Calatagan, Batangas

I was happy that the drive from Alabang, Metro Manila to Calatagan, Batangas was pretty smooth. Traffic was light that Friday afternoon. I was in a good mood, anticipating a nice, relaxing, 3-day vacation at a beach resort, my first beach trip this year.

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We were welcomed by the lovely, calm surroundings of the Ronco Beach Resort. I loved the sea breeze, the landscape, great views, and the amount of greenery in the property. The beach itself, well, what can you expect of a beach in Batangas? It was okay, not white, clean water, good for quick dips and short swims. If you've been to the La Luz Resort in San Juan, Batangas, I would rank it a bit higher than Ronco. Still, it was a nice resort, I told myself. I can enjoy myself here. Then I realized that first impressions don't last.

When we arrived, we found out that we weren't given the room that we booked. If the room we were given was airconditioned it wouldn't have mattered but it wasn't! Nevertheless, I easily convinced myself that this wouldn't stop me from enjoying the weekend.

Next we found out that there was a videoke machine at the restaurant which was close to our (non-aircon) room. Now I have nothing against videoke singing, but I was afraid of not getting a good night's sleep if (and I was almost sure this would happen) drunk, overly enthusiastic tourists would still be singing their hearts out at 2 in the morning. The resort owner assured us however that the videoke would be open only until 11 PM. I had a feeling that this rule was most likely going to be broken so I told myself that I should get drunk to be able to sleep despite the noise that I was sure would come.

After walking around the resort, I went back to our AUV and alas, the left front tire AND the spare tire were both flat! We were able to put air into and use the spare tire then I drove to town 12 kilometers away to get the tire vulcanized. What a great start to my weekend getaway! I was now anxious to chill out, have a couple of drinks, have some peace and quiet.

Nothing unexpected happened the next couple of days. It was hard to sleep the first night because of (you guessed it!) the videoke. The next night we decided to have our own videoke night and to my pleasant surprise, nobody else sang after us. Ah, how wonderful my sleep was that night!

I took it easy, enjoyed the sun, relished the view and the breeze, and made sure I had my shot of alcohol every now and then. Food was great as we prepared our own - mostly grilled and pan-fried. All in all a moderately satisfactory vacation. My recommendation? Try looking for another resort in Calatagan. Ronco is not bad but you might get a better overall experience elsewhere. Calatagan is a lovely town and I will come back here if I find a good alternative resort.

My email address is jobotonio@yahoo.co.uk

What's In A Name / A Pansol Discovery

This blog's title is a dedication to a Karaoke bar formerly called "Beat The Heat" in Quezon City, Philippines, where I met this wonderful singer named "Maxene".  The bar has since changed it's name and Maxene no longer works there, but I sure miss both... a lot!

That bar has nothing to do with the content of this blog, but the name is a perfect title for what would probably make up most of my first few posts... beating the heat this summer! 

Recently a friend recommended this private pool in Pansol, Laguna. I hadn't seen the place before, I was just shown a few "okay" photos, so I had low expectations. This was one of the cheaper private pools in town even before the discount that was given to us, so we decided to try out "Zac & Ice" private pool.

     

I was pleasantly surprised at how appealing this place was. It was constructed in good taste. I loved the colors on the wall and the arched entrance as seen in the above photo (click on a photo for a bigger and better version). There are 2 bedrooms - the main bedroom was really nice, it had it's own big bathroom. This room is much better than what I have seen in many other resorts in Pansol. The second room was not as good, I'd say it's pretty average. There's a second bathroom with 2 shower stalls and a toilet - the showers were not working at that time - there was one huge pail (Orocan?) inside however. This common bathroom was not as good as the one in the Master's bedroom but it was also clean. Each room had 2 beds - a big (queen sized I think) bed and a single bed. Nice, clean and well-kept rooms overall.

 

There's a Karaoke area at the other end of the pool (opposite the bedrooms/kitchen), a grill, 2-burner stove, 2 refrigerators - a standard ref and a Coke ref that could probably easily fit 10 cases of beer I believe - no need to worry about cold beverages! In the kitchen there's a kaldero, a wok, and some cooking/eating utensils but hardly complete. I would advice those who would come here to bring additional cooking and eating implements.

     

About the swimming pool itself, well, what can I say? It's the usual suberb hot-spring water from the mountains of Mt. Makiling... very soothing and perfect for night swimming. 

One more good thing about this place - there are no other private pools within shouting distance so you wouldn't hear any other loud videoke singing drunks from the neighborhood but yourselves!

All in all, I would recommend this to those who want a quick affordable weekend getaway. If you wish to contact the owner email me at jobotonio@yahoo.co.uk