Family Retreat at Nasugbu

My mom and dad are visiting from the US so we decided to plan a quick trip either in Batangas or Subic during Holy Week. My brother found Canyon Cove online at and decided to book an overnight stay there. It was still Holy Wednesday that's so there wasn't any traffic and we were able to get there let's say in 2 1/2 hours (we left Alabang 7AM, had a pit stop at Petron SLEX for some coffee at Starbucks and air for the tires, we arrived 9:30 AM).

It was my 2nd time at Canyon Cove (1st time was a daytrip with my buddies) so I already have an idea of what the place looks like but have not yet stayed there overnight. Our room was perched on the 5th floor, south wing with a view of the beach and pool (all rooms i presume overlook either the beach and pool or just the beach). After being settled in, we headed out to the beach and pool area to enjoy our day. The beach is not as wide and is a little rocky at the shore. The beach cabanas cost 1500 pesos for one day so we decided to just put a beach towel by the beach and put our stuff there (tip 1: make sure to bring a beach mat). We didn't really feel like swimming at the beach that time so my mom, dad and i decided to just lounge by the pool while my brother's family went for some island hopping (1500 pesos per head). before swimming, we decided to eat lunch and try out the summer ihaw ihaw that the resort offered.

The ihaw ihaw costs 300 pesos and it includes rice, choice of grilled ulam, green mangoes and dessert (mixed fruit or a slice of watermelon). The choices for your ulam are liempo, pork chop, squid, chicken and fish (the available fish that time was hito). Tip 2: make sure to bring money when you leave your room. I thought that like in other resorts that you can charge expenses to your room, here, you have to pay cash. Good thing my dad had money with him so we were able to pay for our lunch. There's cold water for free and soda in cans costs 60 pesos. After lunch, we headed out to the pool, picked our pool cabana (this one's free) and waited for my brother. There are 3 pools, 2 kiddie pools and 1 adult pool. The adult pool is around 5 feet i guess (I'm only 5'4 so I still have my head above the water). Around the pool area are cabanas, lounge chairs, shower areas and a beach volleyball court. There were a lot f people but the size of the pool was big enough for all the guests to enjoy. After swimming by the pool for the whole afternoon, everyone decided to go back to the rooms while I stayed to by the pool area and sleep in one of the chairs.

For dinner, we decided to try the buffet at the restaurant (costs 600 pesos). Food choices include appetizers (macaroni salad, veggies, spicy beef), main courses (spaghetti, beef in mushroom sauce, orange chicken, squid, crab curry) and dessert (leche flan, minatamis na saging and fresh fruits); I'm not really sure of the names of the dishes because its not listed. I thought the the buffet was expensive for the quality of food, as I would recall it, I said that the food looked sad and it tasted bland, not really that good. Also, again make sure to bring money since you won't be able to charge it to your room. Drinks are not included in the buffet but there is a free glass of ice tea with the buffet.  (Tip 3, for more food choices, you can drive to the nearby town of Nasugbu which is just around 20 minutes I guess. There's Jollibee, Chowking and Mang Inasal to name a few). After a very filling dinner (we were all in the conquest of making the most out of our 600 pesos) we decided to walk around the property, and get some fresh air. The pool area is open until 9PM for hotel guests so there were still people enjoying the pool.

After a good night's rest, everyone woke up early to make the most of our stay. The breakfast buffet was open at 6:30 AM so we had to wait for a few minutes outside the banquet hall (the banquet hall is a separate building and is located in front of the building). The breakfast was a good deal and was yummy compared to the dinner and the best thing, it was Free and included in the room. There were a lot more choices and it included bread (with pineapple and strawberry jam), pancakes, fried rice, tocino, longganisa, tapa, omelet, fresh fruits and flowing pineapple juice and coffee. Also, it was much more cheaper at 350 pesos. After breakfast, we headed to the beach and take a dip. Since it was still early, there were only a few people. You can rent a life vest for snorkeling and it costs 150 pesos for the entire day which is a good deal. There were some fishes in the shallow part of the beach so no need to really go to the deep. After spending the morning at the beach and pool, we packed up and headed back to Manila. headed back to Manila, we saw the number of cars headed the opposite way, away from Manila. Good thing we decided to do our beach trip before the holiday rush.