for this year's holy week break, the family went a little bit south. our destination: golden sunset village resort & spa.
golden sunset is a resort owned by ricky reyes. it is located at calatagan, batangas. from it's website:
Golden Sunset is one of the country's premiere resort, just a two-and-a-half-hour drive south of Metro Manila. Located in the historic town of Calatagan, Batangas, it is fast becoming the destination for vacationers and beachgoers alike. Golden Sunset has something for every member of your family: a Serendipity Spa where you can relax and unwind, an aviary (Birds de Paradiso) where your kids can learn more about birds and various restaurants where your whole family can wine and dine to different types of cuisines. Finally, the vacation you and your family truly deserve! Golden Sunset offers to its guests the perfect mix of breathtaking natural features, world-class amenities, relaxing yet exciting leisure activities and excellent service from a courteous and well-trained staff: all the ingredients of a relaxing and memorable vacation in one destination! Take a stoll along our sandy boardwalk, swim in our crystal clear waters or simply marvel at the beauty of our golden sunset.
there are a lot of activities that you can do inside the resort. the only downside is that they have no actual beach area where you can swim. there is just some sort of shore. most of the waters in calatagan are like these - they are either rocky or they serve as fishpens.
they are not that strict with the bringing in of food and snacks. there are several restaurants that serve food inside the resort. you cannot use cash inside the resort for purchases. you will actually be issued a "passport" which will be loaded with a certain amount of credits based on how much the guest wants, and that is what will be used.
we got one deluxe room and one superior room. each room has one double bed, and two double beds. a mini living room with television, private toilet and bath, and an attic with extra provision for beddings. the room was ok, a little bit outdated and some of the facilities and fixtures need updating. also, the aircon wasn't enough to cool the entire room on a hot summer day. the television didn't have cable, and the reception from the antenna was bad.
to go around the property, you can walk, or you can ride one of these pink electric jeepneys driven by the resort's staff. these are what you ride with your things from the front desk to the cottages/rooms that you have rented.
there is a teaser of the cultural show during noontime. what we witnessed is a short number of hawaiian/hula dances. there is a full length cultural show at night, around 8pm.
there are a lot of pools around the are, but the rooms were near the main pool. these are two adjacent pools. one is from 4ft - 6ft, with the 2-level slide. next to it is a more shallow pool where my son enjoyed walking around in. it also featured massage beds with rainfall showers that massage your whole body.
we strived to capture this scenery. the golden sunset from which the resort's name came from. it is indeed beautiful to look at.
we had dinner at one of the restaurants which serve traditionall filipino food. we had adobo, bulalo, fried fish and liempo. after dinner and watching the cultural show (which also required some audience participation), we walked around the property.
the next day, we explored the "mini zoo" and the aviary. the little boy took a lot of pictures with the different animals - both alive and statues. we also went inside a pigeon/dove sanctuary where we saw lots of these species of birds, and even saw some eggs.
one of the highlights that we saw were the peacock. we had to wait for a while before these birds showed their beautiful plumage. it was indeed a treat.
after we checked out of the resort, since we took the tagaytay route, we stopped by one of the restaurants to have our late lunch of bulalo and tawilis. and then we proceeded to sky ranch where we spent the rest of the day.
of the rides available, we tried the sky eye together with hubby and the little boy. and of course, i couldn't resist trying out the sky rider, which is their 300m long zipline.
after other rides and some snacks, we called it a day and went back home.
Golden Sunset Village Resort & SpaBrgy Uno, Calatagan Batangas
Travelpros, Mall of ASIA
Tel nos.: (+632) 556-0169 / 556-017