sculpting? Creative Cat’s got the challenges for you! Cranium is a game everyone will love and enjoy, especially because you’ll all find yourself laughing like crazy when playing it!

5. Telestrations

Terrible at drawing? Then you’re perfect for this game! Telestrations takes the game Telephone and turns it into a drawing game. Each player gets a drawing notebook and a word they need to draw. Once everyone’s done drawing, each player passes their notebook to the side and now has to guess the word of the drawing they currently have in their hands. Guess what they drew, then draw what they guessed, and see how funny the changes get. Everyone playing will be in tears laughing at the end of each round, wondering how someone started by drawing a bagel and ended up with the final guess Rapunzel!