Before we got married, we backpacked to Phuket and Phi Phi Islands, our honeymoon was in Bali and we have holidayed on Langkawi, Penang and Tioman islands in Malaysia, Koh Samui, Koh Chang and Koh Lanta in Thailand andLombok in Indonesia. However, we had not tried out the islands of the Philippines.

I was scheduled to attend a conference in Manila around the time of our anniversary, so I started planning. Philippines has 7107 islands, but not all are geared up for tourists - especially those like us. My wife and I always claim that we are searching for a remote, undiscovered "gem" where we can "get away from it all". However, in reality, we both enjoy our home comforts: air-conditioning, hot running water and chilled wine. My wife is unbearable if she can't lay her hands on a hairdryer!

Bearing that in mind, I phoned a customer service agent at Hoteltravel.com and explained my predicament: "I need an island in the Philippines that is relaxing and quiet, but has decent hotels." It only took her a few seconds to offer me a few choices. I settled on Boracay Island, as I had recently read that the island's White Beach had been voted the best in the world. After checking out the hotels on the internet, I settled on Friday's Resort and booked it online. It looked lovely in the pictures, but most of all I liked the name!

After my conference ended in Manila, we headed for the airport and took the one-hour flight to Caticlan (the nearest airport to Boracay). There we were met by hotel staff and taken to the jetty to board a motorized outrigger boat, known as a "banca", to our resort. The boat stopped in front of the resort and we waded through the shallow water onto the beach. What a great way to arrive – and the cost was included in the room rate!

Boracay Island is located off the south-western tip of Panay Island. Boracay is only 9 kilometres long and 1 kilometre wide, with the famous White Beach on the east coast. Friday’s Resort is at the northern end of White Beach, with the finest stretch of sand and within strolling distance of the many nightspots and the Mall of Boracay shopping centre, but far away enough to ensure solitude.

There are two main activities in Boracay – heading underwater (diving or snorkelling) or into the air (parasailing or windsurfing). We didn’t plan on trying our hand at any of them, so this left us perfectly placed to just chill out and relax; or, as my wife had put it, “do nothing”. There’s no better place to do that than Friday’s.

The resort stretches out along the beach with its amazing powdery-white sand. It truly is remarkable – like talcum powder. We found a lovely spot under a tree on the edge of the beach that we returned to everyday – it became our second home. Vendors selling souvenirs and trinkets passed by, but we did not find them a nuisance. The staff at Fridays saw to our every need, laying out our towels and supplying us with iced drinks.

Our days seemed to slip away. Our mornings were spent on the beach, doing almost nothing. Every so often, we would take a break from our novels and tiptoe into the crystal-clear water for a swim or lie down for a relaxing beach massage. After lunch we would retire for a nap or spend a few hours at the resort's divine pool. Just before sunset, we would set off for a stroll down the beach.

Often we stopped off at one of the bars lining the beach for a few drinks. These bars get very lively later in the evening, but they are perfect for sundowners. You can slip into a beanbag and dream away as the sun sinks over the horizon. One of our favourite spots was Boom Boom, which, despite the name, plays chilled-out reggae music.

In the evenings we dined at the hotel’s beachfront restaurant. We dined on some Filipino specialities, such as Tinolang Tahong (soup made with mussels steamed in ginger root, spinach and onion) and Rellenong Manok (a whole deboned chicken stuffed with ground pork, chicken, sausages and eggs). However, the diverse menu meant we also enjoyed pizzas, salads and international cuisine like Foie Gras and ostrich steaks. One day of the week is reserved for a lavish barbecue and grill buffet – yes, it’s every Friday.

We were in bed by 9pm every night – a big change from the hectic social schedule we have at home. What a pleasure it was to curl up in bed, knowing that you had eight or ten hours sleep ahead of you! We stayed in a premier room, which overlooked the swimming pool. A hammock had pride of place on the veranda.

The décor was simple, with Filipino mats covering the walls and a wooden floor. However, there were all the luxury amenities on hand and nice extras - slippers, bathrobes, homemade chocolate truffles at night, a turn-down service and bowl of water at the door to rinse the white sand off your feet.