If given a chance to escape the heat of the city with the whole family where would you go? For sure, you will answer Tagaytay or Baguio City, well, here's another option: Orani, Bataan!
For our first wedding anniversary, we decided to spend our day with the whole family. We don't want to travel too far from Subic/Olongapo so we decided to go to Orani, Bataan which is just around 45 minutes drive from home.
Sinagtala is a semi-private farm resort located up in the mountains of Orani, Bataan. The houses there are actually vacation houses of the owners but few are renting out their units. One afternoon we decided to visit this place for an ocular inspection and we were not disappointed. We love the weather, the colorful wild flowers and beautiful private houses .
Once you are inside the compound the first thing you will see is their chapel. A nice one indeed! A great place for weddings!
They also have a restaurant inside, and the great thing about the place? They offer good food at reasonable prices. All the private houses at the resort offers free use of kitchen and cooking utensils, but if you don't want to cook then no worries, this restaurant is open the whole week, anytime of the day.
In this photo you will see 2 of the many private houses inside the compound both of these houses are also available for rent.
Here's the Beacon House we rented for the day:
the house has 3 bedrooms, let me share some of my photos:
at the ground floor is the kitchen, entertainment area, comfort room and 1 bedroom.
here's the ground floor bedroom, it has two twin beds and its own huge bathroom.
here's the second floor, it has 2 rooms. The first 2 pictures are from the family room, and the next 2 are from the room with a queen size bed.
This is the attic connected to the family room (our room for the night). Their attic has a queen size bed and a huge veranda.
Here's the view standing from the attic's veranda (left side). You will find here the reception area of the Resort near the pool. In the upper left most area is another private house with rooms available for rent.
Rate for the Beacon House is P7,000 per night as of this writing (good for 10), you have to pay extra for the excess. Kitchen utensils and stove are available for your convenience. Breakfast is free, but they will just give the supplies and you will be the one to cook them (the housekeeper gave us 10 fresh eggs and coffee). Check-in time is 2pm and checkout is at 12 noon.
Just to enumerate a few important things:
1) the ground floor is an open area so I prepared myself for a battle with mosquitoes, but we got the worst.. huge, bee sized flies! So be prepared and please bring something to secure your food.
2) there are a lot of local dogs in the neighborhood so we brought all our food on the second floor before we retire for the night.
3) the ref in the kitchen is too small, almost the size of a personal ref so bring an extra cooler if needed.
4) no TV in the house or sound system so plan ahead and bring something to occupy your time. (we brought our own sound system and some playing cards... tong-its time!! )
5) My husband convinced me to stay at Beacon House because of the pool table. But alas, all the cue sticks, the pool balls and even the table are in need of some TLC! The pool balls were mostly chipped off, the cue sticks are the most disappointing.. the cue tips are gone with the wind and no chalk available too. Hopefully they can fix it, it's the next best thing about the house for me (next to the attic of course).
6) When we dropped by the first time for an ocular inspection, we saw the tenants playing darts. When we arrived there, sorry but no dartboard. So just bring one if you want.
For reservation at Beacon House, you can contact the owner Ms Tonjee or Ms April at 0907-678-1671, their fb page: https://www.facebook.com/talabeaconhouse, their airbnb page: https://www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/869675.
Another best option for accommodation is this place (my personal choice):
In here they are offering rooms for rent, the cheapest room is around P2,400 as of this writing (room picture above), they also have a Family Room available. They have a safe play area for the kids, a meeting room for corporate events, a kitchen for the visitor's use and a huge viewing deck that you can also use for parties. Breakfast is also free here and they offer the best view for me. To reserve a room or for any inquiry you can contact Monique at 09486417171 or 09215544274, just try if the numbers are still working.
Here's the famous infinity pool at Sinagtala overlooking Manila bay. Please take note however that the pool use is not free even if you are staying at one of the houses inside the resort. Fee is P200 per head. Day trippers are also welcome.
Direction to Sinagtala:
Take SCTEX then exit at Dinalupihan, turn right going to Balanga and just follow the signage to Sinagtala .
Was it worth the cost? Hmmm, for me personally, the use of the pool should be free and they should offer more activities inside the farm. If you however are looking for a quiet place with family and nature as your backdrop then this is the best place for you. Enjoy your stay at Sinagtala!
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