March 11, 2019

A Sip of Summer at Palm Beach Resort

My mom and all of my aunts were back in the Philippines because of what happened to my grandmother last month. I can’t remember the last time that they were complete, it’s been a long time so my mom decided to have a family outing with my aunts at bihira sila makumpleto. I only have less than a week to look for a resort so I was checking the resorts that we have visited in the past.

Read: Beach Resorts in Batangas 

Then I remembered Palm Beach Resort, it was suggested by one of my readers so I checked the rates online and I told my mom about it. My brother even said “Nakapunta na ko diyan, team building ng company”. Since I need to book for 22 persons, I asked my husband to call the resort if they still have available rooms but the staff informed him, “Down ang system nila so tawag na lang daw sa Manila office pero baka wala din sumagot kasi holiday so it is better to email na lang”. So I just sent an email and I was surprised when I received a reply after few minutes.


Fortunately, they still have rooms for 22 persons so I immediately reserved it and I was advised to pay the 50% downpayment to confirm the reservation. I only have 24 hours to deposit the payment (4PM deadline). Since it was EDSA holiday, the following day na ko nakapunta ng bank, I deposited the payment and then sent the copy of the deposit slip via email. After an hour, they gave me the confirmation voucher, important reminders and resort map. I was glad that booking and reserving a room is not difficult, mabilis sila sumagot kahit sa email.

This is the 7th resort that we have tried in San Juan, Batangas and I think this is also the farthest one, lagpas pa siya nga La Luz Resort. It is an advantage because there is a sense of privacy at hindi napupuntahan ng ibang guests sa ibang resort.

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Upon arrival, the guard will ask for your reservation then you can go straight to the parking lot. The shuttle service was already waiting for us at the parking lot so we brought all our stuff and the driver drove us to the reception area. I gave the confirmation voucher + deposit slip and they asked me to fill out a form.


If you have a driver with you, you can avail of their Driver’s Package at P1750. P750 for packed meals and P1000 for driver’s room. I gave the Senior Citizen ID and PWD ID for discount and paid the remaining 50% balance. We paid the P20/person Environmental Fee at the booth but they did not ask for it. Welcome drinks were provided upon arrival too.


The room is not yet available so no early check-in for us. It was only past 8AM and check-in time is still 2PM so we just stayed in the cabana, just in front of the Casa Isabel. The Cabana has two sleeping beds and hindi naman mainit ang pwesto namin.



The kids started to swim while waiting for our lunch. Palm Beach Resort is huge, that is the reason why they have a shuttle service for the guests. There is a separate area for day trip guests and overnight guests.

They have an infinity pool, swimming pool with slides, playground, and beach. Both swimming pools have a kiddie pool, jacuzzi, and lifeguard. There is a function room/chapel, climbing and rappelling wall and team building area.



With regard to the beach, the beach shore is a mix of sand and rocks so it is better to bring your own aqua shoes. The resort has complimentary use of Aqua Shoes but it is subject to availability. Since it was an impromptu trip, we were not able to buy new aqua shoes for my son, good thing may kasya na sa kanya dun. We usually buy aqua shoes for my son kasi pag kids, bihira may available size but now pang adult na rin kasi shoe size niya so no more problem.


Casa Isabel

Past 1PM, the housekeeping staff informed us that the room is ready so I immediately went to the reception area to get our keys. The staff gave me the five keys + printed “Important Reminders” per room also. I appreciate the reminders, at least hindi na ko mapapagod mag-inform sa mga kasama ko, magbabasa na lang sila.


What is nice about Palm Beach Resort is they have rooms for couples, family, and big groups. We were lucky that Casa Isabel was still available a few days before our visit so we were able to reserve the full unit for P38,000. Casa Isabel is good for 20 persons and a maximum of 25 persons but additional fees will apply for an extra person.

It has 5 bedrooms, 4 Casa Isabel Royale and 1 Casa Isabel Deluxe. The Casa Isabel Royale has 2 Double Bed + 1 Day Bed and Casa Isabel De Luxe has only 2 Double Bed. Each room has its own bathroom and each level has its own common area. There is a water dispenser on the ground floor so you don’t need to go to Dining Pavillion if you want to drink. A drying rack is available too. Isabel 1 is the biggest room and Isabel 3 is the smallest room among the 5 rooms.

* Additional P800/pax shall apply beyond the standard room occupancy regardless of age plus corresponding meal charges.
** Maximum of 2 children aged 0-6 per room is free of charge on meals & accommodation

For our family of 3, we stayed at Isabel 3 so this is the smallest room located on the second floor. Though we don’t have a view from our window there is a spacious balcony outside the room. The balcony is big so you can eat here, play board games or just lounge and enjoy the beach view.


I have no problems when we checked the room except that there is no double-lock. When it is time to take a bath, that’s the only time that we noticed that there is NO HOT SHOWER. Waah! According to the website, there is a hot shower but when we went there, no hot shower. We did not bother to call customer service to fix it because we don’t want to waste our time on maintenance.




In addition, we reserved the full unit that is good for 20 persons but the toiletries are good for two persons only. There are two soaps and two dental kits, for shampoo there is a shampoo dispenser na konti ang laman. How I wish, they provide the exact number of toiletries per person and sana at least half-full naman yung shampoo dispenser nila. No need to request na sana. Good thing, we had our own toiletries.

With regard to my brother’s room which is Isabel 4, the aircon is not working fine, hindi lumalamig. They did not bother to call the customer service din kasi feeling nila baka mainit lang weather, baka sa gabi malamig na. But it did not happen, good thing there is an electric fan in their room so tiniis na lang nila kahit hindi gaano malamig.

With Isabel 5 and Isabel 1, the TV is not working but since they have kids who like to watch TV, they called customer service to fix it. Among the 5 rooms, yung sa mother ko lang yata ang wala problem. Casa Isabel rooms are good naman but there are some minor concerns that they need to check para naman happy ang guests because the room rate is not cheap so I just hope they will maintain the rooms.

Food at Palm Beach Resort 

For overnight guests, we are required to avail of the Full-Board Meals because cooking and bringing of food is not allowed. The regular meal rate is P1800 which includes the pm snack, dinner, breakfast, lunch and unlimited water, and Batangas brewed coffee. P36,000 for 20 persons, 3 yrs old and 5 yrs old are FREE OF CHARGE.

Breakfast: 7AM - 9AM 
PM Snack: 3:30PM - 4:30PM 
Lunch: 12NN - 2PM 
Dinner: 7PM - 9PM 

For our group of 22 persons, there is no reserved table so kanya-kanyang hanap ng pwesto pala sa Palm Beach Resort. When we learned that, ang aga na namin pumunta sa Dining Pavillion so we can sit together and I can take photos din ng food na hindi ko nagawa nung lunch kasi late kami ng dating.


We just go to the Dining Pavilion every mealtime and we do not have food stubs except for the packed meals for drivers. For additional meals, this is the rate.

Breakfast: P440.00 
PM Snack: P200.00 
Lunch: P610.00 
Dinner: P610.00 

Actually, I was surprised when I saw their full-board meals rate of P1800 and I was shookt when I learned that 7 years above is also P1800. Wala man lang half-rate for kids so sa anak ko pa lang lugi na ako at ang hina kumain. And because of their rate, I was thinking na baka naman okay ang buffet spread nila but I was wrong, ang konti pala ng food options. Here is our menu.

Lunch: Meatball Soup, Green Bean Salad, Mixed Seafood Fried Noodles, Beef Caldereta, Steamed Fish in Light Soy, Fried Chicken, Pichi-Pichi and Seasonal Fruit.
PM Snack: Baked Ziti, Palmbeach Sliders, Sweet Potato Fries, Sago’t Gulaman and Brewed Coffee.
Dinner: Chicken Asparagus Soup, Buttered Vegetables, Pasta Station, Fish in Coco Cream, Spicy Pulled Pork, Roast Chicken with Lemon Grass, Butter Scotch Bar, Buko Pandan and Dalandan Juice.
Breakfast: Bread with Butter or Jam, French Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Boiled Egg, Sardines in Tomato, Sauteed Hotdog, Beef Tapa, Champorado with Dilis, Fried/Plain Rice, Seasonal Fruit, Orange Juice and Brewed Coffee.

I was hoping na each meal, may pork, beef, chicken, vegetable, and seafood dish na option. Hindi yung pork or beef lang so I was really disappointed kasi nagkapork dish nga nung dinner, spicy naman. My son only ate one chicken + rice during lunch and fish fillet (without the coco cream) + rice during dinner, e P610 ang rate ng lunch and dinner. Waah!

If I will not think about the food price, the buffet spread is good naman, it is enough to make you full. Yun nga lang, I can’t help but compare it to other resorts in San Juan Batangas that we have tried na mas mura at mas marami choices. Among the dishes that we ate, our personal favorites are beef caldereta, meatball soup, pichi-pichi, sweet potato fries, and champorado.

Palm Beach Resort Activities 

When I saw the beach of Palm Beach Resort, I felt happy because the waves are not that strong but I remembered na NO FREE WATER ACTIVITIES included in our package nga pala. Sayang! In Acuatico Beach Resort and Acuaverde Beach Resort kasi may FREE Kayak kaso naman maalon nung visit namin, dito okay sana kaso may bayad naman. Good thing my husband brought this small boat, so gamit na gamit siya pool or beach.

Paid Water Activities 

There are water activities that you can avail like Jet Ski, Fly Board, Fly Fish, Band Wagon, Twin Banana Boat, Single Banana Boat, Disco Boat, and Speed Boat. Last time, we tried the Dragon Boat in Laiya Coco Grove but during our trip to Palm Beach Resort, the kids tried the Disco Boat. P1500 for 2- 5 persons and P300 additional person (15 minutes). My son enjoyed this activity kahit puro sigaw daw sila.

Saturday Mass 

If you are a Catholic, there is an anticipated mass every Saturday at 5:00 pm at the Function Room.

Massage 

You can schedule a 1-Hour massage at P300 subject to availability (the latest schedule is 10PM).

Board Games 

You can borrow board games like a chessboard, scrabble, games of general, and UNO cards for FREE. Maximum of 4 hours from 7:30AM and subject to availability.


Check-out time is 12NN, we left before 12NN so we can eat our lunch outside. They will check first the room before they will give you the gate pass.

Palm Beach Resort is on the pricey side but if you have extra money, then book this resort. The resort and room are clean and spacious, it offers a beach and swimming pool, and the service is good. Inquiring and reserving a room is easy, hindi nakakastress. From the time that we arrived and left, everything was organized. Someone even called to remind us about the PM snack and they even gave a complimentary cake for my mom’s advanced birthday celebration. Despite some minor concerns, our family still enjoyed our early summer getaway. Thanks to my mom for the treat.

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Note: Globe signal is weak. There is FREE wifi pero mahina signal sa room.

Palm Beach Resort 
Barangay Hugom, Laiya,
San Juan, Batangas, Philippines 4226

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