The pricing itself is extremely competitive. However, from my experience, you don’t quite get what you paid for. For example I paid for a 3.5 hour package which actually last around 1.45 hours.

Rooms

On first appearance, I was very impressed with the room. An impressive bed, a refrigerator, TV with DVD player and a bathroom with a full sized bath tub.

The main feature of the room is a large bed carved from a local tree and stained with a dark varnish. The bed was was comfortable and the bedding was soft.

The refrigerator is a convenient touch because Callospa don’t serve food, meaning you need to order from a local restaurant (Max’s or Pizza hut are recommended) and you’ll be wanting somewhere to store your leftovers.

The TV and DVD player was again a nice touch. The DVD player had USB support so I plugged in an external drive which had some TV series on and they played just fine. However, annoyingly, whoever wired the room was very creative and hooked the TV/DVD power up to the bed light. Meaning if you wanted to watch the TV you must also have the light over the bed switched on.

Living in a condo with just a shower, I always get excited by the opportunity of lounging around in a hot bath at a resort. Unfortunately the plug wasn’t functioning so I was unable to use it! Aside from that, the bathroom facilities were fine.

So those are most of the good points, now some bad points… To be fair, these are mostly small issues that can be easily remedied. It’s just a shame to see a resort that could be practically perfect if it wasn’t for these small issues.

The wiring was somewhat ‘dodgy’, as explained above, some things were wired together meaning you couldn’t use one without the other and there were exposed wires running around (although semi-hidden) the ceiling.

The room seemed clean on first glance but if you look behind anything, such as the refrigerator, you realise it’s not so clean after all. On a related note, the drain cover in the bathroom was so rusty that half of it was missing. The bath tub also had some rust which made it look a little dirty.

Massage / Service

The staff were as friendly and professional as any other mid-high range spa. My biggest gripe with Callospa is that I paid for the 3.5 hour package and it only lasted 1.45 hours.

The sauna was effective and comfortable although is quite small with just enough space for two sitting people. The jacuzzi is also enjoyable but the placement by the entrance of the main facilities feels somewhat strange.

The massages are relaxing and enjoyable except for the ending when they try to perform some kind of massage aerobatics with your body!

The scrub was a bit of a let down. The room itself looks like something out of one of the saw horror movies. The bed was too short and the wet headrest towel being reused throughout the day showed a lack of  cleanliness. The scrub didn’t feel particularly relaxing or thorough.

Other facilities

There’s a large outdoors pool with a small jacuzzi. Both are quite shallow but perfectly fine for a relaxing dip. There are two full sized badminton courts but they seem overpriced at P500 per hour. There’s an abundance of outside seating with full sun and shaded options.

Conclusion

The Callospa is so close to being something special that you’d tell your friends about. With a little more care and attention to the resort facilities and actually providing the full service their guide promises you this could be a truly amazing resort. As it is, It’s just another mid range spa in a slightly remote location.

About the resort

La luz resort is a medium sized resort which has been privately owned for well over 30 years and only opened up to the public in the last few years. It’s extremely surprising to see how many cottages there are within the grounds and yet the resort still feels comfortably small, natural and cosy.

Rates

During the off-peak season, rooms start at a very reasonable price of P1,800 for smaller rooms intended for couples and go up to P3,500 for a large family room or the largest Annex room is P4300 which holds 5 semi-double beds and 1 double bed. Prices rise significantly higher during the peak season.

On top of these room rates you have a compulsory P1050 per person food package fee. If you’re a big eater and intend to make good use of the buffet meals then this is a reasonable price. However if you’re not so hungry or not interested in the food that’s on offer in the buffet then you’ll begrudge having to pay such a high price.

Amenities

For such a high quality resort, I’m surprised by the lack of restaurant within the grounds. You either eat what they have in the buffet or you don’t eat at all. My own preference is to have a restaurant with menu where you can order what you’d like. But as I said above, if you’re into buffets then this resort will serve you perfectly.

The resort has its own large parking lot within its grounds. Use of Kayaks for a fee (can only be used before 6pm)

Overview of the resort

All rooms higher than ‘standard’ have air conditioning and a large bathroom with a shower which includes hot water. Otherwise there’s not much else to see in the rooms. Unlike other resorts in the area, you won’t find cable TV or such like.

There are cabanas and bamboo furniture on the whole of the beach front, there’s no charge for use of these.

There’s also a very cute monkey who lives at the resort. His name is Justin and he loves to show off to visitors.

Meals are served inside a very large hut, cooled by ceiling fans and has both indoor and outdoor seating.

The beach

The beach is extremely high quality, perfectly clean and made up of small pebbles and sand. The beach is private and for use only by those staying at the resort or those who paid the daily entrance fee of P750.

With regards to the water itself, it was also extremely clean although slightly rocky near the shore. There are no sizeable waves.

Within the water itself is a floating platform which you can swim out to and relax on.

Quality of service

Being a vegetarian, I wasn’t so happy to pay P1050 for buffet meals which offered only meat dishes. Fortunately, after speaking to a member of the admin staff, I was able to lower this to P500 and have a custom tofu meal made for me. The staff said that if they’re given advanced notice then they can cater for vegetarians, however this differed from what their manila office said so perhaps there’s some crossed wires somewhere.

Conclusion

The price is slightly higher than other resorts in Batangas but the quality of the beach and accommodation is unrivaled. The resort could definitely be improved by offering meals cooked to order and perhaps slightly relaxed rules such as allowing access to the water in the evening.

Overall I really enjoyed staying at La Luz and would highly recommend the resort.

About the resort

Al Fresco is a 3-star resort located in Batangas, specifically in the middle of the Matabungkay Strip. Being an old family owned resort, it has managed to resist the corporate modernisation that has effected so many other places. The staff were friendly, helpful and managed to keep a good balance of service and privacy.

Al Fresco keep their resort extremely clean and cosy. It’s would be impossible to miss all the little touches which make this resort feel so warm, from the cute signs over the bed rooms to the lounge chairs on the terrace.

Rates

During the peak season, rooms start at a very reasonable price of P2,000 for smaller rooms intended for couples and go up to P3,500 for a large family room. Prices drop outside of the peak season to P1,600 and P2,800 respectively. On top of these room rates you have a compulsory P500 per person consumable fee which you can use towards your food and drink.

Amenities

The resort has its own parking lot within its grounds.

Overview of the resort

All rooms have air conditioning, a shower with hot water and cable TV.

On the ground floor are two cabanas which were in perfect condition and had clean cushioning. During the time I visited, there was no charge for the use of a cabana, it was on a first come first served basis.

There’s also a comfy hammock which is a real treat to relax in during the hot sun or to gaze at the stars come night time.

If you want to have lunch outside in the open then you can make use of the shaded tables.

Alternatively, if there’s a large group of you such as a corporate party then there’s a large outdoor hut.

On the second floor of the resort you’ll find a large dining area, a lounge and bar.

One of the great features of the Al Fresco resort that you might not find at others on the strip is their veranda. This is the perfect place to eat dinner while looking out over the moon lit sea.

The beach

Being located on the Matabungkay strip, all resorts share the same length of beach. To access the beach you enter through a gate, this is nice because it is locked at night to ensure the wandering traveler can’t just walk into the resort. The beach is unfortunately a bit of a let down, there’s a large amount of trash at the edges of each resort wall and it was even noticeable when swimming within the water.

With regards to the water itself, it had a good range of smaller and larger waves which makes it great if you have an inflatable – provided you don’t mind the odd bit of trash washing up against you.

Attention to detail

It was the attention of detail that really make this resort special. From the cute toilet roll holder in the bathroom to the flowers brought out during meals.

Conclusion

The total bill for the room, lunch, dinner, drinks throughout the day and breakfast was P3140 (P2000 for the room and P1140 for everything else).

Overall I really enjoyed staying at Al Fresco. There’s no question that the beach could be improved with regular cleaning but with regards to the resort grounds itself, they were perfect