Experience Filipino hospitality at its finest at Villa Escudero, a tranquil resort nestled amidst a coconut plantation. Enjoy delicious meals by cascading waterfalls, explore the countryside on a carabao ride, and immerse yourself in Filipino culture.
Entrance fee is ₱1800 (museum,carabao ride,buffet lunch, access to swimming pool and bamboo rafting,show) worth it!!! They are very strict with the swimwear.
Will definitely come back:) its a good experience if you have family or friends coming from Abroad and you want them to have a glimpse of filipino culture.
We booked an overnight stay with my family who I wanted to experience Philippine culture. The package includes free lunch buffet (under a waterfall), free dinner buffet (at the pavilion), free breakfast buffet (at the pavilion). Also include are: Welcome Drinks, Guided walking tour at the museum, Carabao cart rides, Swimming Pool and Jacuzzi access, Bamboo rafting, and an excellent Cultural show (2pm to 3:15pm).
Check in is at 1pm, but they ask that you arrive at 11:30am before you check in so you can have enough time to get to the lunch area via Carabao cart and eat under the waterfall. Note that only chips and water can be brought into the resort. They do inspect your bags for other drinks and alcohol (which you can buy at the pool bar).
After checking in, you then head to the cultural show at 2pm which is walking distance from the rooms. The show includes different native dances from the north and south islands. It even includes a very realistic 'cock fight' where bets (tips) are taken from the audience. My daughter felt bad about the roosters, but they assured her that no rooster was harmed during the show.
We stayed in the Riverside Fan Room which sleeps a maximum of 12 people. I highly recommend this room because you are right on the river which an open view from the ground floor. The fan kept us cold at night so not need for AC. It even kept any mosquitos away (if there were any). There is one queen bedroom on the first floor, but the rest are mattresses that you can lay on the floor anywhere you want including in the loft where 2 smaller rooms exist.
I also recommend the bamboo rafting (see pic). Heavier than a canoe but navigates the same way on the river. When we were there, there was a school field trip which lined up for the rafts, but since we were overnight guests, we were able to skip the line.
Food during breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all Philippine inspired and very tasty. Make sure you try everything, so you don't miss out.
Overall, a great experience for anyone wanting to taste Philippine cuisine and experience Philippine culture firsthand.
This place was great! Our family went here on a day trip from Manila. The staff are very knowledgeable, helpful, and super friendly! We got passes for the museum, carabao ride, and buffet lunch. We unfortunately missed out on the cultural performance, but we heard the performers warming up and it sounded awesome.
The buffet was a real highlight. There are veggies here, but it may be difficult for veg* folks. The waterfall is man made, but there's no experience like eating at one. I wish we had time to go bamboo raft riding, cause that looked fun.
The museum was really weird. It had a wide collection of Philippine artifacts, but it was obviously someone's personal collection. It is also a little unsettling with weird mannequins and dolls. If you're into horror films, then let me tell ya, this place is for you. I wish there was more of a focus on the history of the plantation.
All in all, Villa Escuedero is a great place to visit.
There are cottages that would qualify as a glamping spot. No aircon, plain breeze. Villas with aircon are quite limited. Buffet food is half miss, half hit. Lunch at the waterfall gets crowded but great a one-time experience. Rowing on the river raft is a must try. It’s a team building thing.
Best time to use the pools are early morning and late afternoon.
