I always wanted to go to Pico de Loro, to see and experience
the majestic beauty of the nature surrounding it and of course to try its
stylish and elegant facilities of the resort.
Every year, we planned of going to Pico de Loro, from then
on I started doing research about it. I have read lots of good reviews thus
made me more eager to go there.
Pico de Loro is located at Hamilo Coast at Nasugbu Batangas.
Hamilo Coast is the closest world class residential beach resort in Manila. It
is comprise of Pico de Loro Cove, Pico Sands Hotel and Pico de Loro Beach &
Country Club.
The members can enjoy the luxury of unrestricted access to
all beach and country club facilities, preferential rates at the Pico Sands
Hotel and other Hamilo Coast services and facilities and exclusive invitations
to regular club events and expeditions. The lifetime membership may be extended
to the declared immediate family members of the member. (source: http://hamilocoast.com/membership)
However, non-members can still enjoy Hamilo Coast as long as
there is an endorsement coming from a member.
It was on a peak of Summer day when we went to Pico de Loro.
Though I have several contact numbers of condo owners that I got from the blogs
and other websites we still struggled on finding a condo unit for rent that is
available on our target dates at an affordable price. We found cheaper rates at
Airbnb, but we have a hard time booking with Airbnb, maybe because we just
don’t know how to do it. And so we were left with the condo owners whom I have
contacted. We were given a quote of P5,500 for 8 pax but the owner gave it up
to P5,000 per night. Since we were only a group of 6 persons (4 adults and 2
kids), the owner gave it a rate of P4,500 per night. Good deal, right?!
We took the Cavitex-Ternate-Nasugbu Route. We prefer this
route because of the nice views that you’ll be passing by, not to mention that
the toll fees are cheaper compared to SLEX. It took us 1.5 hours to reach our
destination. (Traffic starts at Tanza
Cavite).
Upon entering the gates of the Hamilo Coast, you need to
show your endorsement paper and need to pay for the entrance fee. We paid guest
fee for the use of the resort’s facilities which includes swimming pools and
the main beach. We paid 1,200 for adults and 300 for the kids. The tellers will
not check whether all the details on the endorsement form are valid, amount to
be paid were all based on the information on the endorsement form. You need to
purchase a guest card which costs 50.00 pesos with an initial load amount of
P1,000. The guest card is used for buying or renting inside the resort. The
resort do not accept cash payments. However, you can also pay through credit card.
The tellers will only refer to the endorsement form and will
not ask or confirm anything from you, what is written on the endorsement form
is considered final.
The condo unit that we rented is a studio-type condo unit located
at the fourth floor of Myna building.
Lobby |
It has 1 queen sized – bed and double –sized
pull out bed, a double sofa bed, and 2 single mattresses. It has a veranda which has 2 chairs and a table and a clothesline.
It is complete with
cooking paraphernalia, which includes, the stove, rice cooker, microwave oven,
plates, utensils and a refrigerator.
The toilet and bath is clean, it has a hot and cold shower.
Outside the room.
All things inside the resort comes with a fee, for the use
of towel, you need to pay P50.00 per towel and should be returned on the
prescribed time. The food is too expensive. We spent the P1,000 worth of guest
card in food.
As soon as we reach our rented condo unit, its almost past
lunch time, so we ate our packed lunch then rest for awhile then we started to
explore the resort. It took more than 5 minutes of waiting time, the shuttle service
has not yet arrived, so we decided to go for a walk to the beach. There were so
many people. We were lucky that we easily found a vacant beach bed.
The kids played on the sand, and we were just contented to watch the people passed by until we decided to try the water. The color of the sand is cream, it is not a pure white sand, the water is clear.
The main beach area closes at 6:00pm, so it seems just like us, the rest of the guests just waited for the sunset and left the beach then transferred to the country club (pool area). There were so many people.
It was again lucky for us to find a vacant beach bed where
we can place our things.
We stayed a little late, until the people were lessened and
we enjoyed the pool for the rest of the evening.
We went to the beach during night time to check out the
event, but we are late, the event just finished. At the Beach club area, there
is a band playing, but we cannot go further, because only members and
accompanied guests can go there. So we just went back to our rented unit.
We headed to the pool area
after awhile and spend the remaining hours that’s left for us.
Comfy pool beds |
We spent the P1,000 worth of cash card fee for our breakfast merienda. Their food are pricey.
Before finally leaving the resort, we did some photo shoots.
Add caption |
Badminton court |
Basketball court |
Toilet |
Locker room |
Powder room |
Shower room |
The lobby of Pico Beach and Country Club |
I can say that our overnight stay at Pico de Loro is worthwhile.
Despite of the many guests at the time of our visit, I still enjoyed the scenic
beauty of the resort, its closeness to nature and the resort’s privacy.
I love to go back but not anytime soon.