An invigorating stay at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (Part 2)
Sunday, October 21, 2012Las Casas follows standard check in and checkout times. However you can arrive early and explore the property. There’s a 45 min tour (or longer depending on your group’s speed) available every hour. Our plan was to have breakfast on the road to catch our 1030 AM tour so that when it’s over we can have lunch, rest and swim!!! Things didn’t go as planned and we left Manila late. We arrived at the property a little after 10 AM famished so we proceeded to have brunch instead. Luckily our room was ready after our meal and we were able to check in. In true Spanish practice, we had sieta. Mwahahahahaha
We stayed at the hotel which was housed at Paseo de Escolta, a replica of commercial buildings in Manila in the 19th century. The hotel rooms are located on the second and third floors. All 17 rooms have modern facilities and fixtures.
Our voucher got us a Deluxe Loft for 4 adults for P4500. The room in fact can accommodate up to 6 adults so we simply asked for 2 extra beds. The room comes with breakfast already.
I’ve stayed in a lot of affordable hotels so I was pleasantly surprised at the room we got. It was tremendously comfortable for 6 adults. We had our own spaces and we never felt stifled. Our room is bigger than most condominium units sold in the market! If I were to move out and have a starter place, I wouldn’t mind getting a place that looked exactly like our room.
This is the loft. We put the 2 extra beds on the first floor and as you can see, this floor can actually accommodate more beds.
Yes, that’s a closet over there!
The girls fell in love with the bathroom, it was so spacious! 2 sinks helped us move things a little faster. Since the shower area did not have a door, expect water to travel to the toilet area. One drawback of the sizeable room? One bathroom! Haha When 6 adults are pressed for time, having just one bathroom can get challenging.
Las Casas only has one restaurant at the moment that serves delicious Filipino and Spanish dishes. Like Bellarocca, prepare yourself to pay at resort prices. That’s really how business is done. If you go there having made peace with that fact, you’ll be fine. Haha There aren’t any restaurants near the property but we passed by a couple of sari-sari stores before reaching the entrance.
The restaurant adheres to the resort’s theme. Though open air, it still served the perfect backdrop for our meals.
Bad blogger alert. I don’t have the greatest photos of the food we consumed nor the details of the dishes. Sorry! One thing’s for sure, we loved the food we had on our overnight trip.
We were able to go around and inside the different houses. Our tour guide Dexter would enlighten us about the history of each home. A lot of tourists would ask about what film or tv show has shot in the property so trivia like that were eventually added to the tour.
This was the house used in Richard Gutierrez’s version of Zoro. I loved the intricate details of the house!
Photo Source
There are several sculptures and fountains spread throughout the property that depict common Filipino activities or scenes from daily life.
There are several sculptures and fountains spread throughout the property that depict common Filipino activities or scenes from daily life.
A plane just passed by!
The chickens weren’t officially part of the tour but we went to them anyway. Haha
The horse taking a break. You can ask the front desk for the kalesa ride schedule and rates if you’d like to experience it.
One of the pools you can soak in.
Dexter was engaging, funny, knowledgeable and game! He was the ideal guide for our silly group. Here he is demonstrating how to use an iron in the olden days. Memorable line from Dexter? “Mga prominente at mayaman….” You just have to hear him say it. Haha
The whole tour, because we were rather slow, took around 1.5 hours. It was wonderful to leisurely see the beauty of the property.
It is also picturesque at night.
Service at Las Casas is incredible. Everyone was courteous and always had a smile on their face even under the burning hot sun in full Filipiniana costume. Wherever you went, the staff would greet you. I could genuinely feel that the people working there were happy works and loved their job. Kudos to management for this!
The property is amazingly well maintained. Throughout our visit we would constantly see staff cleaning the building, sweeping, trimming the grass, mopping, etc. I hope this is something management can keep up so that when I visit Las Casas again, its beauty stays the same or better.
Here are some sunrise photos. Oh yeah, I tried to wake up to catch a few snaps.
Las Casas changed me! I am now a convert and no longer just a sand snob; I am now a water snob! Haha Las Casas may have gray sand but the water was clear and calm! I don’t have photos near the water but we enjoyed just being in the ocean. The water didn’t sting my eyes as much as other beaches and it gradually became deeper. Our group was so blessed to have great beach weather that trip! I SERIOUSLY needed a beach trip!
Amazing!
I FREAKED OUT. I didn’t have my camera with me! I ran all the way back to the room and returned to the beach. Time spent for that? 10 – 15 minutes! Thank god I was still able to snap a few photos. I would have hated myself if I let the opportunity pass.
A few tips:
- Best spot for sunrise and sunset is still the beach.
- Odd tip, for a good view of the mountain, try to peer outside your bathroom window.
- Go ahead and bring snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. They’re not especially strict about that rule but don’t abuse it as well.
- Choose your foot wear for going around. I wore flip flops but was challenged by the cobblestoned streets.
If you’re looking to party and get wild, find yourself another place to go to. On the other hand, if you want to relax, bond and immerse in history - Las Casas is the spot for you. It is a chill vacation getaway that is great for families, couples and friends.
It was only the Monday after the trip that I felt the immensity of what the trip meant to me. Besides having another amazing trip with my cousins, that’s already a given, I felt refreshed. Add the fact that my past beach vacations have rained on my parade, I truly needed a good vacay. Good weather, immense beauty, wonderful company and shooting away energized me. Photography saved me once more; time and time again it proves to be my therapy. Salamat!
Ooohh Deal Grocer just posted a deal for the room we got. Grab yourself a voucher here.
---------------------------------
Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar
Bo Pag-asa, Bagac, Bataan
Manila Sales Office 02-3325338; 02-3553032
reserve@lascasasfilipinas.com
***********************************************************************
Hola!
Thank you for passing by and checking up on me. Teehee Get my blog
posts straight to your email by subscribing to the newsletter here. Never miss an article again, booyah!
0 comments