Hacienda-Style Living at VILLA ESCUDERO: A Fairy Tale Beyond the Daytour. .

Villa Escudero is undoubtedly the one tourist destination where visitors leave with a smile after a day's tour of their beautiful resort. It is the only theme park in the country that showcases Filipino culture and provincial lifestyle at its best. And after having spent a romantic overnight stay and experiencing an authentic hacienda-style living in the Quezon countryside, no one can express the best stamp of approval better than the priceless smile from my lovely wife here as we bid farewell to the carabaos, coconut trees, captivating river and waterfalls, awesome food, clean air and hospitable staff.

I have visited Villa Escudero several times with different groups since the first time it opened to the public in 1981 where there is still poolside bar but all these were availed thru the Daytour package which gives you your money's worth enough to have fun for an entire day.  

This time together with my wife, we decided to spend an overnight stay in this plush plantation resort in the gateway of Quezon bordering the boundary towns of San Pablo, Laguna and Tiaong, Quezon.  What we experienced was an adventure beyond our expectation.

Going to Villa Escudero is very easy because like I said, it is considered as the gateway to Quezon province because it is literally located in the provincial boundary and once you cross into Quezon, the first site you will find on the left will be Villa Escudero. 

Upon arriving in Villa Escudero, the overnight package still consists of the day tour amenities but beyond the daytour there will be additional dinner and breakfast and unrestricted use of other facilities in the resort.  So we started off with the museum tour.  

The museum seems to be an old church converted into a museum for displaying antique artifacts, religious items, statues, carriages and family heirlooms and novelty items that members of the Escudero family had collected through the years.  It feels kinda eerie while inside the museum because having knowledge of some items with a bizarre or mysterious history  makes you feel the presence of souls that are involved in the history of these antiquated relics.  

Another spooky thing that occurred while inside the museum is that management prohibits the taking of pictures but despite the prohibition we still took pictures secretly.  To our surprise and amazement, all the pictures taken inside the museum were all blurred like these.  Spooky indeed!

After touring the museum, we went out to the plaza rotunda to pose beside numerous war relics such as vintage fighter airplanes, tank, several artillery pieces and sea mines.

It's fun posing beside this war plane because you can create the illusion of carrying it effortlessly like a superhero.

Tanks have the notorious reputation of being the mean machine on the battle field.  So if you're asking for superior firepower and brute strength, bring a tank and tell the competition, "Come to Papa!"

Howitzers are artillery cannons that can fire medium range projectiles against strategic positions of the enemy for offensive or defensive purposes.  Unlike the tank which can be very mobile and can be deployed fast, these cannons should be horse or vehicle-pulled to any place and terrain but their projectiles can travel farther and pack a more powerful blast on its target.

Facing the roundabout is the manor of the estate with its long driveaway and a centerpiece garden, one cn just see how quaint the house is and that the Escudero family are not the mansion-size type of people of the Principalia class during the Spanish -colonial era.  

Nevertheless, they have huge tracts of lands for sugar plantations employing lots of peasants under their administration. But let's not dwell into the family history  too much since the manor is not open to the public.

The statue in front of the manor is that of Don Plácido Escudero and his wife Doña Claudia Marasigan who in 1872 founded the plantation. It was originally a sugar cane plantation but was converted to coconut by their son, Don Arsenio Escudero in the early 1900s. 

During the era of the Industrial Revolution, Don Arsenio built the country’s first working hydroelectric plant - Labasin Dam - to supply electricity to his desiccated coconut factory and the Escudero Plantation house.

The plantation became a tourist attraction when it was finally  opened to the public in 1981.  In the beginning, only glimpses of plantation life and the family's eclectic private collection was presented as a Museum tour. 

Visitors are treated with a carabao cart ride  that takes visitors to the resort area, surrounded by park-like setting while being serenaded by locals. Sometimes a trambia-style bus if its working, and an electric shuttle is used to ferry guests.  Lunch is served al fresco at the base of the spillway where diners enjoy their lunch dipped in the flowing calf-deep water. As the resort grew, new attractions include an authentic live cultural dance show choreographed by National Artist Ramon Obusan, performed with live music. The resort has since expanded offering accommodations, more restaurants, sports facilities, and a conference center.

In 2008, 415 hectares (1,030 acres), more than half of the estate, was converted into an exclusive residential development called Hacienda Escudero. If only I had the financial capacity to buy a residence here, I will not hesistate to establish this place as my retirement home.

We finally arrived at the hotel, a place where the daytour guests rarely wander.  This is a privilege enjoyed only by overnight guests where dinner and breakfast are served in a separate pavilion and you have the luxury or resting and lying on a very comfortable bed in the privacy of your room without thinking of the time as the day gets nearer to its end in the afternoon.  The swimming pool can be very crowded with daytour guests during the day that we didn't think of having a dip with the crowd.  

The hotel is a quaint-single storey building made up of predominantly indigenous material which highlights the rural-style architecture to give its guest that provincial atmosphere and briefly dispel the urban character of visitors coming from the city or another country. 

The reception area is erected with huge wooden posts and the living room furnished with hard wood muebles and an atrium adorned with a variety of lively green plants.  The cobbled floor completes the entire picture of my wife enjoying her vacation in a hacienda. 

We were led to our room where it is situated  several meters from the river but provides us with a picturesque view of the river with the riverside cafe on the foreground.

The rooms are lined in a row fronting the river each with a small veranda in front.  The walls are lined with woven sawali and the doors and windows are made of bamboo.  The ceiling is insulated with bamboo although the roof is already retrofitted with moulded GI sheets needed to be strong enough against the wind and rains as well as discourage the destructive scavenging of birds when they scrounge for nesting materials.

The interior is superbly native in design with its bamboo walls and sawali ceiling.  It really gave an authentic feeling of living in the rural area with a little bit of style.  The mezzanine provides additional space making the entire room spacious enough for more than 4 people.

As you enter the room, the sight of the bed will greet you like it's already inviting you to lie down and feel the softness of its mattress and pillows.  Actually, when we felt how soft the pillow was, Malen complimented to the staff  how soft the pillow was and they resplied by telling that's the same compliment they received from most of the guests and that if we want the pillow we can buy it because they are actually for sale to interested guests.

There are actually more than one bed in the room but since we are the only occupants, the room was really quite big for the two of us.

 The bathroom is not the typical rural bathroom with bamboo floors and walls and claypots to store water but an elegant, tiled walls and floors that will give you more than enough pleasure of using the toilet and taking a hot or cold shower after touring the entire resort and enjoying all of its amenities.

After settling down our luggage and resting for a while in our room, it was already high noon so we went out towards the waterfalls to dine al fresco in the spillways below.  Villa Escudero has since made many improvements to their facilities such as this artificial waterfalls where it wasn't there before the first time we visited this place.

Another addition is this boardwalk that connects the cottages on one end of the river to the dam where guests can enjoy the scenery of the river while walking along the boardwalk.  It's like strolling your heart out! Ha ha ha ha!

When we reached the waterfalls, I was a little bit disappointed because the waterfalls I once saw has an unimpeded view from above.  There is already a structure built along the cliffs that obstructed the view from above and you need to go downstairs before you actually see the entire falls.  

That's probably the price for development to provide more convenience to tourists especially to persons with disabilities who also want to enjoy the experience of dining in the river.  We just have to accept the changes for the benefit of everybody, whether handicapped or not.

We cued in line for our turn to be served food.  Food is served on a buffet table and there are servers to distribute the food.  The food is traditionally Filipino served native-style on "bilao" or native plates and it's practically an eat-all-you can feast.  We only got what we can finish and I think this is enough to last us for the entire afternoon until dinner time.

After lunch we proceeded to the waterfalls to frolic in the the cascading water sliding down the spillway.

The water is so cool and enticing that it brings back childhood cravings to play your heart out without inhibition.  

At this moment the world is oblivious to us as time stood still while enjoying this joyous time together in blissful harmony.

After enjoying ourselves in the waterfalls and drying up, we went topside and strolled on to Cafe Indigo, the newest riverside mini-restaurant in Villa Escudero.  I do not know when this place was put up but I remembered that this was not here the last time we visited this place so it was time to check this place out.

When we entered the cafe we were speechless on the view it gave us of the river.  On the right side it gave a view of the harbor where bamboo rafts are launched and the dam's edge where the water falls off the spillway.

On the left side is a magnificent view of the river with the foliage of majestic green trees on the background.  Time stood still while we gaze in awe and felt like we are in paradise at this very moment.

Since we're still full from the hearty lunch at the waterfalls, we just ordered the favorite drink my wife always crave for - a Villa Escudero Frappuccinno that would surely quench your thirst especially on a hot sunny day in this summer hideaway in Quezon.

We just let time pass by lounging in the veranda of the cafe until it was time for the daytour guests to leave.  The river was now empty with photobomber tourists so we have the river all to ourselves now and it's time to grab the oars and hit the water.  This is probably one of the most romantic moments with my wife as we silently but cheerfully paddle along the river, the beautiful Labasin river that will be part of our fond memories for the rest of our lives.

Floating down the river  and just letting the current carry you down is one of the most peaceful moments that one can experience.  These are moments where we get to meditate or contemplate on the future and how to enjoy the remaining time of our lives together despite the problems and challenges that came our way.  

I always tell Malen that working too hard and not having to release the tension is not a good way to heal oneself.  So every once in a while we should travel and this is one good therapy for the mind and soul and so here we are on one adventure to another.

What really drives me to keep going is the love and inspiration that this incredible woman shared with me through the ups and downs in my life and I owe it to her to continue fighting my owns challenges so that we can grow old in love together.  It is this very moment where I conceived the idea of writing our adventures together in my latest blog where Malen is already my partner in the many stories of our travel.

As night time fell in the villa and all the daytour guests had all gone. The place lighted up to reveal the nightlife like a peaceful provincial town  yet so ambivalently safe to wander.  The river is already dark and only the swimming pool remains open.  It was time for dinner so we proceeded to the Pavilion for another feast but this time on dry land.

When we arrived at the Pavilion we have no idea of what was in store for us but we were expecting a buffet table similar to what we had during lunch at the waterfalls.  So to our delight, the buffet was completely different!  

The food looks more delicious and there are many more choices of food to choose from ranging from Filipino to Chinese to Western, unlike in the waterfalls where the food in completely Filipino dishes.  There is also a variety of drinks to choose from.  You get to eat in style and best of all you eat your dinner while watching and listening to live acoustic entertainment by musicians in traditional provincial attire and yet were singing contemporary music. What a treat!

Villa Escudero really know how to paint a smile on our faces especially after that feast they prepared for the night time guests.  We were now anticipating the surprise that tomorrow morning's breakfast had in store for us.  After dinner, we did a little strolling around the hotel grounds to digest our dinner and after resting, we decided to go night swimming.  The management cleaned up the water first after the daytour for the benefit of the overnight guests.

The pool was empty so we have the freedom to play like children to our heart's delight.  There was not much light around the pool area so we just jump in and tried my waterproof camera for capture many funny moments unerwater.  

It really makes my heart fond seeing Malen very happy because many times it very hard to make her completely relaxed and excited especially when traveling to new places because there are sometimes difficulties we encounter along the way and these are moments that she sometimes frowns.  But tonight, I am in the company of the happiest woman in the world!

It was close to midnight when we left the pool and returned to our room to wash up and sleep for the night. After taking a bath, I took some moments to write some of the day's experiences in my laptop so that when the time comes to write this blog, much of what had happened today are accurately accounted for.

As we were settling in for the night, we were rattled by strange noises in front of the house until I realize that it was the sound of a guitar playing with voices singing in the background.  As I opened the door to investigate, what greeted us was a group of the villa's staff serenading us with romantic folk music as their voices liven up the peaceful night and elevated the atmosphere to a more pleasant atmosphere.  There were even moments that I sang together with the guys when songs familiar to me are being played.  When they finally bid goodbye, I graciously gave them a tip for making the night romantic and memorable for us.  We settled in for the night feeling truly blessed and enormously happy for the unforgettable experiences of the day.

When daybreak came, I rose up early which is something I always do on trips because this is the perfect time to take pictures when sunlight is still mild and there are no photobomber tourists always trying to vye for the better angle and palaces to take pictures as well.  This is one my favorite photographs of Villa Escudero as it features Cafe Indigo in the morning sunlight amidst the backdrop od manicured lawn, leaves-strewn trees and a little glimpse of the river from the side.

  
This area of the villa is where the riverside cottages are lined alng the river banks and guests here enjoy the luxury of relaxing on the balcony overlooking the river.  Unfortunately, these cottages are too costly for us to avail so we just settled for the present accommodation we have.  Anyway it doesn't matter what room you have but the company you are with whenever you are in a awesome place like Villa Escudero.

We proceeded to the Pavilion again for breakfast and to our delight a vast array of Filipino and Continental-style breakfast food was laid for the taking. 

Even the morning hot drinks of coffee, chocolate, cereals, fruit juices were all there on the table and "kakanin' food of all variety really made our mouths water off the sides.  Expectedly, we ate heartily again with all the guilt of gluttony set aside during that morning.  That was probably the best breakfast of our lives. 

After breakfast, we had the time to stroll around the poolside to take pictures while the day tourists has not arrived yet.  This is the perks of being overnight guests because you can practically pose anywhere you want without any photobombers ruining your shot.

Much as we would like to stay longer in this beautiful mini town of Villa Escudero and have a happy ending, it would be better if we will always be happy without an ending.  Because everytime we would encounter anyone who had visited this enchanted paradise, they would still visit it again in the future and enjoy its wondrous splendor. 

Many of us do share the same feelings towards this place and its not surprising that the owners have kept this place in order to keep visitors satisfied to the highest level.  And sure enough, they keep on coming old and new visitors alike!