Michi Photostory

Summer is here and my mom is home so several days ago we were so preoccupied in searching for a summer destination. As usual, it is hard to look for resorts and hotels because it is peak season. My sister and sister-in-law were busy calling the resorts that I’ve suggested in Batangas and I’m trying to mock book online for a hotel or resort staycation in Tagaytay and Metro Manila but unfortunately, they are fully booked on our preferred date. It is not easy to book for 13 people.  

Read: Batangas Resorts 
Staycation in Tagaytay


Then I remembered the resort that I bookmarked. I’ve learned about Macampao Beach and Leisure Farm in Chyng’s blog and I even suggested this to my husband for our wedding anniversary celebration pero hindi kami magkasundo kasi gusto niya sa Cabana but I want an air-conditioned room. I did not push with this plan because of his USA trip, alam ko may jetlag siya sa anniversary namin.  


March 23, I emailed the resort to inquire about the rates and if they can still accommodate us. 

March 24, On my way to Valenzuela, I read their reply and I was glad that there are still available rooms for our group. I immediately informed my mom about it and I reserved rooms. We’ve been waiting for their reply and I even called them for a follow-up. 

March 25, We did not receive any reply so we called them again for a follow-up, nagpapanic na kasi kami at one-weekend lang kami pwede lahat. So if hindi pwede sa Macampao, hanap kami ulit. Then after an hour, I received the confirmation email and we went to the bank to deposit the 50% downpayment. Emailed the copy of the deposit slip and my valid ID. Yehey, at last, the search is over.

Fast forward to April 1, since we live in Southern Luzon, we left before 4AM and we arrived at 9:36AM. You have to text the staff so they can open the gate for you so reservation is really needed.



While waiting for our family members, we ate snacks. We had suman with latik, bread, fruits, mango shake and coffee. Napawi ang gutom namin sa biyahe. :)



I initially booked 2 Casa Logoy and 2 sets of Hilid Salamin but there was a last-minute change on the day of our trip so upon arrival, I asked them if I can still change my reservation, which they gladly accommodated. So I booked 3 Casa Logoy and 1 set of Hilid Salamin. 

Room Rates 

Casa Logoy P8000 + 12% VAT for 2 persons 
1 set of Hilid Salamin (2 rooms) P12,800 + 12 % VAT for 4 persons 
Extra kid P1400 (3-12 yrs old) + 12% VAT
Extra Adult P2800 + 12% VAT 

Rooms 

Casa Logoy Room 




Our room is on the 4th floor of Casa Logoy. The room is very simple, you have a bed, side table, small cabinet, and bathroom. No TV and we cannot connect with the free wifi (di abot sa taas). But we don’t care about the wifi because we have an amazing view of the beach. TV is not a problem too because there are so many activities that you can do in the resort.


Toiletries are organic, we have Human Nature shampoo, conditioner, soap, and insect repellent. Since this is a leisure farm, it is important to apply insect repellent. 


Hilid Salamin Room 


Hilid Salamin has two rooms connected by a bathroom. My brother’s family stayed here since they are a group of 5. One queen-sized bed, 2 twin beds, and one extra mattress. What is nice about this room is the ceiling-to-floor windows where natural sunlight can go through


Food 

The room package includes full board meals, we have lunch, snacks, dinner, and breakfast. Honestly, we always look forward to our meal time because it is always a feast. They serve different kinds of seafood, meat, veggies, and fruits from their farm and fish pond. There is food for everyone, even picky eaters won't have any problem. They also serve fruits shake or juice every meal. 

We did not ask for the meal schedule and we just go to the dining room and wait. Sometimes we try to guess the food, pag may naaamoy kami. hehehe! There is no set menu also so it is always a surprise for us when they serve the food on the table. Happy tummy always. 

Foods below are serving for 6 persons except for the Grilled Maliputo and Turon.

Lunch 

Shrimp + Grilled Tanigue + Chicken Tinola + Clams + Watermelon + Mango Shake 

Merienda 


Turon + Mango Sauce and Calamansi Juice. 

Dinner 

Grilled Maliputo/Talakitok + Grilled Liempo + Grilled Squid + Pumpkin Soup + Mango + Mango Shake 


Dahil nagfishing kami, may additional kami na 7 grilled bangus. P300 per kilo + P250 cooking charge 

Breakfast 

Food for everyone

Salted Egg with Tomato + Daing na Bangus + Eggplant + Bacon Wrapped + Bread + Boiled Kamote and Saba + Melon + Buko Juice. 

They gave additional hotdogs for the kids. Thanks! :)

Lunch 

Check-out is 11AM so we decided to eat lunch there before going home. P400 for adults and P200 for kids. 

Curacha with Sweet Chili Garlic Sauce + Blue Marlin Steak + Sayote + Sinigang na Pork + Watermelon + Mango Shake. And because of that full board meals, I know that I gained more pounds. 

10 Things to do in Macampao Beach and Leisure Farm

Another reason why we like Macampao resort is, that there are so many things to do. Adults and kids will never be bored. Macampao Beach and Leisure Farm is indeed a family-friendly resort, you can disconnect from the outside world and bond with your family. Some of their activities are good for the kids and you won’t experience this in other resorts.  

1. Swimming at the beach and inflatable pool 

The resort has no swimming pool but they provided inflatable pools for the kids. 



2. Fishing 


For the last few years, my son wanted to experience fishing but we just don’t know where to go. We went to Fun Farm Sta. Elena and Pangasinan pero wala naman nahuli na fish, hehehe! So my son was really happy when he caught two bangus. 


3. Horseback Riding 

After eating our merienda, we went to the beach for horseback riding. 

4. Board Games 

After dinner, we played sungka and scrabble. 


5. Releasing of Baby Turtles 


The following morning, I’ve read the text message that there are baby turtles releasing activity at 6:30AM. So ginising ko na agad mag-ama ko and informed my family members. We were on the beach before 6AM, excited kami because first-time namin ito. 

I watched it on TV pero iba yung personal experience. It is so nice to see the baby turtles racing to the sea. Mabagal na race nga lang. Hehehe! We were lucky na natapat trip namin na meron baby turtles. :) 

6. Boating at the pond 

After breakfast, we went to the pond to experience boating. 

7. Bamboo Rafting 


My husband tried bamboo rafting. 

8. Kayaking 


Because of the big waves, my son did not join the kayak activity. He was busy playing with the sand.

9. Feeding the Pawikan

While preparing for check-out, my sister messaged me na meron Turtle feeding so I told my son to go down. 

10. Sports Game

You can play beach volleyball, beach soccer, badminton, frisbee, and billiards. My son and nephews played billiards, it was my son’s first time experience. 

We really enjoyed our weekend getaway at Macampao Beach and Leisure Farm. Mrs. Felix, one of the owners of the resort is very accommodating. We were all satisfied with the room, food, and service. The place was not crowded so you can really relax and unwind. Indeed, it is a worry-free weekend, we just eat, sleep, and enjoy. One thing is for sure, we will go back to this resort again. Thanks to my mom for the treat. 

Watch the video here. 

How to Get to Macampao Beach and Leisure Farm

The directions are available on their website. I printed the directions but my husband just relies on Waze for direction.

Macampao Beach and Lesiure Farm
Cabangan, Zambales

I won Zoobic Safari Package last month, the package includes 5 entrance tickets, 5 free rides and 1 overnight package in Zoobic Lodge. I got excited because I haven’t stayed in this hotel so I immediately search for it. I have no idea that the zoo offer rooms too because the last time that we went to Subic, we stayed in Camayan Beach Resort.

I was having a hard time in getting information even the website have limited information and photos of Zoobic Lodge. Then I found out that Zoobic Lodge a.k.a. Tiara Hotel is the former Crown Peak Homes. Waah!, I stayed here 14 years ago, yes more than a decade already. I went here with my college friends. My excitement was gone already because I know it was already an old hotel. I’ve been reading reviews pa na it looks creepy, knowing me na sobrang matatakutin and I don’t watch horror movies nga, parang I don’t want to go na. But my husband said, sayang and kasama naman daw siya. 

So I asked my husband to call the office to check if we could use the gift certificate even on weekends. There was a note kasi na “not valid for weekends and holidays”. The staff said yes because there is an available room. Day before the trip, my husband called to confirm our reservation and he was surprised because there was no reservation under his name. We emailed the gift certificate to reserve and still no reply. My husband called again to follow up and reserve na nga daw. 

We really hoped that it was really reserved but we prepared ourselves for worst scenario, just in case makalimutan ulit. That is the reason why after our Zoobic Safari tour we went immediately to Zoobic Lodge, to check if we could check-in because if not, we will just go home. 



Good thing that our room was really reserved. After watching the Animal Parade in Zoobic Safari, we went back to Zoobic Lodge. The hotel was really old and I was praying na sana marami kami nagcheck-in. #paranoid 




I must agree with other reviews because I find the place creepy. Everything is old and really need an improvement. Actually, the room is big, it has a kitchen with fridge, you have an extra bed pa, Thank God that the aircon is working fine. 



The bathroom has hot and cold shower, it has a bathtub but you can’t use it kasi wala naman pantakip sa butas. Lol I thought they won’t provide towels but they deliver it to our room without asking. Soap, toothbrush and toilet paper for toiletries. 



Zoobic Lodge has a mini restaurant where you can eat so we did not go out anymore for dinner. There is wi-fi too in the restaurant but I haven’t tried it.

P95, grilled liempo for my son and porkchop for me +iced tea

P85, one veggie and one meat + iced tea

I told my husband that we will go home after breakfast but he promised my son that they will swim. Around 7AM my husband asked the staff what time open ng pool, he was informed 8AM kasi lilinisin pa daw niya pool. So we had morning walk around the area while waiting for 8AM. 



We went down and only to find out that the pool was still closed. My husband looked for the staff and was told na 9AM pa daw at maglilinis pa. My son cried already because he wanted to swim but we have no choice but to wait. 

Ready to swim na but still closed

We went back to our room, I took a bath and persuading my son to take a bath too so we can go home. But he was determined to wait til 9AM so he could swim. At 9AM, they went to the pool and it was still closed. And the staff was eating and saying, mamaya na bumalik na lang kayo at maglilinis pa nga. Oh my goodness, we wasted our two hours waiting for the pool, I don’t understand bakit ayaw niya iopen. Maglilinis pa? Two hours na nagdaan, ni hindi naman niya ginawa. #lokohannaito High blood na kami mag-asawa so my husband and son took a bath and we went home. 

The staff at the reception asked? 

Staff: Sir, di na kayo maliligo. 
Husband: Hindi na. 
Staff: Sir, pasyensya na po kayo dun kasi Blah! Blah! Blah! 

Hindi ko na inintindi kung ano sinabi niya about dun sa isang staff na ayaw buksan ang pool. All I knew is, we wasted our two hours waiting for nothing. I don’t know if that staff is under the Zoobic Lodge. We’re not dying to swim in that pool, it just so happened that my husband promised my son that they will swim, trust issue ito. So we convinced our son that the pool is dirty at may mga frog. We promised that we will swim in other pool na lang.



Anway, although the place was creepy for me, wala naman ko nakita o naramdaman na kakaiba. Lol The service was ok except for the pool staff. I don’t know about the room rates but I saw this in our room. 




Zoobic Lodge
Tiara Building, Upper Cubi, 
Subic Bay Freeport Zone,
2222 Zambales
(047) 252 8638

It is very unusual to me that I will revisit one place or attraction within a year because I always wanted to visit new places and discover new things. But this year, I visited two places, twice in a year. Last February 2014, we had a family trip in Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure, then last month my son had field trip in Ocean Adventure and at the same time I also won Zoobic Safari Package in one contest. Sayang lang, kasi after field trip ko na nakuha prize.

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