It was my aunt’s post-birthday celebration and she didn’t
like the idea of celebrating it at home. She wanted to have a short bonding
moment with the whole family outside our humble abode – anywhere but
restaurants and mall. An overnight stay at the resort was the secondary plan,
but finding a good pet-friendly resort may not be that easy. Happy to have
found Balai Sa San Juan in Batangas.
It was a three-hour trip via private van. According to the
reviews, you have to stick to the directions given on their website – true! It
wasn’t really a bumpy ride, but there were constructions going on as we’re
nearing Balai.
Balai sa San Juan is a good choice if you ought to have a
quiet place to stay (provided the resort doesn’t have a lot of guests).
From the very beginning they’d been honest about their
surroundings:
1. fine gray sand
2. jellyfishy area
3. fishpond everywhere
4. beachfront and clubhouse that’s almost 2 to 3-minute walk
from your cottage
Wooden bridge that will take you from your cottage to the clubhouse / clubhouse to the beach area.
Few of the things that I like about this resort, though – we
had the entire resort for ourselves, food’s undoubtedly delectable, and pets
are very much welcome. Our dear Kitkat even met the staff’s two cute puppies
while we were at the clubhouse.
I enjoyed my stay at Balai despite the presence of jellyfish
that hindered me from swimming. I still liked my short ME TIME moment at the
shore albeit I couldn’t lie on the sand and I had to be careful as not to step
on a “treasure”.
The surrounding won’t provide a picture-perfect photo print,
but one may manage to find the right angle to capture the good spots at the
resort.
With a little “retouch” especially in their little island
part (where the yoga deck and chapel are located), the place could have looked
more inviting and relaxing. Grass-trimming and a little more gardening would
also help.
But what I truly appreciate about Balai sa San Juan was
their speedy and still polite reply to my never-ending updates and requests
that had been modified a couple of times prior to and even during our arrival.
Perhaps because we were also the only guest at the resort - that’s why they’re
able to customize our rooms. I wasn’t expecting that one. Their service during
our stay was very friendly and warm. They’re very much attentive to all our
needs and again – requests.
The room rate was budget-friendly. This resort is ideal for family/groupy bonding. Just make sure to bring something - cards, chess, etc. (we brought our mahjong set!) to avoid boredom.
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