Stepping into Las Casas is like having time-travel back to the old Philippines. It was enchanting to walk the cobblestone roads and enter homes of over a hundred-year-old. The cruise to the river and the swim at the beach sum up an ideal getaway for the family. It is a memorable place to spend a weekend with mostly warm and welcoming resort staff.
Home to Jose Acuzar’s collection of restored Spanish-Filipino houses, this resort in Bagac, Bataan is a reflection of Filipino craftsmanship intricately curated into a world-class historical haven.
Speckled with classic architecture, grandiose landscape, and spectacular waterworks, there is surely beauty to behold anywhere you go. Hop on the Tramvia and traverse along cultural routes through. Go on a fluvial adventure by taking the balsa, and see the casas in a totally different angle.
Las Casas also takes pride in being the only Philippine hotel to have received several international acclaims. Among its prestigious recognitions are being part of Historic Hotels Worldwide, and being awarded as Asia’s most excellent destination in 2017.*
Here’s a preview of your next trip!
The view is completely mesmerizing and the feel can be surreal! But not to burst the bubble and to manage expectations, here are the other realities when you get there:
- We were at Accessoria 2 and our room has the only veranda at the building, the beach view is wonderful along with the sunset! Room is spacious but facilities not very nice. Broken hangers and doorknobs, not a clean flooring, and we were served with a smashed coffee cups and it took them one day to replace it on top of doing three follow-ups.
- House Keeping service is very slow and it takes a while for them to answer a phone call.
- Hotel walkway has piles of extra beds and not a sight to behold when getting into your room.
- Breakfast buffet at Hotel de Oriente has no brewed coffee on the first day; the staff said only instant is usually served. I requested if they can prepare brewed on the second day, alas… they did!
- The kitchen crew is very consistent of not refilling the food plate asap. You get to finish your breakfast without having a taste of the scrambled eggs and longganiza unless you are willing to wait…
- The Filipino and Italian restaurants found inside are good but a bit pricey considering the taste and size of serving. To go outside and sneak for dinner, it t takes about 20km drive to a nearby mall.
- There are still a lot of constructions situated at the entrance but it will surely be exciting to see the finished designs in two to three years’ time.
Hopeful that *Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar Management is open to improve these aspects of the resort so they can fully offer a grander experience to visitors. Afterall, it is still a “Salud, Buena Vida – Mabuhay!”