A Touch of Bali | Cintai by Corito's Garden

Whatever happened to me in Bali doesn't exactly mean I am not a fan of the Balinese culture anymore. In fact I am still a big fan of the Balinese art and sculpture.

So when Nina invited Upper, Cla and I for an overnight stay in this Bali-inspired sanctuary resort in Batangas, we immediately set the date. The place is called Cintai by Corito's Garden. Cintai (pronounced “chin-tai”) is an Indonesian word which means 'love'. 

Just by seeing the gates, I knew it is love. This looks like a perfect place to unwind, relax and meditate.

the famous Balinese split gate at Cintai, Corito's Garden
okay, that's Upper making lotssss of phone calls!

Candi Bentar, commonly known as the split gate, is an arch shaped term for 2 similar buildings which reflects  symmetry.

 the Dancing Ladies statue welcomed us

a little Bali in Batangas

pretty and very detailed split gate

I've seen almost every establishment, temple, and home in Bali with these split gates. They look very nice, no? Anyway, since we arrived very much ahead of the check in time, our group decided to chill in the pool area. Lucky us, there were no other guests but us. It looked like we rented the whole place! =)

Well, privacy has price. As always, affordable resorts always get overcrowded. That's the advantage of paying a little more, you get to have your own piece of place.


a preview of the main pool at Cintai

a private resort for our group ^_^

that's Nina and Upper and the Hindu god at the back

and Cla tried out the cute umbrella

a Hindu guardian by the pool

The place was really awesome in terms of the details. It looked and felt very much Balinese! I specially liked the Balinese sculptured wall murals.

these sculptured wall murals were a feast in my eyes

Ganesha, the Hindu Lord of Success

and a lot more gods and deities in the wall mural

It didn't end there. Even the restrooms are constructed in detail. Jaw-dropping. This place is actually a lot better than the hotel where I stayed in Bali.

 the Balinese inspired restroom
..and there are 4 of these in Cintai. all restrooms are equally amazing.

the awesome restroom wall, and this is not just a painting

cant help but ask Upper to take a photo of me in-front of this beautiful restroom door

The whole resort is very well conceptualized and constructed.  Even the littlest thing is Bali-inspired. Cintai is really love.

a 40-ft  sculptured wall mural in the pavilion hall

Okay, so much for the awesome sculptures and the pool. Before lunch time, the staff allowed us to check in. The overnight rate in Cintai by Corito's is steep but thanks to the Deal Grocer coupon, Nina got this for a discounted price. Thanks teh for the advanced birthday gift.

more details along the way to our villa

The Terrace Villa is a 60 sq-m room for 4 persons. It has 2 queen-sized beds, extremely spacious bathroom, and own veranda outside. 

 our very own Balinese inspired villa

The Terrace Villa costs P11,000 - and this is already the cheapest room in Cintai by Corito's Garden. This includes your breakfast of choice and a personal butler service.

the glass doors of the villa

a 60-sqm room

the mattresses and pillows are fresh and extremely comfortable

that's the bathroom at the right

the very spacious bathroom

with toiletries and scented candles

personal fridge and a long wooden seat by the window


Anyway, Cintai also offers a day tour for only P1,650. This already includes lunch and snacks, as well as access to all open pictorial sites, swimming pools, playground, shower rooms. Not bad at all!

Speaking of lunch, this is one of the areas where guests can have lunch.

lunch by the garden

According to some reviews, the food at Cintai is not good. Surprisingly, the food was good and really cheap! We ordered Adobo (P300) and Pinakbet (P150). Each dish is already good for 4, seriously! The rice bowl is good for 10 persons. Haha!

 big servings at Cintai

We all loved the food! We even liked the home brewed iced tea. And I like to take home that centerpiece umbrella . ^_^ Kidding aside, our meal was good and very affordable.

After lunch, it's swimming and more exploration time once again!

that's Upper in the pool

show your curves!

While the girls were sabik sa pool, I was more sabik matulog. The bed was really comfy so I overslept. I woke up some minutes before it got dark. Tsk tsk.

my favorite seaweed, cadburies, and a pale pilsen for snack

Anyway, the dinner set menu was really a delight. For just 1,000, we got 4 Asian dishes, home brewed iced tea, and the so-good dessert.

asian dinner feast for 4

all these for less than a thousand pesos

Again, the serving was really generous and they all tasted good. We had leftovers because the set meal was actually good for 6-8 persons. Anyway, the jewel dessert was everyone's favorite.

the Dancing Ladies statue by night

Since the reception area was the only place with wi-fi access, we spent time here for a while. To our surprise, the employees didn't leave until we were back in our villa. They assisted us with all our needs, within the day and until night time. The service was really good.

 one fabulous door at Cintai

Cheers to the owners! Our group was very delighted with this Balinese inspired resort. The murals and sculptures were all awesome. Even the littlest detail was constructed well. The whole place is a peaceful sanctuary. It's actually so close to the real thing. Im happy to know I dont need to go back to Bali because Cintai by Corito's Garden can provide the Balinese feel. We loved the food and the service as well. I would surely go back here, but maybe next time a day tour would do para mas mura. Hehe

going asian - Mie Goreng for breakfast
credits to Cla for the calligraphy skills

Thank you 'The Nina Fuentes' for this treat. ^_^ 
Dimsum buffet tayo next time, yes?

Cintai by Corito's Garden
Sitio Pandayan, Malabanan Balete, Batangas
Mobile: +63917.833.1508 / +63917.833.1728
Email: coritosgarden@gmail.com

Coco Beach Resort | Puerto Galera

In my entire employee life, this is just the very first time I joined a company summer outing.

My boss volunteered me to organize the event. Since "places for great company outings" are not really my forte, I extensively searched for beach resorts in Batangas, Bataan, and Puerto Galera which are awesome but not too expensive at the same time. Im just extremely glad I chanced upon Coco Beach Island Resort in Puerto Galera.

Coco Beach Island Resort in Puerto Galera

Coco Beach Island Resort is a 10-hectare beach resort located in Sabang, Puerto Galera. Yes, it's another beach away from the crowded White Beach. There are daily trips from Batangas Pier to Sabang, but our group decided to rent our own boat for convenience (P5,500 per way). To our surprise, the service boat they provided was really big. It could actually fit 50 people! By the way, we were just 15pax in the group.

  this service boat can actually fit 50 people!

As soon as we arrived, the staff welcomed us, gave us refreshment and nice shell necklaces. The ambiance of the resort was peaceful. Lots of Coconut trees and other plants surrounded the resort. The bamboo houses and facilities were all made from natural materials. Every employee was warm and very accommodating.


The Beach
Since the location is isolated, I never worried this place would be crowded even on a weekend summer season. I was right. The beachfront was calm and quiet.

 the isolated beach

clean, maintained, and uncrowded beach front


The Pool
The lagoon-shaped main pool is located at the center of the resort and only a few feet away from the beach. Lots of bed lounges were available on the side.

main pool of Coco Beach

kiddie pool with slide

greens, blues, and a touch of pink!

the restaurant beside the pool


The Food and Service
Since everything was pre-arranged, our dining table and food were prepared ahead. I really appreciated the staff's attentiveness and thoughtfulness. Good Point #1 - as soon as I  checked my phone, the lady staff approached me and offered me their complimentary wifi access. Awesome! This kind of service always makes a big difference.

   
the revolving restaurant

the Carabao restaurant

As for the food, they were great! The lunch buffet (P550/pax) they served us was more than we expected. Actually, the servings were generous and we didn't consume even half of the food.

some of the dishes for the buffet lunch

complete meal with sinigang na hipon, salad, chopsuey, adobo, gilled squid, laing, unli rice and iced tea

the golden rule: always make room for dessert!


The Rooms
There are 110 rooms in Coco Beach. The beautiful bamboo rooms gave a cozy and natural ambiance of the place. Most of the rooms don't have tv, fridge, and aircon for the total tropical island experience. This really encourages the guests to stay out of the room and try the 101 Activities in the resort.

path leading to the rooms

plants dominated the place

this one's my favorite.

Each house consists of 4 rooms. The rooms on the seconds floor are more spacious so we asked the staff if we could be transferred to the bigger rooms. Good Point #2 - They granted our request, immediately!

 rooms on the second floor are always bigger

our own veranda and duyan

The Deluxe Room (P4,000) we reserved could fit 4 guests. These rooms have 1 queen sized beds and 2 day beds. To our surprise, the rooms are arranged like this:

tadaaaah! pang-prinsesa ^_^

It's actually very nice but we're not on a honeymoon. Actually, this room aint good for a honeymoon because the walls are not soundproof! hehe

queen sized bed

day beds

Anyway, the interior is very native and nice. No wonder, foreigners loved this local bedroom setup. Just a little complain, mahina ang tubig sa shower.


101 Activities
Coco Beach Resort offers 101 activities! Awesome! This includes complimentary island hopping. Anyway, we had our own team building activities in their very spacious playground. Good Point #3 - While we were playing, two employees approached us. They asked us if we still need anything for our games. Fantastic! They even offered to arrange the race track for the obstacle course.

 the longest line

the guys won in every single game

but sometimes you dont need to win to get the prize ^_^

After the games, it's swimming time in the pool!


no araw, no worries!

great tasting mango and banana shakes

sunset time by the beach

At this time, the employees were already preparing for the New Moon Party Barbecue Buffet.

majestic sunset view from our room


The New Moon Party
Lucky us, there was a New Moon Party event that night. The barbecue buffet dinner with unlimited weng-weng and rhum coke (P750) were served all night. This also includes fire dancing performance which was stunning. Most spectacular was the Here Now band. They played awesome music all night! Mahusay!

dinner by the beach

this plate didn't give justice on how good the food was, specially the fish and the asparagus soup!

What's a nightout in Puerto Galera without a fire dancer?

the fire dancer's performance was really good
actually it was so good, era and i were convinced to take firedancing lessons. haha!

After the fire dancing performance, this band delivered good music all night.

superb performance by Here Now band

The ladies called it a night, while the guys drank all the weng weng and rhum coke! Haha


Island Hopping
The complimentary buffet breakfast was served from 6:45am to 10:00am. The choices were good, and as always, the service was excellent. Good Point #4 - Someone broke a glass and the staff just rushed to the scene, smiled and immediately said "It's okay, don't worry." Nice no?

breakfast at Coco Beach

At 8:30, the boatman was already waiting for us. This island hopping is a complimentary activity of the package we availed. Two boats were provided for our group.

island hopping - free!

Actually, we only went to the Long Beach island. But it's okay, afterall we didn't pay for anything. Hehe

on our way to the Long Beach

the sand in the Long Beach is a bit whiter and finer

Doms playing (double) dead in the clear water of Long Beach

thank you Coco Beach


Overall, we had a great time in this secluded Coco Beach Resort. The food is very good. The servings were generous, we never consumed even half of the food. The prices are reasonable too for a private place like this. The beach is not spectacular but it's okay. The New Moon Party, the band, and the firedancer were all awesome. I am truly happy to know that there are 13 service families who were given jobs in this resort. The service is excellent! Staff are very helpful and attentive to the guest's needs. I am happy and satisfied with the choice I made for our company outing. =)

Coco Beach Island Resort
Behiya, Sabang, Puerto Galera, Mindoro Oriental, Philippines

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