“Welcome home!” is how the staff at Nay Palad Hideaway greet guests upon arrival. This luxurious resort on the southern Philippine island of Siargao is all about creating a sense of comfort, freedom and ease. It’s a natural blend of the inherently friendly Philippine vibe and its owner Bobby Dekeyser’s easy, playful approach to life.
Siargao, a small, teardrop-shaped island with no major cities, is fast becoming a destination to know. It is best known as a surfers’ paradise, and the waves at Cloud 9, just a mile or two up the road from Nay Palad, are much sought after. It’s not the easiest place in the world to reach – there is no international airport on Siargao, so a change in Manila or Cebu is required – but once you arrive on the palm-fringed runway with its tiny terminal, the rest of the world seems to fall away.
The Nay Palad experience begins immediately with a transfer to the hotel in its smart ‘jeepney’, a characteristic Philippine mode of transport somewhere between a bus and a jeep. Bobby Dekeyser, the ex-Bayern Munich goalkeeper turned outdoor furniture mogul, has infused it with his signature style, making large sofas out of the seats, so you can stretch out at leisure with a coconut and a straw as the jeepney bumps along to the hotel. It’s both comfortable and fun – the sort of design quality Bobby is known for. Once at the hotel, these qualities are evident everywhere, from the giant beds and hanging egg chairs on the beach to the treehouses and pavilions you find in unexpected places.
The resort is small, with only ten villas, each housing two to four guests. It has an incredibly lovely location, with the beach at the front and the winding mangrove forests at the back. The buildings were designed by the architect Daniel Pouzet, Bobby’s longtime friend and collaborator, and it is almost impossible to believe that it has only existed in its current form for a little over a year. In its former life, it was a hospitality resort for Dedon, the outdoor furniture company Bobby founded and later sold, and whose pieces were made in the Philippines. In 2021 Typhoon Odette devastated the island and trashed the existing site, but Bobby and Daniel, assisted by the general manager Vince Lampert, painstakingly rebuilt it, giving it a lighter, more playful feeling. Both Bobby and Vince are full of admiration for the local community and for the staff who were determined to bring the resort back to life. Much skilled Filipino craftsmanship has gone into the new buildings, which make use of many of the same woven elements that characterised Dedon's pieces.
While Nay Palad may have some striking differences from your actual home (tropical heat, impossibly lush vegetation, gently rolling waves on the shore), the attention that is put into making you feel at home is striking. Bobby was determined to do away with the tedious limitations of most hotels, such as having set times for meals and constantly having to sign checks, which create a sense of pressure even in the most relaxed environment. The hotel is therefore run on all-inclusive lines, so that all meals, drinks, spa treatments and even excursions are included in the rate. You can help yourself at the bar, roll up for meals whenever (and wherever) you feel like it, and try everything from paddleboarding to island hopping without worrying about your wallet. Bobby calls his approach ‘creating a frame for people to have a good time.’ Send a member of the team a message to say you want a massage, and the massage will happen without fuss. Want to hop in a boat and have a picnic on an isolated beach? No problem.
The resort is also intensely quiet and private. Having only ten villas means that even if the hotel is at capacity, you’re quite likely to have the pool or the restaurant to yourself at certain times, while the tremendous abundance of magical hidey-holes and seating areas ensures you can always find somewhere quiet. The team likes to surprise you with dinner locations, and rarely stick to the confines of the ‘restaurant’. You can dine on the beach, in a treehouse, in a pagoda overlooking the mangroves, in a pavilion halfway out to sea, all in the same elegant style you would find in the best restaurants.
The staff are, in fact, a highlight of any stay at Nay Palad. There is a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio even when the hotel is full, and they certainly know what they’re doing when it comes to looking after guests. Unfailingly courteous and apparently unflappable, they have the gift of materialising from nowhere as soon as you are standing around feeling like you might want a drink or a towel, they all know your name and remember your preferences, and will arrange any activity you want without batting an eyelid.
While the magical atmosphere of the hotel is enough of a draw for most visitors, this is without a doubt the right time to visit Siargao in general. Everybody here refers to the island as being like Bali before it became uber-developed, and there is a laid-back, peaceful vibe that is very appealing. This is not a place where luxury hotels are two a penny (yet), and Nay Palad feels like it is still part of a community, rather than something set apart from it. Bobby is clear that his ownership of the hotel comes with responsibilities to the local area. Partly this is to do with looking after the environment – restoring the coral reefs and conserving the mangroves – and partly to do with supporting the community and training the next generation of hospitality staff. An enchanting atmosphere, a responsible ethos, and an unspoilt location – truly Nay Palad is a destination to know for right now.
