Where to Stay in Bataan: Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

For Miya's birthday, we went to this beautiful place in Bagac, Bataan - Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.

From their website:

A living museum of Philippine customs and traditions are re-born in a community typical of the 18^th to early 20^thcentury Philippines.    Historical Principalia  or noble class mansions, House of Stone  or Bahay na Bato and Wooden Stilt  houses that once, were  old and decaying architectural  pieces of a  bygone era  and slowly fading into the background of modern urban life are now,  restored  in a picturesque setting reminiscent of a Juan Luna or Amorsolo paintings.  These architectural treasures that have been carefully and painstakingly reconstructed from different parts of the country and rebuilt, “brick by brick” and  “plank by plank”  now ,  stand resplendent with pride  against a backdrop of majestic mountains, expansive rice fields and   a running river that flows to the sea.

Currently, there are twenty seven  heritage architectures, each full  with memories and history.

Walking along village cobblestone streets or riding one of the caruajes (horse-drawn carriages) commands a feeling of nostalgia and wonder, romance and appreciation  of simple living  at its best.

At Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, the legacy of our forefathers and the beautiful Filipino traditions live on. It is a step back into the past, reliving the age- old traditions and practices distinct to our culture, without leaving the luxury and comforts of the modern world.

A showcase of Filipino talent, ingenuity and craftsmanship, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar takes pride in the past... And keeps its hope for the future.

There are two gates at the compound, the first one you get to enter the whole property. Before the actual compound of the heritage houses are modern buildings, I think this is the housing for their staff and some warehouses. And then when you enter the second gate, that is when you get to see the old houses. parking of guests is located outside the second gate so checking in and getting your bags is a bit tricky, well for us atleast. Our car was allowed to enter the second gate to go to the reception area. So Miya and I went inside the old house to check-in, while Joema stayed in the car. We were not sure if we should leave our bags from there or we can take the car to where our room is. Anyways, you need to drop off your bags at the reception while your companion parks the car outside.

Casa Mexico houses their reception area 

After checking in, we were accompanied by their staff to our room. We walked to another building, Paseo De Escolta, which houses the rooms. Bought my vouchers from DealGrocer for P3,200 for their Studio Deluxe Room.

Paseo De Escolta

Room: Studio Deluxe Room
Room Number: 205

The room is pretty big, same as the bathroom. Although the bathroom already looks a bit old. The shower head in our bathroom was always falling off. If you're a light sleeper, the room may not be okay with you because you tend to hear every movement the other guests make. On our first night, I can hear them walking up and down the stairs and walking along the hall. Joema said it's because of the wood structure of the building. Or they might just be ghosts heheh - just kidding! No, I did not see any ghosts if you're concerned about that.

This is what greets you when you enter the room

The bed is to your right when you enter. Love those drapes (?) surrounding the bed. On our first night, I used the drape to cover the bed from the windows at the side of the room. I was a bit scared hehe being in an "old" building and all. 

Table for two

The cabinet to your right holds the refrigerator although it doesn't have anything inside it.

The door leading to the bathroom

See, it's a pretty big bathroom. We didn't use the tub though because a bubble bath was not provided in their toiletries.

Toilet and shower area. The shower head kept falling off. Although it's the kind the handheld type, but I usually use that placed on the holder. 

Very minimal toiletries. You need to bring your own shampoo and soap.

View from our balcony

Other side

Food:

Our voucher came with set breakfast for two. But their breakfast is nothing spectactular. You choose from longganiza, tocino or daing na bangus and then you choose if you want rice or bread. Instead of giving you coffee and juice, you only get to choose either of the two.

Their main restaurant, Cafe Marivent, is housed at Casa Unisan.

Casa Unisan (photo taken during our heritage tour)

Inside the restaurant...so quaint!

Breakfast was disappointing but their ala carte choices in their menu is okay. We were happy with our choices and they have big servings, good for 3-4 people. At first, we thought the food prices were expensive (their viands average around P400-500). But with the big servings, we later found out it was actually worth it. For our first night there, we ordered from the restaurant and had it delivered to our room. We ordered their Pork Binagoongan and Beef Mami. We had so many left-overs that we asked them to heat the food the next day for our lunch. They willingly did and we ate at the restaurant and just ordered rice.

Our lunch the next day. See ang dami pang ulam? And that's really a lot because I'm not matipid sa pagkain so yung kain from the night before is todo-kain talaga and yet, we still had so much food left. 

We wanted to try their Italian restaurant but we were told that it's only opened during weekends. They have other restaurants but all are closed during weekdays except for Cafe Marivent.

Swimming Pool and Beach:

Their pool, La Piscina, is patterned from a batis. They have a kiddie pool and an adult pool - side by side each other. My only beef with the pool is it's not heated! It's so windy at the resort so I hope they have their pool heated. On our next morning, I was so happy we were the only ones at the pool. It turned out it was because the pool is not heated. The water was so cold adding to it the cold wind, Miya had purple lips after less than an hour at the pool! I got worried! (Okay, okay it was also partly my fault for letting her swim in that situation).

The kiddie pool to your right. Separating it from the adult pool are those huge rocks.

Blurry photo of the other side of the pool. Sorry this is the only other photo I have of the pool without us in it hehe.

The beach is at the other side of the property. You had to cross a bridge to get there (hehehe), it's a long walk from the pool and no facilities near there. On our second day, when we went there Miya was complaining that her skin is mahapdi. I'm not sure if it was because of the water or the sand that irritated her skin but when we got out of the water, to clean it with tap water and nothing was coming out of the faucet. Hay buti na lang we had her drinking water with us so I poured that instead to her skin to relieve her. 

Place of relaxation:

This was our favorite spot to hang out in during our stay. When we're not swimming or eating or inside our room, we loved staying here.

All in all, this is a good place to relax in. If your idea of a vacation is just do nothing (like us), then this is perfect for you. With the picture perfect place (with all those heritage houses), and the pool and the beach, the prices of the rooms, and the big serving of food, I am recommending this place to anyone who wants a place to relax away from the city but not too far that it needs a plane ride to get there.

Contact Details:

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar
Bo. Pag-asa, Bagac, Bataan
Phone: (632) 5469123

Manila Sales and Reservation Office
Phone: 332-5338, 355-3032, 322-5286, 0917-872-9361
Email: reserve@lascasasfilipinas.com
Office hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:30am

Below is the map (note: we took the NLEX San Fernando Exit route instead of the SCTEX route).