Enjoy a Road Trip of Manila with Jeepney Tours!

Hey guys! 

What is one thing that makes you think of the Philippines when you see it? 

Besides from the food of course! 

Rock Garden Resort...What I think about it

Hey guys! 

I'm back with a quick review on Rock Garden Resort. If you missed my post about our Bolinao trip you can check them out on the links below. 

Onto the post! 

I would just like to say that this review is 100% based on what I think of the resort. All the things I will say here are purely based on our experience with the resort, the personnel and the likes. 

There isn't much to say about this resort with the mere fact that it is near the town proper which is good if you want to buy more stuff since it will just be a 20 minute travel from the resort to the town market. One thing this resort boasts of is it doesn't have an entrance fee if you are just going to enjoy a day at the beach. 

The offer a lot of rooms and cottages for different sets of people, they have a dormitory style room in which it costs 4,000 PHP for non aircon while the one with the AC is around 6,000PHP per night. Pretty cheap if you ask me.

our room!

I will just talk about the dorm rooms since that's where we stayed the duration of our trip. If you will be out most of the time, I suggest you get the non aircon type which is much cheaper. The dorm rooms have 15 beds which is just enough for me and my team mates and also for our cute tour guide to stay in. If you like are more than 15 in the room, you can request for extra mats that would be 170 each.

It has two bathrooms so you won't have to hurry so much when there is a line to wash up in the morning and before going to bed.

Free tissue, toothpaste, soaps and shampoo

The bathroom is ok since its only a shower and a faucet. Don't even attempt to use the shower on these since it would take you 10 minutes to wash off your body since the water pressure is not much. You will have to use the faucet and the dipper to wash yourself off.

If you are not much of a fan of walking several flights of stairs, you will have to get used to it since their dorm rooms are located at the top floor. There are only two dorm rooms available at the resort so it would be best to reserve one if you will be having a big group outing like we did.

Below our dorm room is a picnic area and a gazebo in which you can eat there for lunch and dinner. You can also opt eating in the veranda of the dorm, but it would be a hassle especially if you will have to cook the meals there.

The picnic area doesn't have a lot of shade except for the gazebo so its not really good to hang out there during the afternoon since its windy.

Eating time! Talo talo na! :D

 

There is also a common cooking area for guests, unfortunately I didn't take a picture of that place which is just behind the front office of the resort.

The resort offers its beaches that is free of charge to guest, they also have pools if you don't want to go to the beach. If you use the pool it will be a 35 php for the kiddie pool while it would be 75 php for the adult pool. The pool is just fine since the water is just right - not too cold nor too hot even though its an outdoor pool.

There is also a mini zoo which you can check out different animals like monkeys, parrots, and snakes. There isn't really much about the mini zoo except for the talking parrot that says Pangit (ugly in English)

The resort also offers cottages to use if you would just stay there for the day. The cottages are alright if you ask me since its just like other cottages offered in the other resorts.

Now let's check out the beach!

Mind you that I expected a lot with their beach since its been years since I last went to the beach. And here's what I saw.

It was no elegant beach front if you ask me so I was a bit disappointed. I actually expected to walking to a sandy beach front. It was sandy alright but for only like 10 step? Sorry gotta be honest there. 

But I still have to check out the sea. It doesn't have big waves as I expected and it was relatively calm maybe because the rocks underneath have stopped it. There was also that smell of rotten fish. I'm not particular with scents but I can't remember knowing this scent when I go to the beach when I was younger.

The shore was definitely full of pointy rocks and sea grasses that it wasn't all appealing to go in the water. There were some families that did went in, I also did try but I was not happy because of all the rocks that I stepped on. It was far too painful to walk anymore even with my slippers in the water. 

Here are some other pictures of the resort!

Those are not fishies.. they're sea grasses. 

I still enjoyed our stay at the resort. The only thing that I didn't like is their beach front but over all everything was fine. If you want to save up on your accommodations if you are travelling on a group, they have the cheapest rate for sure. 

I suggest just book in this resort and explore the rest of Bolinao because I think that is the thing you really have to do in Bolinao is explore its hidden jewels.  

I would rate this resort 6 out of 10 stars, because their beach front is not appealing to me and my colleagues. Their staff are friendly although some are not as approachable as the others. The location of the resort is near the town proper but a bit hidden so its really best to know where you are going (or have google map on hold at.all.times LOL) I really love that they have pools as alternative if their guests want to do night swimming. They also have a mini zoo which is really nice if you have kids with you. 

Over all I think this resort is great. The beach front is not that good but above that I don't have any complains. 

If you want to see the rates you can check out the resort here. 

Much Love! 

-- Alice 

Road To Tagaytay with my girlfriends!

This is a food and travel blog, but the only thing is.. I rarely travel which makes this blog more of a food blog. I know. I have failed as a travel blogger... BUT that doesn't mean I have to give up right? 

Luckily I was able to go to Tagaytay a couple of weeks ago with my friends. This post is a little late because I was terribly busy with a lot of things but all the memories are still fresh in my mind.. wow may ganun talaga? LOL 

Okay lets begin. To start off I traveled to Tagaytay on a private vehicle so I'm not sure how much money you have to shell out to get there but you can easily ride some buses. I suggest going to Tagaytay before the weekend starts, around Thursday to Saturday? Traffic is less hassle and going around is much easier - Trust me enjoying the view without other tourists will be a much blissful experience. 

We went there Sunday morning and we stopped over Nuvali which I heard has a wave park. Unfortunately we weren't able to see that. the only one that we saw is their clubhouse which actually looks more of like a convention center.

Of course in the tradition of me and my friends, we had a jumpshot.. but almost all the pictures are FAIL. either my face is not ok or their faces are not ok. Oh well.. 

Then of course we went to Tagaytay! We went first to the overlooking.. the weather was not really cooperating with us since it was drizzling but still we were able to take pictures. We also went on a hike from the overlooking to the picnic grove. Originally we were planning to eat there. But then all the cottages were occupied.. and we were not in the mood to wait for a cottage to eat.. 

And now on to the food porn! haha! 

We ate at ATS Green restaurant. I will do another post for this but for now.. 

FOOD PORN!

 

 

Next we went to Calaruega. Calaruega is a church in Nasugbu, Batangas.. around at least an hours worth of drive from Tagaytay. This was my first time to be there and I was in awe of it. You can also visit the church which is small but is exquisite. It will remind you of those small chapels in Italy.. if only you have been there..

Over all I had a great time having this road trip with my girlfriends. It was a bit tiring but it was all worth it. Quite honestly I fell asleep on the way home because the trip was super tiring so better bring your travel pillow so you can take a nap in between.

So.. when was the last time you went on a road trip?

I'd like to know! Comment below ^0^

Much Love!

xx Alice