Everytime we visit the Philippines, we take our family on vacation, and this time we decided to…read morevisit Acuatico in Batangas. Upon arrival, we were offered welcome drinks and adorned us with beaded necklaces. Very nice touch! Staff were warm and friendly - the hospitality was spot on! Our rooms were not yet ready then as we arrived earlier than the standard check in time, but they tried to accommodate to the best they could. While we wait, we had lunch at Oceano. Despite the variety (a la carte menu), it was a bit underwhelming. We had to follow-up on our orders a couple of times. It was not busy then, as we were the only guests dining at that time. The breakfast and dinner buffet was good. There were enough options to choose from. The rooms were nice and spacious. We love the proximity of the pool. The only minor issue was you can hear the noise from outside - not quite sound proofed. But that's ok, we slept well either way. As for the Pool area and bar, the beach towels were not readily available. We had to ask the pool attendant for some. Bar was ok. If I may suggest, if someone will order beer, a beer glass or stein should be offered - and if possible, chilled. The pool is divided into sections with different depths, which I think was smart. The infinity pool overlooking the beach was awesome! Lastly the staff, all were kind, courteous and attentive. They remembered us by names and it was truly a mark of their hospitality. Overall, it was a great stay and will surely recommend to friends and family.

This resort is amazing, the staff is great, the room is comfortable and cool! The buffet breakfast,…read morelunch, and dinner is great. Nice getaway from the city life. Could not get to snorkel or dive due to Typhoon Engay from the North of Luzon Island. The waters on Batangas was a little on the rough side, and plenty of rain and humid. Other than that, this place for me is a five star despite the tropical storm and a very short power outage we endured during our stay. Because of the storm, the beach wedding became an entrance hall wedding and went very smooth and beautiful.

A HIDDEN GEM! A must go retreat for family, big groups, honeymooners, quick getaway, etc! Only less…read morethan 3 hour drive from Manila. The road going towards the resort is so narrow. You would not think this didn't go anywhere! We actually tried booking through Airbnb but they only limit it to sixteen people; or I think Airbnb's requirement. The representative told us to communicate through Facebook instead as we needed a big group reservations for 30 as their description on Airbnb stated they can accommodate up to 30 people! Easy reservations with them via phone and the best place to go so far since visiting the main island! The resort has their own farm of fruits and veggies so everything is fresh and depends on the season; they can only make certain meals during the season. Food is pretty decent. We reserved the villa for our stay called - 'Sta. Teresita Villa' where it has its own private infinity pool. The villa has its own kitchen, two and half bathrooms and two bedrooms. It has great views! It was so awesome! We all didn't want to leave!! We also rented additional rooms that had outdoor jacuzzi's. You can order set meals for 5 or 10 or ala carte. Just to let you know, if you are used to American portions, you may have to order more than average. They have fresh buko drinks, too. They plan to add a zip lines in the resort. I can't wait! Tips to remember: - Weather is still very warm here so don't over dress. OK, I mean HOT and humid! - Bring bug spray especially during rainy season. Bugs are huge here!! Bring slippers! - pools have overhead covers so even if rained on, you can still swim. Bring waterproof camera bags. - No wifi except in the lobby. Free wifi. 3G goes on and off within the resort so good luck! No use coming here if you are working! - It's easy to use Waze to get here but leaving, make sure to start the Waze while using the wifi in the lobby or it won't turn on till a few km's out! Remember how you got there. - They do accept credit cards. - Bring snacks or drinks as their snack bar is limited. - Make sure to explore the resort, their crops and their pet snakes! - They do have a few blackouts. - Wake up before sunset to check out the lake and mountain views! Bring your good cameras! Also, love the weather in the morning! For my 650th review, I am dedicating it to Noni's Resort! Staff were very accommodating and super friendly for our big group! Prices were pretty good for our staff and what was offered. I will definitely recommend anyone to check them out and stay for a quick weekend getaway! You won't regret it! [69/100]

As day trips go, my first visit to Sigayan Bay Beach resort can be called a disaster. It wasn't the…read moreresort's fault, though. We left late and rode the wrong bus, then it rained when we finally reached the beach that our tricycle driver recommended. I found it really nice of the front desk officer to accept walk-ins AND not make us pay the whole day rate since we arrived late. The fee includes use of the kayak and a hut for the day. Rooms are available and you can cook your own food if you like. Otherwise, the resort has a small restaurant. If it wasn't cold and raining, we could have fully enjoyed the short but clean stretch of beach before us and its light-colored sand. But it was still such a nice find that we didn't really mind just sitting in the hut, enjoying the fresh air and sight of trees, great conversation, and some random hip-opening stretches. For those who want an affordable and accessible day away from Manila, try Sigayan Beach Bay Resort, but do check the weather report first.

Because long beach trips are impossible with families with infants, we just settled for a day at…read morethe waterpark with some of our friends last weekend. We had our (una at) huling hirit sa tag-init at WaterCamp Resort in Kawit, Cavite. The place was okay, it was a big waterpark (I like saying that word because it reminds me of the movie Grown Ups) with adult and kiddie pools with slides, and a wave pool. The shower rooms were clean and relatively well-maintained considering there are a lot of people coming there. Guests can choose to stay in tables or cabanas according to their budget and there are several areas for grilling, so families can definitely bring their baon, or order from the restaurant inside (which I wasn't able to try, unfortunately). I liked that the place is very family-friendly; it's ok to swim in t-shirt and shorts (as long as there's no metal) and they're very strict about prohibiting alcoholic drinks in the vicinity. I had a slight issue about breastfeeding my four-month old baby in the cabana, but I'm pretty much used to nursing in public by now. The entrance fee was reasonable (240 for adults, 210 for kids) for the place is big with lots of amenities. My daughter had the BEST time swimming there. She just swam and swam until she was too tired and fell asleep. She was so happy that I think an hour drive going to the place is absolutely worth it.

We made the reservation for Banahan for April 7 - 9, for 12 pax, paid the security deposit by March…read more21, in constant communication with your coordinator, who claimed to be a part owner of the resort, named Clark. We left early at dawn from Manila, so we can be on the road and beat the hustle and bustle of the holy week travelers. After 5-6 hrs of driving, only to find out that we don't have a room reserved for us, it was booked to another group, and our so-called coordinator and part time owner, Clark, is nowhere to be found at the resort and not responding to FB group chat that was made for our reservation. The Punta Tierra Blanco, employees said he is not a part owner, nor an employee, just a sales agent who brings clients to the resort, but the owner is his godfather on his wedding. So after almost 1 hr dealing back and forth, only to them this coordinator, Clark replies, apparently he is away on his holiday thus he have limited internet connection, therefore cant reply on time and fixed our problem, the Punta Tierra employees said they managed to get us a room but we have to wait until the rooms gets vacated and cleaned, and we are ushered to a dining table behind the information counter, and we even had our lunch since it's past 12pm already. So comes at past 2pm, we were informed the room is ready and it's good for 7 pax and they can provide us an extra bed, take note and extra bed to accommodate another 2, we are a group of 12 adults and 3 kids, age 6, 5 and 2 yrs old respectively? How in the world they can expect us to fit in a room technically can fit 6 people since it only have 3 double size beds? So, it's only natural to say NO we cant fit here and we reserve for a whole cottage with 2 rooms and for 12 pax? So they offered their event hall, they said they can have the other 5 be fixed with a make up bed by the event hall but this comes with a fan only, and if we want an air condition, we need to rent the whole event haul and they can open the AC but the rate will be Php16,000 per night. The worst- They can only accommodate us the night of April 7, and we need to tend for ourselves and look for other accommodations for night April 8. At this point of time - we have been waiting for over 3 hrs already and kids are getting irritated due to hot weather, and not having a proper way to relax since we cant unload out luggages from the car and settle down properly. So again, we demanded a solution and said that this is not our problem and we have the proof of reservation and you have the confirmation from their coordinator Clark and our security deposit was transferred to the owner's account, we said that we are ok with the hall to be converted to a make up room bit we should not pay anything more than what the agreed rate of Php12,000 per night for the Banahan. Then, came the owner and said it's not their mistakes but the coordinator mistakes and we should speak to him not to them He said that the coordinator is not their employee so should deal with us. I told him, your coordinator or your agent may not be an employee, but the fact they speak and promote your resort to potential clients then they do represent your resort per se, plus the payment made were to your resorts account, and your employees here acknowledges the early conversation of our reservations being made at that time and as we speak they are coordinating with Clark. Due to lack of choice- we opted to just take the hall and the Urduha (7pax) just so we can settle down and at least have a bit of relaxing moment and worry about the next day and worst we may need to go and find another resort, but who are we kidding? at the height of the long weekend holiday?? we will have to go home and wasted the whole holiday. None of us get to enjoy anything, while the rest of us unpacked and goes to the hall and urduha, my cousin and I scoured the area and was lucky enough to find a an air conditioned hut in a nearby resort so 1/3 of grouo can transfer and we just have to worry the remaining 2/3, by the time we settled down at almost 4pm? the beach has gone low tide and nobody cant swim, except in a small pool that mainly where children swim. We just prep for dinner and eat by the cottage and have some drinks and salvage whatever we can from this disastrous experience, came the next day, my cousin and I are busy looking for a resort nearby where we can transfer the rest and managed to find additional nipa hut to accommodate us for the night. Now back to Punta Tierra Blanco, at this point no water at the beach as well- so nobody can swim so we end up just have to prepare for lunch - eat and check out again, and the audacity of Punta Tierra Blanco, ar around 11:30, they went for rounds in the rooms and cottages reminding us we need to vacate the room so they clean by 12pm as they have the next guest checking in‍‍ I told the lady- we are clearing the room

Never going back to this resort again. The place that we stayed at is crap nothing like the ones on…read moretheir FB page. The toilet very basic no toilet seat. The room that they called extension is just like a servants quarter. It has double deck bed the upper part creeks whenever my son goes up. The owner made us pay entrance fee when it's clearly said day rate/overnight. We stayed there for 3nights so that's an accommodation. Lots of hidden charges when you checked out so make sure you ask them first what is included on the price. The beach is not nice near the resort full of jelly fish around the area that's why they have nets. The only thing positive was the island hopping. Very expensive for the type of accommodations that they have. I am not going to recommend this place at all. I think Catanauan Cove is much better.

TL:DR Unspoilt paradise with white sand beaches, crystal clear water that's great for diving and…read moresnorkeling, and not crawling with tourists. Don't expect modern luxuries. Just enjoy its natural beauty. We've done some island hopping/exploring in Occidental Mindoro, mostly off of San Jose, like Grace Island and White Island, but have yet to venture beyond San Jose. We decided to venture out this trip and hired a van (₽7000 for the day) to go to Sablayan and take a boat from there to Pandan Island. Our first stop was the Ecotourism Office located next to the plaza. This is where you can get information and book your boat and stay if you're heading to Pandan Island and Apo Reef Natural Park. You'll need to pay an environmental fee per person here. They'll also assign you a boat once you decide what kind of boat you want to take. We went with a Glass Bottom boat (Queen Ella). Our boat stopped at various places close to Pandan Island to look at Sea Turtles, Corals and different kinds of fish. Really amazing! Some places were really deep and some we were only a couple of feet from the corals. The water is so clear, you could see the sea turtles if you look to your side on the water. Once we got to the island, we chose the table next to the hammock and paid for our picnicking fee at the bar. There is a day use fee per person. I forgot how much but you can look at pandan.com/prices/ for all the fees you need to pay. The water temperature was 82°F or 28°C. It was perfect. Not warm and not cold. We stayed in the water for a few hours playing and swimming! We got there around 9 am and although there were overnight guests staying in the cottages and day trippers like us, this part of the island was not crowded. Most of the tourists here are Filipinos, Europeans and Australians. This is not Boracay thank God. I hope it never gets transformed into a Boracay and I don't think it will be because it is a protected marine sanctuary. We saw a lot of divers going out to the open sea to dive. You can get your PADI certification here if you want. This island has no electricity, so it's definitely off the grid. I would totally love to stay here a couple of nights. The cottages are only a few steps from the water! It'd be the ultimate relaxation. My husband and I have camped and backpacked in remote places in the high Sierras so a stay at Pandan is luxurious compared to that! The island has a restaurant and a bar! You're also close enough to Sablayan that you'll be able to get Globe LTE here. My brother in law had Smart LTE and they couldn't very good cell reception here. The food on the island is not that great (even the Filipino food), so I suggest you bring your own food. We brought a big jug of water, empanadas, halaya, snacks and other stuff. We bought 2 young coconuts from the bar (50 pesos each) and that kept us hydrated. We tried the boneless Bangus and it was just okay. My sister did not like the Tosino. Bring your own food! Apo Reef (the second largest contiguous reef in the world and the largest one in the Philippines) is another 3 hr boat ride from Pandan, so you would really have to stay there overnight if you want to see it. Stop by Pandan for a few hours to cool off or stay overnight and then head to Apo Reef. I'd love to be able to do that on another visit when I have more time here.

It is branded as modern Filipino cuisine, and it is situated on the hills of San Mateo, Rizal…read more We reserved a table for 19 ahead of time, and there was a minor miscommunication at their end, but in the end, they were able to resolve it and were able to prep our table after 30 minutes of waiting. Things happened, including accidentally spilling water (knocking over a glass of water) to one of our guests by one of their servers. Looking at the positive side, we got classic Filipino dishes, and we were amazed by the preparation of the food and its authentic taste. The staffs were nice, ambiance is good, nothing too fancy. The location is a 30 minute drive away from the nearby big city of Metro Manila. I recommend this place for you to try out,

This business is located in my hometown and continues to grow. They have several good restaurants…read moreinside the resort. You can also hold events here for any occasion. They have villas available for rent as well. During our stay, we tried the two restaurants, Farmyard and Lorenzo's. I preferred Lorenzo's; they have a larger menu and offer a breakfast buffet on weekends.