Saturday, April 21, 2012

Villa Escudero Plantation and Resort



If you visit Villa Escudero, prepare to taste the country life for your whole stay—in Filipino style.



It was supposed to be a mini reunion with my closest friends from high school but it ended up with a mini road trip with Jog and Mike. This is totally different from the rest of my trips because this is the first time I drove from Cavite straight to Quezon (walang Marc, walang Joseph)!

How to Get There

The easiest way to get there is via SLEX. Since Bacoor was our starting point, the nearest SLEX entry point is via Alabang.

Actually, we have miscalculated our travel because we came too early at the resort. Not bad because I did not have to worry about my driving. Our initial call time was 5:00AM but since Jog and I woke up late, ggrrrrrr, we ended up reaching Mike’s house at 6:00AM. Hahaha! From Bacoor, we took the Molino Road going to Daang Hari. From there, we arrive at the gate of SLEX in Alabang. Toll fee is P95.00 until Sto. Tomas exit. And because we were chatting all the time, we missed the (50A) Sto Tomas exit, so we had to head straight at Star Toll. However, it made our travel shorter than I have planned.  From Star toll exit, we paid an additional of P25.00 and then we looked for the Pan Philippine Hiway until we reached Quezon “Welcome” arch and turned left right away. Hindi nyo mamimiss yung “Villa Escudero” signage sa kaliwa ;-)

As early at 7:50AM, andun na kami!

If you are bringing car to get there, here is the driving instructions I took from www.travelsmart.net   
  • Take the South Luzon Express Way (SLEX)
  • Exit at 50 A (Lucena exit) (sa kakakwentuhan namin, na miss din namin yung Exit 50A!!!! Nyahahaha!)
  • Turn left at Sto. Tomas junction (Nakabalik naman kami dito hehehehe!)
  • Head straight South. By pass the towns of Alaminos and San Pablo
  • Slow down upon seeing the Quezon Province Boundary Arch. The Villa Escudero entrance is immediately to the left.
  • Follow the instructions of the gate officer when turning into the Resort.

Parking

When we arrived at the resort, there were already around 15 cars and vans there. I didn’t have a choice but to park under the trees and maalikabok sa parking, sobra. Parking entrance is at the right side of the welcome hall.
Also at the parking area is a mini Pasalubong store where you could buy puto bumbong, pulburon, and other yummy sweets from Laguna.

Welcome Area

There were gulaman drinks, served by the ushers wearing baro’t saya, waiting for us at the hall. Gutom na gutom kaming tatlo! Hahaha. Buti na lang Mike brought pandesal! Wooohoo! We missed Jollibee and Mcdo along the way… ambilis ko kasi mag drive at kwentuhan kami nang kwentuhan!





The welcome area is where you pay your entrance fee as walk in customers OR where you get your tickets if you have RESERVED for overnight stay. By the way, credit cards are accepted and the Day Tour fee during our visit was P1,500.00 per head. This includes buffet lunch, cultural show, boating, carabao/horse ride, visit at the museum and access to pool.  The complete rates information can be found on their website at the end of this post.

This is also where we first met some of the statues depicting Filipino cultures. These statues are EVERYWHERE! Hahaha! I sometimes thought they were real people in the gardens!

Carabao Cart Ride

As soon as you get your tickets and confirmed your accommodation information at the Welcome Hall, you will start to experience the Philippine country life right away. We opted to visit the Museum in the afternoon before we leave the resort just to keep away from the crowd who were already there… so we headed straight to the Carabao Cart area. We were warmly welcomed and taken around by a carabao-drawn cart until we reached the resort proper – with someone at the back singing kundiman songs and playing guitar.




The Resort Proper

There were several areas that are still under renovation and the drop off point at the resort proper is one of them. Just follow the path way and you will reach the River area.

Boating at the River

It was around 10:00AM and the sun was just about starting to give its magnificent heat. The bamboo raft or balsa only has two seating area on it so I volunteered to just took the pictures of the two of them and look an eye of our things.



Another thing… I HATE bodies of water in color green. O_0 Hahaha! Parang may crocodile na lalabas. That’s also the reason why I am not a fan of swimming at the falls. So I watched them paddle across the calm river until they were almost too small from my view. Pagbalik nung dalawa, mga nakasimangot… may ugly smell daw yung vest na suot nila. But I think other than that, mukhang enjoyable naman ang boating ^_^

Café Inigo

You don’t have to worry about getting hungry inside the resort because they have a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, miryenda and dinner meals at the resort. The resto is overlooking the river which makes your dining very dramatic! Hmmm.





Pool Area

They have two medium-sized swimming pools – one for the kids and the other for adults. The adult pool has a slide but we did not try. This time, Jog watched over our things while Mike and I take a dip into the pool. This was also the time Mike and I had a chat with the latest about our lives, reminiscing old memories and even sharing our future plans.  Wala kaming picture kasi tong si Jog!

Buffet Lunch at The Falls

Since we were very very hungry, the buffet lunch was the MOST anticipated event in this trip. Hahaha!!! Hindi ako pwedeng magutom!!! By the way, buffet lunch starts at 11:00AM. But if you were not able to reserve your visit, based on their policy, you will only be allowed to go to the buffet lunch area at 1:00PM. Uunahin kasi nila yung mga nakareserve and you don’t want to get hungry, trust me!



The food is just OKAY. They have grilled eggplants, singkamas, sliced tomatoes, green mangoes, rice, pansit, chicken tinola, beef caldereta, grilled pork, grilled tilapia, chicken inasal and ginataang gulay. I would say they all tasted flat. Honestly, na miss ko ang mas masarap na luto ni Ate Dollyn. So if you want to make the most of this buffet lunch… get FULL and appreciate the cold water coming from the man-made falls that rushes to your feet while eating and chatting with your long lost friends…PRICELESS!



They sell buko juice for P30.00 each. J

The Cultural Show

The cultural show was the best experience in Villa Escudero. Nakalimutan ko na hindi ako masyadong nag enjoy sa pagkain nung lunch. ^_^ The performers are oozing with dancing talents. Mabubusog talaga yung mata mo sa panunuod. There were a lot of colors dancing at the center stage and the costumes are amazing! Kumbaga hindi tinipid.





Surprisingly, all performers are the same people who ushered us earlier that day – the girls from the welcome area, maintenance guys, cart singers, museum ushers. Ang galing! Thumbs up! The cultural show was held at the wedding Hall while the original venue is under construction.  

The Museum

Last from our list was the museum. The Familia Escudero are true travelers and collectors! I was drooling about their travels and collections – they truly set the history from their large collections of artifacts not only from the Philippines but also from the whole world! Pictures are not allowed inside.



I had a great time reconnecting with my old friends. It would not be possible without our experience in Villa Escudero. However, there is a very small chance that Iwould go back to this place very soon. J



Formore information,please visit their site: http://www.villaescudero.com 

Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort
San Pablo City, Philippines

Manila Office
1059 Estrada Street, Malate 1004 Metro Manila

Telephone Nos.
(632) 521-0830
(632) 523-0392
(632) 523-2944

Fax Number:
(632) 521-869

E-mail: info@villaescudero.com

Provincial Mailing Address
P.O. Box 4 San Pablo City 400, Philippines