I DIDN’T know that a place like Acuatico Beach Resort existed in Laiya, San Juan, Batangas. Forgive my ignorance, but I thought resort developments of this proportion were reserved only for high-traffic tourist destinations such as Boracay, Bohol and Palawan. I was therefore pleasantly surprised with what I saw when I finally got to visit Acuatico first week of December this year. Tess Samaniego, a long-time PR friend who’s now in charge of Acuatico’s marketing, had invited Raff and me and other members of the media from other publications to witness the Christmas tree lighting ceremony over at Acuatico last December 2 (2012) and stay overnight to experience the Acuatico lifestyle.
I needed the break. After staging another event for FLAVORS Magazine at SM City Fairview on November 23 (which was, may I be allowed to say, very successful and which was a great way to round out the magazine’s 2012 Calendar of Activities) and advanced deadlines in observance of the coming holidays, I was getting all drained out and needing a break. So, off we went to Acuatico with other invitees of Tess from Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Business Mirror and Cook.
It was worth waking up early on a Sunday morning for. After a very comfortable 2-1/2-hour, 140-kilometer ride in a Toyota Hi-Ace Grandia van from Waltermart Makati, we arrived at Acuatico. The front of the beach resort is still a work in progress, but once you step into the resort itself and catch a glimpse of the infinity pool that opens up to the Sibuyan Sea, you get awed by it. I was. “Wow” was my word for it, and I was really awed by the design of the beach resort, which happens to be the only exclusive deluxe resort of its kind in Laiya with fully furnished Balinese-inspired modern villas and rooms that can accommodate a maximum of 70 guests.
The architect did a very good job with Acuatico. The property isn’t that expansive, but he (or she) was able to maximize it with the kind of design that he had drawn up for the resort. Centerpiece of the beach resort is a huge infinity pool with “floating” concrete walkways that lead to a bar. Anywhere you sit in the bar (there are areas where you can sit with your feet in the water) or swim in the pool, you get a full view of the sea. Towards the other end of the pool, a fountain leads up to the main hotel, where Oceano Restaurant can be found on the ground floor and rooms with a view of either the sea or the mountains are located on the second floor. Other rooms of the villa type surround the infinity pool, making its access direct from the rooms and so much more convenient.
Raff and I were roomed at Vista de Laiya, which sat squarely on top of Oceano Restaurant and had a full and unobstructed view of the infinity pool and the sea beyond it. The room, too, was creatively designed, so that it didn’t look like the room of any other hotel or resort, but its very own. The toilet/bath was particularly cool, with a shower room so huge that it fitted a bathtub into it with a separate area for the shower. I don’t, after all, fancy toilet/baths that incorporate the shower into the bathtub so that you have to step into the bathtub to take a shower. This, and the toilet/bath of an AA-rated hotel in Boracay and that of The Oriental Bangkok (in Thailand), has got to be my favorite toilet/bath of all time!
After a sumptuous lunch at Oceano Restaurant (where charming Acuatico owner and general manager Simonette Gusi met and welcomed us) and a short rest in the room, it was time for the ceremonial Christmas tree lighting back at Oceano Restaurant. The intimate affair was graced by local officials of San Juan, Batangas, executives of the beach resort, distinguished son of San Juan ‘Mama’ Renee Salud and his ageless supermodels (Patti Betita, Marina Benipayo, Lou Bunyi and Desiree Verdadero), and representatives from the Department of Tourism (DOT)’s regional office.
What’s good about the ceremonial Christmas tree lighting was that it also served as the launching of Acuatico’s Light Up a Star project for the benefit of the victims of Typhoon Ofel in Barangay Hugom, San Juan, Batangas. Acuatico was selling stars for the Christmas tree priced at Php100, 300 and 500, and, for every purchase of a star, guests are given the chance to hang and light up those stars hanging on the Christmas Tree in the lobby. So it was Christmas tree lighting with a cause that gave it a deeper, social responsibility dimension, making Christmas not just an occasion for a festive celebration but an avenue for helping out the needy members of the community as well.
After the formal lighting ceremony (with Congressman Mark Leandro Mendoza, Mayor Rodolfo Manalo, well-known designer Renee Salud and DOT regional director Louella Jurilla joining Acuatico president and CEO Noli Gusi and GM Simonette Gusi in doing the honors of switching on the lights of the tree), guests were treated to a sumptuous buffet prepared by Chef Niko Martinez and his staff.
Chef Niko did it again with his delicious buffet breakfast at Oceano the following morning, the plated dishes which he prepared for a shoot for FLAVORS Magazine, the light, early lunch of Salmon Steak (infused with teriyaki sauce and served with baby veggies) and Sinigang na Salmon, and the Montecristo Sandwich (ham and cheese sandwich dipped in egg-milk mixture and fried to a golden brown) he wrapped up for everyone as baon.
Young and talented, Chef Niko regaled the group of media people with his food. I don’t eat much red meat anymore, but the sauce of his Isidro’s Kare-Kare was so good I splashed it on my rice. I also loved the Pinahanghang (white shrimps sautéed in fresh coconut milk, wild chili and crab fat, served with grilled pineapple and Baguio beans) and the Pinaputok (deep-fried tilapia or St. Peter’s fish stuffed with spices, served with laing and pickled mango). The meat eaters in the group enjoyed their Bagnet Binagoongan (Bulacan style lechon kawali, sautéed in special shrimp paste, fried eggplant and grilled lowland tomatoes) immensely.
Other things you can do besides swimming in the pool and indulging in the resort’s good food include pedal boating and kayaking, jetskiing, and getting a relaxing Swedish Body Massage Treatment at Simona Spa. As for me, while some of our companions went kayaking, Raff and I took a leisurely walk along the beach, picked up a few sea shells as souvenir, and bought Pakumbo (a native delicacy similar to Bukayo but made with macapuno, muscovado sugar, langka and nuts) from a local vendor who happened to pass by after breakfast that morning. Tess also took us on a tour of the other resort property of Acuatico Beach Resort & Hotel Inc. called AquaVerde Beach Resort about two doors away. We then did the food shoot with Chef Niko and packed up for the trip back home to Manila – straight to work on a Monday afternoon.
As the late General Douglas MacArthur put it, “I shall return.”
