My family, boyfriend and I went to Laiya, in San Juan, Batangas on the first week of May.
We didn't have anything planned during that long Labor Day weekend so my sisters and I decided to scout among the different websites of Batangas beaches online.
I sent out text messages to several beach resort's cell numbers but only Les Caraibes' (pronounced as 'ley kareib') booking officer replied within twenty minutes. We found their rates reasonable enough and at short notice, we were able to confirm our booking of two rooms without having to pay a deposit.
We left QC just after 8 am, we brought two vehicles and spent one grand for gas for each vehicle which was enough to cover the return trip. At around 11 am, we stopped at Petron SLEX in Sta. Rosa, Laguna for some takeaway breakfast and restroom break. There's a souvenir shop here that sells gaily colored buri hats and woven straw bags from Lucban, Quezon and rattan slippers and sandals from Liliw, Laguna. The prices are within reach and the quality is for export, so it's a good place to shop for your beach hat and tote bag.
We arrived at Les Caraibes Beach Resort shortly before 2pm. It looked better on the photos on their website, the beach front was not very wide, and I was disappointed to see some wrappers floating in the water.
I was excited to check out the Laiya coastline because I've heard rave reviews on many blogs online, but after having been to more secluded resorts in Zambales, Quezon, Puerto Galera and Anilao, and the virgin beaches of Palawan, Pagudpud, Mariveles, Aurora and La Union, except for its oatmeal colored sands and relative proximity to Metro Manila, Laiya pales in comparison.
Nancy, the day booking officer of Les Caraibes, sent us an email so we can select from the menu, we texted her the dishes we wanted to have for lunch so they would be ready when we got there, but two of the dishes we ordered were not available so we changed orders. So much for the pre-ordering idea. But at least she informed us before we got there instead of expecting food that weren't coming.
The rooms we rented for an overnight stay was a kubo and a cottage, both had airconditioning and beddings. Since we didn't have time to do the marketing, we decided to just order from the resort's restaurant. Average bill for a meal with three viands and softdrinks in can, for ten adults and one child is 3k php. The dishes are delicious and servings are generous. When ordering the pancit bihon, ask the french chef to go easy on the soy sauce.Service is prompt and the waiters and chef are attentive and courteous. Sadly, seafood dishes are limited and fruits in season are not on the menu. Bringing purified water is allowed. They also sell ice, but rooms have no ref so bring coolers.
The rooms are charged 1k php higher if you'll bring your own food.Bring your own grill if you don't want to shell out 350 php for rental fee. If you're on a tight budget, it will save you a lot if you just cook or bring your own food. Do your marketing beforehand because the nearest market is a good 30-45 minute drive away. Since the resorts are far from the highway, public transport is hard to come by.
We rented the kubo for 4.5k php for an overnight stay. Check in time is at 12pm and check out time is at 11 am.The room had a bamboo double-bed and a matress for two. It had four pillows but only two blankets. Four people were supposed to occupy it so we asked for two more blankets from their housekeeper, Marilyn. She said we had to pay for extra to get the additional blankets. We decided not to argue with an underling and decided to go to Nancy, who let us have the extra blankets at no cost, which should have been the case in the first place. The kubo has an enclosed veranda, which had bamboo benches, it had a view of the beach. It also had a sink that resembled a rustic batalan, a gas stove and two monobloc tables. It had no bathroom and shower, so one has to use the public shower and toilets. The shower room I got to use had no tiles yet, had a shower heater but no trash bin so empty sachet wrappers were strewn about.
We also rented a bigger room, made of concrete and wood, which they referred to as a cottage, for 5k php, which was a steal. It had four double-deck beds, which eight adults occupied. It had a nicely tiled toilet and shower, with a working bidet and shower heater. Housekeeping should have replaced the bathroom rug, which was dirty. The room was spacious enough, it also had a small lavatory, nice pvc door with a faux stained glass picture of a graceful lady, no tiles on the floor and walls yet, had a nice looking blue glass basin had it not been filthy with grime, the glass ledge was dirty as well. The eight pillows and blankets as well as the bedsheets were immaculate. The room had sliding doors, which could easily be broken into by a determined thief, so don't leave your valuables unattended. The kangkungan in front, (I think this is the site of the future pool) is teeming with frogs, whose continuous croaking at night will disturb you if you're a light sleeper. The low-end beach resort next door also allows videoke singing all through out the night, it was irritating.
We were expecting to take nice snapshots of the sunset but were disappointed to find out that the sun set in the mountains not on the horizon. We frolicked in the beach and donned our snorkeling gear, since there were little or no marine plants, we only found very few schools of tiny fishes. We strolled along the coastline all the way to the rocky formations at the edge of La Luz Resort. The stupid guard wanted to block our path but we disregarded him. Since I've been wanting to stay at La Luz but couldn't get available rooms, we checked out their beach front. The dark wooded cabanas with billowing cream curtains, the bamboo sunbeds and clean beach front were inviting and I made a mental note to try to book early next time and stay at this place instead. My bf, sisters and I had a great time taking snapshots on top of the rocky hill. The waters here are rough and two in our group had nasty abrasions on their legs when they got slammed by the waves in the rocks. Good thing we brought a first-aid kit.
We walked back to Les Caraibes and the number of swimmers had dwindled. The beach was well lit so the ones who were brave enough swam until late evening. After a sumptuous dinner, we arranged to have massage sessions in our rooms.
The local women were well-trained and for a relaxing hour for just 350 php, it was well worth it. We turned off the lights and just kept the bathroom light on so the room was dim and cool. My sister's mp3 player was playing soothing music, we were lying on mattresses, had our eyes closed, as the small aches and pains were being kneaded and stroked away by our masseuses' capable hands. The oil they were using had the scent of citronella.
We went back to the beach around ten pm, laid down a mat and did some stargazing. We took pictures of the red full moon. The people at the resort started a bonfire, so we took some more nice photos with it as the light source.
It was a good thing the outside sounds were muted, after 1 am , I finally went to sleep. We woke up around 7am before the sun became too hot for swimming. We again swam, but didn't dare to go far because the water became deep just after a few meters from the beach. The water was clearer and there were fewer people. We had breakfast at 9am consisting of tapsilog, longsilog and cornbeefsilog meals with coffee or juice. We packed our bags before 11am.We spent around 15k for rooms and meals at Les Caraibes. Too bad for the other resorts who didn't bother to reply.
We stopped by the San Juan Pasalubong house, hoping to take home one of their famous gulok which my mom would've liked to use for gardening, but the salesgirl there said we had to look for them in the town market. There were buri hats, shellcraft, ref magnets, keychains, balisong and other rattan souvenir items.We ended up buying cans of broas, peanut brittle, spicy pusit and kapeng barako.
We also dropped by the Cathedral of Mary Mediatrix in Lipa City. It was the site where it rained rose petals with the image of the Blessed Mary.
We had lunch at SM Lipa then headed to Metro Manila via Startoll.
We got home around 6PM. Not bad for a hastily arranged out of town trip.
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