Villa Escudero, Glimpse of the Past, Sept. 3, 2012

I have been planning for my birthday celebration for months and I cannot come out with one good idea. Until I saw a blog about Villa Escudero Plantation and Resort. Lunch in the falls and museum, hmmm, looks good, why not? Plus the fact that it is only 1 hr drive to Kamay ni Jesus. It’s a perfect choice.

I booked for an overnight stay for 3, for me and my parents. It’s nice to know that they give 20% discount for senior citizens. I paid 7,150 for the 3 of us. I deposited 50% down payment for reservation. This includes full board meals exclusive of drinks for lunch and dinner. We left in Binangonan, Rizal at 8 am and arrived in Villa Escudero past 12 noon. I choose the Manila East Road directions from google map to save time, money (no toll fee) and no traffic. The map is not helpful. The street signs are hard to find. We asked people around for directions and they are kind enough to help us. But on the cross road of Lucena and San Pablo, I got confused. Since the address is San Pablo City, I choose the route to San Pablo. Oh my god! we pass all the municipality of Laguna. Its a very long drive...  My Dad is getting impatient. As we reach the boundary of San Pablo and saw the sign to Villa Escudero. Wow!!! at last...... we reach our destination.

After paying the remaining balance, they gave us the food stubs and entrance ticket to the resort. They have gulaman juice for their welcome drinks. From there we were brought to our cottage riding in their carabao cart. The carabao's name is Luningning (the one in our picture) and they also have Sexy. Nice names for a carabao. On our 5-10 minutes carabao ride, we were serenaded by a couple of singers singing Filipino folk songs like "Ibong Pipit". My parents are happy to sing with them. It reminds them of their childhood days. 

After we unpacked and refreshed, we headed towards the waterfalls for our lunch. The lunch is served in buffet. All meals are in buffet style. They have pansit (my dad’s favorite), grilled Tilapia, beef caldereta, adobong chicken, steamed vegetables, kare-kare and bananaque and sweetened tapioca for dessert. The water on the river is cold, I cannot stand my feet dip in the water for long. My mother finds it refreshing.  

Strolling around the Hacienda is enjoyable with our tripod.

It's cute and funny...

from pig to carabao..

Their museum is great. Picture taking is not allowed inside. It has different religious statues, from Nazareno, Last Supper, etc. The ambiance is very solemn. It also showcases the different collections of the Escudero Clan that they collected while travelling around the world. They have the collections of the Barong and Saya of all Presidents and First Ladies of the Philippines that they wore during their proclamation. But why Pres. Benigno Aquino's Barong is not there? (just asking). The best gown for me is the gown of First Lady Macapagal. Simple but elegant.  

Aside from animals, they also have different warships.

Then, I remembered that Lorna Tolentino and the late Rudy Fernandez exchange their vows here. We asked the jeepney driver to take us to the church. By the way, they also have jeepneys that you can use to tour around for free.

The church is small for a celebrity wedding

The driver is very kind to take pictures on the church and garden where reception was held. 

Fresh air........ ..hmmm. Nice to breath

After a whole day of exploration, it's time to freshen up..... its swimming time....

There were only few guests. We have the whole pool for ourselves. But after 6pm, there were a lots of mosquitoes roaming around the pool.

the pool is 5 ft deep

We stayed in apartment type cottage. No aircon, only ceiling fan. Since the ceiling is too high, the room is warm and uncomfortable. We need to put off lotion to get to sleep. No TV too. They have rooms with aircon but of course it is more expensive. The room can accommodate up to 6 persons. The shower and toilet are separated. 

While we are relaxing, we heard a beautiful Kundiman songs. At first, I thought it is only a radio but when we open the window. There are four men singing like "Harana" on the old times. They have nice voices. I'm too busy listening to them, I forgot to take a photo or video. After four songs, they told us that the dinner is ready. Nice........... The best way to end the day is to have nice dinner. The best menu, macapuno dessert. Yummy!!!

Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort

San Pablo City, Philippines

Manila Office: 1059 Estrada St. Malate, Metro Manila

(632) 521-0830, 523-0392, 523-2944,