I am more than thankful for Christmas, New Year and Good Friday because these are the only days that mommy stops working. Seriously! That's how focused she is with our family business. (We own a few stalls in Marikina Public Market. We sell dry goods like canned products, sugar, flour, salt, etc.) So I make it a point that we can go somewhere mom and dad will enjoy.
We are Batangas bound and we planned to have lunch somewhere in Tagaytay. I told my mom that we should try Sonya's Garden but we were there too early plus they only offer buffet that time. We can't go on buffet because we have kids and oldies who don't really eat that much. Plus, it's a no meat restaurant. We instead bought some breads from their famous Panaderia. I love their spanish bread so much. I think it's the best I've ever tried. We also bought some organic products like soap, oils, etc. from the souvenir shop. I like how the organic market is making its place in the Philippine market. Yey for organic and chemical free products!
Sonya's Garden also offers very good massages which I've tried before. They also accept wedding events and they also have a bed & breakfast!
Photo op by the famous spot in Sonya's Garden
I actually saw a facebook friend's post about this place Pico de Loro and I found out it was exclusive for members only. I lost hope of being able to go there anytime soon. But lucky us, a few months ago, my cousin in law invited us to join them for a beach trip in Batangas. And yes, we went to Pico de Loro.
This is the aerial view of the whole Pico de Loro in Hamilo Coast.
(Photo credits: from Pico de Loro's website.)
I had a little time to prepare and I was trying to rent a condo unit instead of the resort's hotel. You can rent a condo unit from sales agent or if you know someone directly. Pros are that you can bring in food and cook since all units have their own kitchen, management will not be strict with the number of people going inside the condo unit. Unfortunately, all condo units for rent were fully booked. I checked out Pico Sands Hotel. This is the official hotel of Pico de Loro. I am not really sure if you can book a room here without any member's sponsorship. I had all the endorsement papers so that it's less hassle for us. There were 2 families and our grandmother so that made us 12 adults with 2 children. We booked 3 rooms with 2 double beds each like this:
This was our actual room. Julius, Sabby and I shared the room with two cousins Joy and Paul.
Selfie with our roomie Joy.
As soon as we checked in, we went out to see what activities we can do to maximize our overnight stay. Of course the kids are excited to swim. So off we go to the Beach Club.
The infinity pool at the Beach Club is really beautiful. This picture doesn't do any justice to it.
Mom and Dad an the Beach Club entrance area.
This is my mom at the Beach Club's lobby.
This is the beach front area where guests can lounge all day long. No Boracay white powdery sands but it the whole shoreline was well maintained.
The priceless face of Sabby whenever she gets into the water. She is wearing her rashguard like onesie which we just bought at the Kultura shop just in front of the Beach Club's reception. I am glad that they don't overprice items that were sold there, after all this property is owned by Henry Sy.
Strike a pose with cousins and Julius. Here I am wearing my Cotton On swimsuit and Volcom shorts.
We ordered some fruit shakes and snacks at the Sun Coral Cafe. Superb fruit shakes.
After some afternoon dip, we changed and went to the chapel. The good thing with Pico de Loro is that they have free shuttles/buggies that goes through every single place and you don't have to bring your car. This chapel is located at the mountain part area of the resort.
Me and Julius enjoying the ride.
Staircase going to the chapel. Yes, that glass walled building is the chapel.
I wanna get married here! (Well, spur of the moment, who wouldn't with
that glass walls perfect enough to see the beach and sunset.)
This is the view you can get from the chapel deck. We were just in time for sunset!
We went to the Country Club before we head back to the hotel. Here you can find the bowling alley, billiards hall, game rooms, children's playground, gym and swimming pools.
The family lounging at the Country Club lobby.
The Country Club swimming pool at night.
Heaven for Sabby and Patrice. You just don't know how hard it was for us to leave this play area. Sabby was crying like there's no tomorrow!
Bowling and billiards can be found inside the room across the play area.
We had dinner at the Pico Restaurant and Bar which was just at the ground floor of the Pico Sands Hotel. We were not satisfied with our overall dining experience here. Food was a little expensive, but we understand that. Service was turtle like slow. It seems that they were not prepared for big groups like us. Observing the whole area, guests were in groups of 10 maybe because this is holiday and families were out together. Food was okay but not great. We had no choice but to finish up and go to sleep.
Our only photo during dinner because we were all hungry and angry. Not a good combo.
Good morning! I am not really a morning person but whenever I go out of town, I always make it a point to get up early and enjoy my vacay. Last night we were all unhappy with our dinner and we were a bit curious because we're having our complimentary breakfast at the same resto.
The view outside the Pico Restaurant and Bar
Grandmother and Dad enjoying the buffet breakfast! Very pleased with the danggit and fruits!
Sabby was very happy with her pancakes!
Right after breakfast, we went to the Country Club to swim. These pictures can show you how beautiful the Country Club's swimming pools were.
We stayed in the pool until around 11am and washed up right after then checked out. This place is something worth visiting. Every single cent we spent here gave us pure fun, relaxation and happiness. I highly recommend Pico de Loro for a short vacation. It's a good 3hr drive from Manila and if you're lucky enough you can take their ferry from SM Mall of Asia.
FAMILY PICTURES
Fabulously,
DanieMae
