Just two away from Manila is this hideaway of the rich and famous, of which Tutubi is neither of rich nor famous, via CAVITex and the new Kaybiang Tunnel connecting the towns of Ternate, Cavite with Nasugbu, Batangas, Pico de Loro is synonymous with the nearby Mt. Pico de Loro well-loved by mountaineers.

Located inside Hamilo Coast of Nasugbu, Batangas is a condo resort development with a hotel and beach club. It has Pico Sands hotel for guests and events (like a planning session attended by Tutubi that's why he was able to gain access to the facilities), weddings, prenups, parties, swimming pool, a beach for swimming, swimming pools, a man-made lagoon surrounded by mid-rise condominiums for sale/lease/rent or member-only use.

Pictures of Pico De Loro, Nasugbu, Batangas:


the lobby of Pico Sands Hotel

the two queen size beds of Pico Sands Hotel room. Room also comes with a 32" LCD TV and cable TV provided by Cignal with several HD channels (but do you go to places like this just to watch TV? c'mon!)

the key card access of Pico Sands Hotel

Pico Bar and Restaurant just near the lobby of Pico Sands Hotel

sample menu for order and pick-up from your room via Pico Bar and Restaurant. The hotel does not have room deliveries. Just an FYI on food prices and menu for budget purposes


the shower has a sliding glass door with shower controls quite far away from the shower. very nice as Tutubi opens the shower but stays away from it to avoid eeither too cold or too hot water

lotus and lotus flowers floating on the man-made lagoon

the placid water of the man-made lake of Pico de Loro is perfect for early morning photo opportunities


Comments/Review of Pico de Loro:

Coming Up:

The beach of Pico de Loro, Nasugbu, Batangas
How to Get to Nasugbu, Batangas

Other interesting places in Nasugbu, Batangas:

Club Punta Fuego
Munting Buhangin Beach Resort
Beach Resorts for Summer Outing

Disclaimer:
as always, this is not a sponsored post. You may get in touch with Pico de Loro for the latest room rates, day tour rates if not posted on Pico de Loro official website.

Labels: Batangas, Batangas Resorts, Calabarzon, Hotels, Hotels and Resorts, Southern Tagalog

One of the more expensive beach resorts in Laiya Beach in San Juan, Batangas, Estrellas de Mendoza playa Resort has probably the most number of hotel rooms in the area that can accommodate big company summer outings and even conventions, more than the more expensive Acuatico Beach Resort who also has its own infinity pool.

Tutubi first visited Laiya Beach in 2005, at Laiya Cocogrove, on the other end of the long beach where La Luz is located, the rocky part of the beach yet teeming with corals and fishes good for snorkeling and newbie dive site. This second visit is at the upscale Estrellas de Mendoza Playa Resort which is inside a seaside condominium development.

(Note: there are three photos here, one's taken by Nikki (Nikon D80), another by Ipe (iPhone 4S) and the other by Flare (Cherry Mobile Flare, can you guess which picture was taken by which camera?)

Images of Estrellas de Mendoza Playa Resort:

The infinity pool, cabanas, beach front view from the hotel rool

Review: Estrellas de Mendoza Playa Resort

Facility/Amenities: Relatively new beach resort, nice infinity pool with ever-present lifeguards, spacious parking lot, the main hotel building has a picturesque fountain. The beachfront has brownish slightly coarse sand, the coastline extends about 50 meters during low tide. Beach is safe and shallow for kids/toddlers to play (but of course should always be guarded and have vests for safety)

the placid infinity pool early morning makes a good reflecting pool with some cabanas

Rooms: hotel room high-rise building has an elevator with glass window facing the infinity pool, beach and the sea. Includes one queen size bed and a double size bed. There's a 32" LCD TV and cable TV (note: remote control has low battery in Tutubi's room and erratic cable TV reception. it was promptly replaced. The erratic TV signal was caused by a missing antenna plug, it was "repaired" temporarily by splicing the co-axial cable. Tutubi later found this out that he used the whistle in oen fo his backpack to hold the cable to the jack thereby fixing the TV signal). The bathroom has a nice shower head, the toilet with bidet (nice, they really cater to Filipinos who uses "tabo" to wash their arse). No bathtubs in this expensive room though

the hotel room with a queen size bead and a double size one

Food: serves Filipino food (which should be) in all buffet at the restaurant. Sample menu prices are comparable to
many 5 star hotels in Manila. There are not so good dishes mostly beef. Stand-outs are roast chicken (very tasty), sinampalukang manok (chicken and tamarind sour soup, something Tutubi usually doesn't eat). There are soups, simple desserts, bottomless juice/coffee/ice tea but no salad station

Room Rates:
Superior Room (high-rise hotel, with 1 queen size bed and 1 double size bed): PhP6,000.00
Cabana (poolside, 2 rooms, each with 1 queen size bed and 1 double size bed): PhP16,000.00

Day tour rate/Entrance fee: PhP1,500.00

Watersports/other rates/prices:
Banana Boat: PhP1,500.00/five persons
Jetski rental: PhP4,500.00/hour (now this is expensive, make this cheaper so more people will try)
Bamboo raft rental: PhP300.00/hour
Boat rental (snorkeling, island-hopping): PhP1,500.00 (ten persons) this, again is expensive considering the area was very near the resort and the shore

Estrellas de Mendoza
Contact Number: +63.2.819.6050

How to get there:

Refer to this post on how to get to Laiya, for the best route for private vehicles or bus commute way. Click the following link for a list of Beach Resorts in Laiya

Tutubi is not in any way affiliated with Estrellas de Mendoza nor received freebies of any kind for this review. Please get in touch with Estrellas de Mendoza by visiting their official website or calling their telephone number for reservation, inquiries, parties (wedding debut, et al), summer outing, team building, room rates, promos, discounts.

Labels: Batangas, Batangas Resorts, Beaches, Calabarzon, Hotels and Resorts

Is there any thing to see and do in Lobo, Batangas besides a short visit to Faro de Punta Malabrigo (Malabrigo Lighthouse)? An officemate of Tutubi is from Lobo and swears there's white sand beach there, in a place unknown to Metro Manila denizens for a fun beach place.

Lobo's shoreline is actually rocky and/or pebble beaches except that part occupied by Gerthel Beach Resort. You can actually see Isla verde from a distance from here so it's actually a good jump-off point for SCUBA diving as it's very near the Verde Island passage, said to be the center of the center of marine triangle where you can find the best dive spots in the world.


After a short visit to Malabrigo Lighthouse, Tutubi's tummy started grumbling and asked around at nearby beach resorts for a place to eat (if they have restaurants) but it's tough luck. An inquiry at Andrea Beach and Diving Resort turned out nil and he just took a few pictures and sped back to Lobo town proper and ate at the first eatery (turo-turo) he found.


Should you find yourself drifting in Lobo like Tutubi, you may find this list of Beach Resorts in Lobo, Batangas useful:

Almalin Beach Resort:
Contact number: +63.922.861.6108; +63.2.421.6238

Andrea Beach and Diving Resort:
in Soloc with rocky beach picture above.
Contact Numbers: +63.43.487.0422; +63.928.505.7671

Butterfly Beach House

Gerthel Beach Resort: boasts of white sand beach about a kilometer long

Honey Beach Resort

Lily’s Beach Resort

Punta Malabrigo Beach Resort

Submarine Garden Resort

If you know of any Lobo Beach Resorts in Batangas not included here, please leave a comment. You may call the resorts published telephone number or visit their official website to inquire about resort entrance fee, swimming pool rates, dive rates, boat rentals, snorkeling, SCUBA diving lessons, room rates, discounts, promos, events (debut, wedding) and team building venue.

How to get to Lobo, Batangas:

if you have a GPS or a GPS app in your iOS/Android devices, set it to these coordinates 13° 35.922N 121° 15.604E and you will it on the hilly portion of Malabrigo road connecting Lobo town to Laiya, San Juan Batangas. A map of Lobo is available here

commute to Lobo, Batangas: take a bus to Batangas pier (choose from RRCG transport, Ceres Transport, Batangas Express, Alps the Bus), Fare to Batangas is PhP175.00 from Cubao.

In Batangas, just right after the end of Startoll, transfer to a jeepney going to Lobo town.
In Lobo town, you may take a tricycle or a jeepney going to Laiya (infrequent trips, best is the trike)

Driving directions to Lobo, Batangas

Best to have a car to get there, it's just SLEx, Startoll then left at the end of Startoll, follow the zigzag road going to Lobo.

Labels: Batangas Resorts, Beaches, Calabarzon

The venue of his company's planning session was held at this premier resort club located in Talisay, Batangas that's a very good jump-off point to Taal Volcano Crater Trek


Club Balai Isabel: Resort in Talisay, Batangas:

a typical balai at club balai isabel named after national heroes, particularly those from Batangas province

the hotel room where Tutubi stayed at is in Balai Malvar, with two double size beds, hot and cold shower (no bath tubs, bidet not tabo), a kitchen/mini-bar, and a 32 inch LCD TV

Tutubi saw two swimming pools, one is this large one near the lakeshore. Due to lack of time, Tutubi wasn't able to swim here, just took a few minutes to take pictures before they departed back to Manila

early morning view of Tall Volcano and Taal Lake where fishermen/boatmen rait for passengers to ferry to the island inside Taal Lake where the crater is located. Note that the crater-like feature is not actually a crater. Taal Volcano has many craters but not this one

Club Balai Isabel Review and Comments

Club balai Isabel room rates are not cheap, prices of accommodations run in to more than PhP5000/room. Buffet food served to Tutubi deserves no raves bordering on rants where they can't even serve good crispy tawilis. People are courteous too. Restaurant bar is available only up to 12mn, something Tutubi's group do not want for they usually stay way beyond 12mn.

It's best to go there via SLEX, Startoll route rather than risk the steep curves of Ligaya Drive in Tagaytay.

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Just contact Club Balai Isabel directly for promos, discounts, latest room rates and list of facilities plus inquiries on meetings, conventions, day tour rates, corporate parties, events and weddings (this is the venue of the wedding of Oyo Boy Sotto and Kristine Hermosa, gossiped some people).

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If you've visited Club Balai Isabel or visited an event where you left your business card or contact details at agents of Club Balai Isabel, expect a call text from their marketing officers that you "won" free accommodations in Club Balai Isabel or Boracay and even abroad, it's a marketing scheme to avail of club memberships plus RCI memberships for timeshares. it's not a scam but you need to attend a 90 minute presentation where they'll persuade you to sign up on the spot due to a promo valid on that day only.

Tutubi got one of these calls but turned it down for he already knows the "modus operandi" of the marketing people, besides, he has not time to attend and go to their office on Makati Avenue

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Related Posts:
Taal Volcano Crater Trek
How to get to Tagaytay

Labels: Batangas, Batangas Resorts, Calabarzon, Lakes, Volcanoes