Our stay at Pico Sands Hotel

Our last hurrah for the summer was a trip to Pico de Loro to celebrate hubby's birthday. We've been here several times in the past, but this was our first time to stay in Pico Sands Hotel.

Our stay at Cala Laiya

I was looking for beach recommendations somewhere in Batangas and found Cala Laiya through one of my mommy groups in Facebook. I wanted to try it since it was new and luckily they had an available room when I inquired.

After I posted some pics in my IG, a lot of people messaged me asking about the place, so I made sure to blog about it soon ;p

Back in Pico De Loro

Happy New Year everyone! I still have so much stuff to blog about, but it was definitely nice to take a break after all the holiday celebrations. After Christmas, our whole family went to Pico De Loro for a short vacation.

Pico De Loro Beach & Country Club

During our stay at Pico De Loro, we rented a condo via Airbnb. As mentioned in my previous post, you will have to pay a separate club registration fee so you can have access to all the facilities in the resort. Since we went on a weekend, guest fee rate for adults was P1,200 per person (discounted for senior citizens), P400 for kids 4-12 years old, and free for 3 years old below. This is a one time payment for the entire duration of your stay. I believe if you go on a weekday (Monday to Thursday), guest fees are lower.

Renting a Pico De Loro condo via Airbnb

Finally, my family and I were able to go to Pico de Loro for the first time about a month ago. It was my mother-in-law who organized the trip since my brother-in-law and his family were visiting from the States.

Before, only Pico De Loro beach unit owners or Pico De Loro country club members were allowed to enjoy the facilities. But now, Pico De Loro is open to the public via the Pico Sands Hotel or by renting a condo. At first, we were thinking whether to stay at the hotel but since we were a lot, my mother-in-law just decided to rent 2 condo units through Airbnb.

Beach memories at Stilts Calatagan

It's almost the end of summer but the heat is still insane! Makes me want to go back to beach again one last time before school starts for the kids. Anyway, reminiscing about our outing last February in Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort. We made so many great memories during our stay there. You can read more about the resort HERE, but in the meantime, hope you enjoy these family photos. :)

Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort

Hubby's family always takes a mini-vacation when his tita from the States comes home to visit. So last month, we went to Stilts Calatagan for a 2 night stay (from February 1-3). I did some research prior to our trip and I got excited seeing the photos of the cottages above the water, plus good reviews on TripAdvisor.

Acuaverde photodiary

We took a quick overnight trip to Acuaverde a few weeks ago. We've already stayed here a couple of times and if you want more details about the resort, check out my post HERE. Anyway, what was nice when we went was that the weather was sunny and cool, since this was the end of January. It felt great to just lounge in the cabanas with the fresh breeze making you want to take a nap. And we hung out at the beach immediately after lunch since it wasn't that hot. Not like during the summer when we'd wait until it was about 4pm to leave our rooms. Plus, you couldn't even sit in the lounge chairs since it would be scorching hot!

Anyway, here are some pics from our stay :)

hello bright yellow trash can photobomber!

"Daddy, don't let go of me!" hehe face of pure panic! Don't worry Sky, we're right here!

first time to semi-swim in the ocean

 his and hers

so much happier playing the sand, away from the water ;p

while these two were contented with playing in the shower!

 naku, mana kay Daddy! ;p

cheers Dad!

with Mama and Lolo

footprints in the sand

my loves

Can't wait for summer to officially start though! What about you, have you planned your summer vacations yet? :)

Last summer hurrah at Acuaverde

We took a quick overnight trip to Laiya, Batangas last week before school officially opens this June. It was literally a last minute trip, since we only booked our room at Acuaverde Beach Resort just the day before via their website!

We already stayed here a year ago and everything's pretty much the same. One thing that's new though is that there's a Municipal Tourism Area before you get to Laiya and you have to pay P20 per adult (kids are free).

Anyway, there had been some rain the past few days before our trip but luckily it was bright and sunny all throughout our stay. We saw on the news though that it was raining pretty hard in Manila so good thing it didn't reach us at all. :)

it was so hot no one wanted to sit on the lounge chairs ;p

playing in the shade

This is Skyler's 2nd time to go to the beach (the 1st was last April in Palm Beach). It was so hot though that he stayed in the room most of the time. We only took him out during the late afternoon and also dipped his feet in the ocean for the first time!

so kagigil!

first time to use a monopod! hehe needs more practice ;p

first dip in the ocean (the toes at least!)

spot Miley!

We woke up early the next day and headed to the beach immediately after breakfast. It really is so much better to swim in the morning since the water is a lot calmer with almost no waves. But it was so hot that the kids kept wanting to go back to the room after a while. Miley even said "Mommy, we're in a desert!" lol! ;p

fine sand and clear skies

Daddy found a crab!

Happy and thankful that we were able to spend this quality time together before summer ends. Til the next getaway! ;)

To see more pictures of the resort (like the room we stayed in and other facilities) check out this post.

Acuaverde Beach Resort,
Barangay Laiya,
San Juan, Batangas

Website: www.acuaverderesort.com.ph

Manila Reservation Office:
Unit 361 3/F Mile Long Building,
VA Rufino corner Amorsolo St.,
Makati City, 1223

Office Hours: Mondays-Thursdays (8am-7pm)
Fridays (8am-6pm)
Saturdays (8am-12noon)

Reservation Number: +632-3817757
+632-3049901
+63917-5457134 (Laiya Number) 
Email: reservations@acuaverderesort.com.ph

Palm Beach Resort in San Juan, Batangas

Last month, we went on a little trip in San Juan, Batangas to celebrate the start of summer vacation. We stayed in Palm Beach Resort, located in Hugom, which runs along the same coastline of Laiya (it's actually the farthest and pinakadulong resort in the San Juan area). It's about a 2.5 to 3 hour drive from Makati via the Skyway / South Superhighway.

We've already stayed here in the past (this is our 3rd time) and we like it because the place is clean, the food is great, and the price is very affordable. It was also a special trip since it was Skyler's first time to go to the beach! :)

We got the CASITAS DELUXE, which was a beachfront suite good for a maximum of 6 people. I booked directly at their website and the response was very quick and efficient. We were 4 adults plus the 3 kids and this was the breakdown of our overnight stay. The standard occupancy is only for 4 and there's a charge of P750 per excess person, but we weren't charged anymore for the kids.

The room fit all of us comfortably since it had 2 double beds and a daybed with a pull-out. There was a mini-fridge and cable TV. The room also had a balcony and an ensuite bathroom, meaning the shower, sink, and toilet were compartmentalized allowing 3 persons simultaneous use. The bathroom wasn't that new, but it was clean. A water dispenser was just outside our room too. 

our room is the one on the lower left

I just realized when we were about to go home that I wasn't able to take photos of our room. So I just got this photo from their website since our room looked exactly like this. Only difference is they now have a plasma TV. I really liked the overhead fan too since when we were there, it wasn't as hot as it is now. So we actually turned off the aircon during the late afternoon and early morning and it was so breezy.

photo from their website

outdoor shower

The resort is huge with lots of activities you can do, like wall climbing, speed boat, banana boat, glass bottom boat, kayaking, and snorkeling. Something to take note of though is that there's very weak to no cellphone signal in the whole place though, and we could only access wi-fi in the dining pavilion.

rental area

volleyball area

The 2 pools areas are located on opposite ends of the resort, so if you don't feel like walking, you can always hop on board these golf carts which can bring you wherever you like (we used these to go to the dining hall from our rooms too ;p).

They have 2 huge infinity pools, which we luckily had to ourselves the whole time we were there. There weren't that much guests since we went on a weekday. It really felt like we were in our own private resort. The pools look very new and are super clean too!

pool #1, which is located beside the main dining area

jacuzzi area on the right side

Mowdels! My swimsuit & cover-up are both from SM

pool #2, with the wall-climbing area on the right

super nice and relaxing!

There are lots of nice cabanas where you can just lounge and chill in front of the beach. But this isn't the place to have any wild, all-nighter inumans since they discourage loud noises from 10pm - 8am.

The beach is clean, but the sand is a bit rocky. The waters are clear though, but we didn't swim (only hubby) since it was cold hehe. We just spent most of the time in the swimming pools.

the sand

the sea

pretty shells which Miley collected

This is the main dining hall where all the buffet meals are served. There's a big aquarium in the back which the kids loved looking at. We could also only get wi-fi reception in this area.

They also have more dining areas which they use when the resort is really full, like on weekends and holidays.

For an overnight stay, you get lunch, merienda, dinner, and breakfast the next day. I personally found the food to be really yummy, with lots of choices. We were so full after every meal!

the food during our stay

breakfast spread

There was also a super cute playground which the kids loved playing at. :)

We really had a great time here and for sure this won't be our last! :)

PALM BEACH RESORT
Brgy. Hugom, San Juan, Batangas, Philippines
Website: http://lafrondosa.com