Building Your Own Beach Resort In The Philippines - From Scratch!

Pea visits Cuckoo's Nest, an eco-lodge in Siaton (about an hour from Dumaguete) in Negros Oriental, built and run by married British couple Nikki and Jamie. The episode is a tour-and-interview hybrid showing how two self-described "beach bums" stumbled into the Philippines while traveling Asia, fell in love with the spot, and turned it into a nine-unit bamboo resort with a well-regarded restaurant — all without formal construction materials or prior bamboo knowledge.

How Nikki and Jamie ended up in the Philippines ​

• They were traveling around Asia and kept coming back to the Philippines, visiting different dive spots
• Jamie found the Siaton location and decided to settle
• They've been at Cuckoo's Nest for about 23 years; married nearly 30 years total
• The name comes from the nursery rhyme ("One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo's nest"), not the movie — plus there are actual cuckoos (coucals) in the area

The eco-lodge concept and construction ​

• They didn't set out to start a business — they were "beach bums" who built cottages to support their lifestyle
• The term "eco-lodge" hadn't been coined when they started, but that's exactly what they were building
• Everything is bamboo and nipa palm — not a single nail used in the entire resort
• Structures are tied together using fishing line, because it's a fishing community and that's what locals know
• Jamie had background as a furniture maker/designer, worked in construction and rigging — he partnered with a skilled local head of construction
• He knew nothing about bamboo when they arrived but leveraged his construction experience
• All materials sourced from the immediate area; every employee lives within one kilometer of the resort

Starting from almost nothing ​

• They arrived in October and opened December 1st — roughly two months
• Started with two small bamboo huts, a "Mandy" (bucket bath), and no flush toilet
• Had a guest stay the very first night they opened
• Land is leased on the standard 25+25 year foreign lease arrangement — they can't own land as foreigners and chose leasing over forming a corporation because it's simpler

The resort today — 9 units including "The Crow's Nest" ​

• Nine total units: seven freestanding bungalows/cottages and two rooms
• Pea tours the Crow's Nest, built as a "COVID project" when Jamie had workers with nothing to do
• It's high up (120 steps to the top) with a panoramic ocean view Pea calls "a million-dollar view"
• Features a hammock, bamboo bathroom, and a view you can enjoy "while doing your business"
• Price: 3,200 pesos (~$54) per night
• Pea appreciates the practical detail of having plenty of electrical plugs — something many Philippine accommodations lack

The restaurant ​

• Run by Nikki, with a "quite good reputation" for food
• Handmade furniture matching the bamboo aesthetic
• Nestled on the water's edge
• They bake their own bread, make pizza dough in-house
• Menu includes fish and chips, chicken madras, Indian food, Thai food, and Filipino food
• Best sellers: fish and chips, followed by chicken madras
• They limit weekend numbers deliberately to preserve the peace-and-quiet atmosphere

Advice for foreigners thinking of starting a business in the Philippines ​

• Both Nikki and Jamie say "Go for it"
• Key advice: don't throw everything into it — start small and let things build
• Leasing is the simplest option for foreigners who can't own land
• Permits were not that difficult to get initially, though bureaucracy has increased over time
• The couple attributes their 23-year longevity to being "pretty laid-back" and going with the flow, unlike frustrated foreigners who leave after 3–5 years
• "It only takes a short visit to Britain to remind ourselves why we don't live there"
• Pea notes you need a certain personality type to fit into Filipino culture — "if you're the A-type, always go go go, you're going to be pulling your hair out"

Pea's personal impressions ​

• Clearly charmed by the place; repeatedly calls it a paradise and a "hidden paradise"
• Takes a long walk on the beach after eating their fish and chips
• Says she has "a feeling I'll be back to this place"
• Recommends it to viewers visiting the Dumaguete area

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