A few days before our early summer family trip, I started searching online for a beach resort in Laiya, Batangas. One of my criteria is that it should have a nice pool and should be beach-front property.
We ended at Estrellas de Mendoza Playa Resort.
Situated at Laiya Ibabao, San Juan, Batangas, Estrella de Mendoza Playa Resort is a Mediterranean-inspired resort sitting on Laiya Beach.
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| The Entrance Gate |
Price Points
We booked the premier room (39 sqm) for 2 adults and 2 Kids (below 12 yo) for 6,800, but we ended up paying an additional of 1,000 since my 15-year-old daughter is considered an adult already. It comes with a free buffet breakfast for 4 and the use of amenities including the pool and the beach.
I think that the rate of 7,800 per night for a family of 4 is too much if we consider the room and the buffet breakfast only. It is a little expensive for me since the room is not that well-maintained. I can find a lot better 5-star business hotel in Manila for a price of 7,800.
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| The Facade |
Rooms / Accommodation
Pros
- Has a veranda facing the pool and the beach which we love.
- Spacious room
- Good parking space
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| The view from our room |
Cons
- Aircon too noisy in Room 309 (wahhhh!!! hirap matulog). They should replace it with a new unit immediately. I am not sure with the other rooms if ganun din.
- The rooms are quite old and not well-maintained
- Yes they have TV inside the room but you cannot use it. (pang props lang ata!)
- No wifi inside the room
The Beach
- We love the beach. We love it during high tide and low tide. I find it nice that I was able to walk about 300 to 400 meters first just to be able to swim during low tide. :-)
- Clean beachfront
- Kayak, Banana Boat, Jetski, Boat ride are available
- kid-friendly beach
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| High Tide |
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| Low Tide |
The Pool
Pros
- nice blue infinity pool
Cons
- sharp pool flooring.
The Restaurant
The buffet breakfast includes standard Filipino breakfast such as bread, eggs, tinapa, corned beef, chicken adobo, sopas and congee. The breakfast comes with an unli coffee as well.
The food is so-so and nothing to rave about.
You can also order snacks and have it delivered in the poolside and beach area.
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| We had our PM snacks delivered here. |
Estrella de Mendoza Playa Resort is ideal for families, especially those with young kids. During our stay, we saw toddlers playing at the beach (during low tide of course!) and they were really having lots of fun playing and wading in the water.
More photos
1. The best way to the resort is to drive via SLEX which connects to Star Tollway. This will cut your usual travel time by approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour by skipping the traffic in San Jose, Turbina Highway. This will be approximately 132 km from Magallanes to resort itself, and will take you about 2.5 hours depending on traffic.
2. Take SLEX all the way to where it connects with Star Tollway.
3. After exiting, veer to your left for a 2.5 kms drive to reach an intersection with sign pointing to Rosario, then turn left at this intersection, while on this road, you will notice the municipal hall of Ibaan on your right, while the church will be on your left. After passing the church, you will reach a forked road. Turn right at the road sign poining to the town of San Juan. This will be an 8km drive on this road going to Rosario town proper.
4. At the town proper of Rosario, you will notice a Jollibee outlet. Drive past it and the road will lead you all the way to San Juan town proper which is approximately 23 kms away.
5. At San Juan town proper, you will notice a Dunkin Donut sign in your right and proceed straight until you reach the Municipal Hall of San Juan. There is a road immediately to your right. Turn to it because this is now the main road to Laiya. This is a concrete road of about 20 or so kilometers going to Estrellas de Mendoza Playa Resort.
6. When in doubt, use waze :-)
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