Spending the Last Few Days of Summer at the World-Famous Villa Escudero Plantation and Resort

The stunningly-beautiful infinity pool at Villa Escudero.

I'm not usually one to visit an attraction that I've already gone to in the past unless (1) some part of it was revamped in a major way, or (2) it was designated as a place where I need to go to celebrate something. In the case of my second visit to Villa Escudero, it was for both aforementioned reasons: their swimming pools were newly-renovated and my father booked us a room for Fathers' Day.

And so, we drove to Tiaong, Quezon province in the middle of June for a family staycation where we expected to be free from the stresses that came with living in a generation where dogs eat dogs.

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My first visit to Villa Escudero was also with my family in May, four years prior to the time of writing, when I was just starting to work as a rookie nurse. I remember being very excited about it because it was a well-deserved break for poor ol' me who was stuck working eight-hour shifts six days a week. On my second visit to the world-famous resort, I tagged along hoping that the resort could make true-- for the second time around-- their promise of providing a temporary escape for me who now has more complex responsibilities from being my unit's Head Nurse.

The entrance to the road leading to Villa Escudero is a few meters from this welcome archway.

The not-so-rough road leading to Villa Escudero.

[9:00 AM] ARRIVAL AND CHECK-IN

Much like during our first visit, the check-in process was rather fast and simple-- all we had to do was present our confirmation letter to the staff behind the counter, present ourselves for a headcount, and then take our meal stubs while we all sipped on our complementary sago't gulaman, graciously offered to us by an attendant in traditional baro't saya. We weren't there for more than ten minutes before we were ushered out by another attendant in Filipiniana to where the carabao carts were waiting to take guests to their cottages.

Reception area and local souvenir shop.

(Related post: Want to go to Japan instead? Here's an easy-to-follow guide for Filipino applicants!)

Don't lose these! The food attendants are very strict about collecting these.

[9:15 AM] THE ICONIC CARABAO CART RIDE

Part of what makes a visit to Villa Escudero fun and memorable is its free carabao cart rides. From when we first visited Villa Escudero up to our second, we eagerly looked forward to it.

All guests whether they're visiting the resort just for the day tour or are there to spend the night will get to first experience riding Villa Escudero's famed carabao-pulled carts after they've checked in/registered. While there are other means of zipping around the resort (i.e. rental golf carts), riding the carabao kalesas is the default, most relaxing, most entertaining, and inarguably the most popular option to travel around Villa Escudero.

What makes the experience of riding the resort's carabao carts more special is the welcome serenade of calming kundiman songs during the ride that hacienda workers perform for the guests.

The humble but mighty Philippine water buffalo, or "carabao". It has enough brute strength to do heavy work in the farm and fields all day while possessing the timidity of a gentle beast. This one, however, appeared feisty with a look that screamed, "What'cha lookin' at, brutha?"

A carabao named Madonna, looking real hip with a crown of flowers in her head.

Pro-tip: Guests can also request to tour the village within the resort where the hacienda workers reside via carabao cart for free. Just courteously ask the cart driver about it and he and the singers will gladly give a spontaneous guided tour.

The entrance to the workers' village. The workers of Villa Escudero are entitled to their very own lot in the village, which works like a self-sustaining community with its own basic establishments like a children's school and church.

Typical morning inside the village.

Taking a look at the workers' humble Filipino-style abodes.

The little village's church where the driver says famous Filipino actors Rudy Fernandez and Lorna Tolentino got hitched.

Another pro-tip: the same male singers who sang for the guests riding the carabao-pulled carts also go from unit to unit serenading unsuspecting female lodgers for free every afternoon at around 4:00-5:00 PM.

[9:45 AM] BUFFET LUNCH AT VILLA ESCUDERO'S WORLD-FAMOUS WATERFALL RESTAURANT

Nowadays, with the advent of the effective promotion of international travel and tourism through various social media vessels, Villa Escudero has gained quite a few fans from all over the world which they owe to their having one of the world's most unique restaurant setting and dining experience.

Villa Escudero's Waterfall Restaurant (officially known as the Labasin Waterfalls Restaurant) is a buffet-style restaurant that serves lunch daily (weather-permitting) al fresco with the seats and tables set up in the shallow plunge pool of the Labasin waterfalls. It's such a thrill to eat lunch while cold water constantly tickled your toes!

Pro-tip: The restaurant can open earlier than its set opening time, 10:00 AM, which is why we were able to secure a table at 9:45 AM. Ask the staff if you can come in early.

A walkthrough video of my experience in Villa Escudero's Labasin Waterfalls Restaurant, also featuring the food that they served when I visited.

I've already had the unfortunate experience of having slipped on moss twice during my first visit. And no matter how careful I was during my second visit, I still fell on my rump once.

Taking selfies and pictures with the man-made Labasin Waterfall in the background is a pretty popular activity.

Build your own Filipino salad ingredients: boiled okra and eggplants, sliced green mangoes and radishes, and diced tomatoes and salted eggs.

Steamed plain rice wrapped in paper wrappers.

Grilled chicken inasal (L) and pansit bihon guisado (R).

Atchara (pickled raw papaya), a popular Filipino side.

String beans and squash stewed in coconut cream.

Grilled tilapia.

Barbecued pork belly.

Banana cue, saba bananas cooked in brown sugar and vanilla.

Pineapple slices.

All in all, the experience was cool and refreshing-- just make sure to always look after your food from the battalion of pesky little flies that it will attract.

[1:00 PM] CHECKING OUT OUR NIPA HUT-STYLE HOTEL ROOM

As promised, at exactly 1:00 in the afternoon, we were informed that our Longhouse Unit, Campupot, was ready for occupancy.

The hospitable receptionist in the Longhouse.

Inside Campupot, our unit.

A non-airconditioned Longhouse Unit can fit a maximum of six people-- any more than that and sleeping is guaranteed to be uncomfortable. We could have gotten an air-conditioned one, but since we visited during a time when the summer nights were starting to turn chilly we decided to forgo it. The materials used in the construction of the non-airconditioned Longhouse units plus the lofts and the high ceilings guaranteed that guests will not wilt from the heat of the tropical Philippines.

What's up on the loft.

There's a toilet, shower room, and a basic sink.

[1:20 PM] HITTING THE POOLS TO BEAT THE HEAT

If I had been asked to rate Villa Escudero's pools on a scale of 1 to 10 when I first visited in 2013, I'd give them a 4. Back then, the pools' water was sea green, the kids' pool looked like a cheap batalan, and the giant log-themed slide was a bit tacky. Yet we all waded with genuine happiness then because, for one, we were on a much-anticipated vacation, and secondly because we were trying to get our money's worth. If you don't believe me, you can look at the following photos I took back then for yourself:

Sea green. The only person in our party who didn't find it boring was my then ten-year old brother.

Looking back, I guess the main pool didn't really look half bad. It just looked cheap compared to the beauty that it is now.

The kids' pool was once where one-third of the present time's infinity pool now sits.

See that giant slide in the middle of the upper-layer pool? Tacky, I told 'ya.

The pools started to gain attention on par with the resort's waterfalls restaurant when they were officially re-opened to the public following months-long renovation on May 2016. Like a boorish-looking victim of bullying who suddenly decided she'd change how she looked because she'd had enough, the resort's set of three newly-renovated pools is likely to turn heads if it was embodied as a person.

Villa Escudero's three swimming pools, 2017.

The lifeguards are reasonably very strict about the pool dress code. I've seen them kick a few guests out of the pools for not adhering to the rule.

From the entrance to the Longhouse, there's a nearby ramp that leads to Pool #1-- the "adults only" pool and whirl tubs.

The "adults only" pool.

There's always a lifeguard on active duty in the "Adults Only" pool. Once, I saw him question a 17-year old guest about her age. Since she was with her parents then and because she looked old enough to be 18, the lifeguard let her into the pool. I had the idea that the adults-only rule was only there to keep younger and shorter children from drowning in the 4' to 6' deep pool, which I sought to confirm with the lifeguard.

"It's not that we could allow younger guests who are taller than average into the pool," the lifeguard explained. "It's about a child's psychological maturity. In this pool, adults-only stuff are allowed to happen, and we don't want the kids to ruin it or be ruined by it." I was impressed not only with the fact that the lifeguard is knowledgeable about his turf's rules but also with the realization that any guest aged 18 and up can actually do stuff here that they can't do in the other pools.

What's that? You're saying I sound sarcastic? Honestly, I'm not being one.

From the upper pool, a set of stairs will lead to the two pools in the lower level: the Infinity Pool overlooking the gorgeous Labasin River, and the children's play pool.

The children's play pool.

There's a lot of fun to be had here.

Villa Escudero's true blue infinity pool.

Revisiting Villa Escudero after they've upped the pool game from drab to fab made me feel glad and refreshed-- like I've just visited the place for the first time all over again.

An apparel shop, located in close proximity to the "adults only" pool.

[2:00 PM] CULTURAL SHOW AT THE COCONUT PAVILION

The Coconut Pavilion, a large building overlooking Labasin River, is the setting for the breakfast and dinner buffet spreads and the Cultural Show daily at 2:00 PM.

Dancers performing native Filipino tribal dances for the education and enjoyment of the guests.

The show, featuring a montage of native Filipino tribal dances performed by young male and female dancers, is roughly around an hour long. If you don't want to miss this, save a seat early on, as the venue can get crowded quickly based on the number of day tourists.

The Coconut Pavilion-- empty after the show.

Snacks, drinks, and souvenir food items are sold at the Coconut Pavilion.

[3:00 PM] RIVER RAFTING

Until 5:00 in the afternoon, guests have the opportunity of renting a raft to explore Labasin River. This activity comes highly-recommended except for those whose nerves are naturally shot-- just like me (I kept on seeing dark, menacing shadows under the water, hovering around my raft; of course, since nobody's ever encountered anything macabre here before it might just be a part of my imagination).

The raft is good for two.

"See? Perfectly safe," my sister assured me in a sinister tone when I rode with her, as she gently rocked the raft intentionally to draw screams of terror from me.

On the other hand, the river didn't show any signs of being inhabited by creatures reminiscent of Nessie, and was peaceful and beautiful during the time of our ride.

[3:30 PM] SNACKS AT THE RIVERSIDE CAFE INDIGO

Roughly four hours after we gorged ourselves silly from the Waterfalls Restaurant lunch buffet, my siblings and I felt the first pangs of hunger again. Eating anything hearty when we're only three hours away from the start of the dinner buffet is out of the question. Snackables are okay, though. We marched to the quaint little riverside Cafe Indigo for tuna and ham-n-cheese sandwiches with crisps (Php 120.00 each) and canned soda.

Rustic.

How pretty!

The ceilings are high and the windows are wide, so the place is cool and well-ventilated.

[5:45 PM] CANDLELIT DINNER BUFFET AT THE COCONUT PAVILION

To my sheer delight, Villa Escudero's staff opened the dinner buffet 15 minutes earlier than usual just like they did with the lunch buffet at the Waterfalls Restaurant. Perhaps they thought that our batch had a remarkable number of guests who look like they have voracious appetites (like me). Either way, we were all very hungry from swimming and walking around the resort.

While I couldn't help but feel like the menu had fewer offerings than the one that we had on our first visit in 2013, the dinner was still a pleasant affair and the items on the menu were most scrumptious.

The fried whole fish looked really nice! It was crispy and very tasty. I loved this.

The skin is crispy and the meat is lean and juicy. Just perfect!

Build-your-own salad bar.

The soup of the night was a very rich and creamy Seafood Chowder that was perfect in every way!

Dessert table.

This delectable dessert had a crisp orange glaze that I just loved to bits.

Stir-fried Garlic String Beans.

Chicken Inasal.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

On our way back to our Longhouse cabin, we realized that everything looks different after the sun had set. While the pools looked sad and a little gloomy, we couldn't resist taking an evening dip on their cool waters.

The children's play pool-- at night.

The infinity pool-- at night.

The wooden path from the Coconut Pavilion to the Longhouse Cabins-- at night.

The adults-only pool-- at night.

[6:00 AM] CLASSIC FILIPINO BREAKFAST BUFFET AT THE COCONUT PAVILION

Coconut pavilion, the site that hosted our dinner during the previous night, was also where Villa Escudero's breakfast buffet was held. Like the lunch and dinner buffet that the resort had catered to its guests, the options for the breakfast buffet were proudly Filipino. I found the spread to be really extensive as they not only had my precious arroz caldo but also native finds that are remarkably rare in other breakfast buffes like kesong puti and carabao milk. When I initially thought I couldn't find any fault with the spread, I realized in horror that there was no PORK TOCINO among in their selection! (However, while I ate, I realized that the deliciousness of their Garlic Pork Longganisa somewhat made up for it.)

Classic Garlic Pork Sausage.

Ground Beef with Hash.

Suman, a kind of native Filipino rice cake.

Special bibingka with ham and salted egg bits.

Arroz caldo (chicken porridge) with the works!

Build-your-own omelette fillings.

Their deep-fried dried fish are really crunchy and tasty. I loved how they tasted with the spicy vinegar dip.

Daing na Bolinao.

The dessert table.

Do I want carabao's milk with my cereal? No, thank you. I'd like it on a stein, please.

The dragonfruit were very sweet. As expected of Quezon province!

Bread station. They had cinnamon rolls and Filipino pandesal. What we kept coming to this table for, however, was the kesong puti (white cheese).

[10:00 AM] VILLA ESCUDERO'S PINK MUSEUM
At 10:00 in the morning, after our morning swim, we headed via carabao cart to Villa Escudero's pink private museum where artifacts featuring the lives and subsequent history of the ancient Filipinos. Photography and video recording are strictly prohibited inside the museum.

A water buffalo named Sexy took us on her cart to the museum.

War-related tableau dot the grassy space in front of the museum.

Guests are able to finish touring the museum in fifteen to thirty minutes, but I finished in less than ten because the heat was incredibly overbearing. My mistake, not bringing an abaniko or a mini-fan with me inside. Also, I don't think this activity is suitable for very young children; I mean, my three-year old declared aloud that she'd rather stay in the pool making her finger pads more wrinkly than look at the museum's rather impressive collection of tribal war costumes.

[11:00 AM] WALKING AROUND THE RESORT, TAKING PICTURES AND ENJOYING NATURE

While our whiny three-year old baby and the others in my party returned to the pool to make their skins possibly more burnt that they already were, I walked around the resort (with an umbrella, sunglasses, and sunscreen, mind you) to continue where I left off during the afternoon of the previous day taking pictures. I stopped every now and then to savor the overwhelming amount of nature within the resort that was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of urban life. However, if there was one thing that made my heart swell with overwhelming nostalgia and Filipino pride, it was the statues strategically poised and placed all around the resort to show how Villa Escudero strongly advocates the original Filipino core values that Pinoys these days seem to have forgotten.

The fountain in front of the Coconut Pavilion's main entrance.

My lola sa tuhod used to tell me that when men courted women during her time, they were never allowed to touch nor even speak to each other when another adult is not present.

The greatest life lessons stenciled out in one piece of cardboard.

Men and women in the courtship process.

The "Mano Po", a gesture that shows respect from a youngster to an older person.

A woman with a bilao of native rice cakes, and a man stroking his prized fighting coc-- ahem-- rooster.

An old-fashioned farmer using the strength of his trusted carabao to plow the fields instead of a tractor.

Hard to believe that there once was a time when kids during their free time would read books and play with dolls instead of tinkering with their gadgets.

I'd absolutely love it if my guy could do this for me!

Ermmmm, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this.

They're grating coconut flesh for its milk.

"Maria, where are you going? To town? Now, why does that sound so familiar?"

In one part of the resort, there are a couple of Higantes on exhibit. The parade of these giant dolls is the main feature of the iconic Higantes Festival in the neighboring province of Rizal.

Now, that devil doll is creepy.

A wonderful old-fashioned playground for the little tots to enjoy! Just don;t let them go in the middle of the afternoon when the sun is at its most intense.

A souvenir shop and bike rental shack.

Villa Escudero bike rental: Php 100.00 per hour.

What are those?

It looks like a cherry blossom tree-- but I don't think it is.

The Wedding Center at Villa Escudero.

Camp Placido, a camp site and coconut grove.

What with the advent of progress and technology evident in the changing lifestyles of the people and structures of our communities, I think it is good to go back to the Filipino roots every once in a while and review a time when our country was in the dark about life's modern frivolities-- when carabaos were the fuel of choice for man, songs were mellow and serene and filled with words of love, and the rivers were clean and refreshing. It's just the kind of experience that most people need: to be reminded that in a world where the changes that come with progress may start to distort who you are, all you need to do is to look back to your roots.