PICO DE LORO

Aaaaand I'm back. Again! 😊

Last weekend, my family (including my mother and brother) went to Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club. Pico de Loro Cove is a 40-hectare “Residential Resort Village” and is the first development in the “Premier Sustainable Coastal Resort Town” of Hamilo Coast. The property has eight mid-rise condominiums, a hotel - Pico Sands Hotel, a country club and a beach club which is exclusive for members.

The travel time from QC to Pico de Loro is around 3 hours. We passed by NAIAX and Cavitex. Travel time is longer if you'll take the Tagaytay route.

When we arrived at the property, we presented the forms provided by our AirBnB host. The staff are efficient I must say. Even if they had to double check all the information, it didn't take us long to go inside. I also like the idea that they are strict with the guests coming in. People can't easily go in if they're not endorsed by a resident or a member. Upon entering, we proceeded to the Country Club to pay for the guest fee of 1,300 pesos. They will provide a wrist band which you need to wear during your entire stay. I guess this is their way to monitor the people inside the property and identify guests from homeowners and club members. The wrist band is like the one in EK. It can be quite uncomfortable to wear it all the time but you can remove it when you take a bath at your room or unit and when sleeping, then just ask for a new one.

After paying the guest fee, we went to the condo unit. We presented the guest form again at the reception area and we met with the caretaker. He handed the keys, explained some house rules, then we paid the Php 2,500 deposit which was refunded to us when we checked out. I was so happy with the unit that we got. It's so cozy with nice interiors, clean, spacious and has all the things we needed! The unit is really complete from kitchenware to cleaning tools! There's a dishwashing soap and Scotch-Brite, pots, pans, rice cooker, knife, chopping board, complete set of tableware (I appreciate that their plates and bowls are made of tempered glass!👍), hand soap, alcohol, mop and broom. They also provided enough pillows and blankets, towels, and basically everything we needed!

View from the condo unit we rented. Isn't it lovely? 💚

Too bad I wasn't able to take a picture of the actual unit but here's the AirBnB link. It looks exactly the same as the photos on the said site. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17193941

Beach Area 🌊

Don't expect powdery white sand beach. This is not Boracay or Palawan. 😜 The sand is very fine though and there's a lot of fishes even in shallow water. My son enjoyed "catching" them! 🐟🐠🐡

The property is surrounded by greens! 🌳🌴🍀

My son enjoyed running on the man-made hills!

View from the Country Club's pool. The structures you see are the condo buildings.

The country club has many pools. It's not cramped even though there were a lot of people swimming. I wasn't able to take a lot of pictures as I enjoyed watching my son swim but you can search google for more inviting pictures! 😉

See that? Kagigil diba?

Below are some IMPORTANT THINGS you need to know if you’ll decide to go to Pico de Loro.

• Guests can either stay at Pico Sands Hotel or rent condo units.
• Be careful in renting condo units. Not all units are well maintained. Some doesn’t provide amenities like towels, kitchenwares, etc.
• Pico Sands’ rates starts at 9,000 pesos plus which includes buffet breakfast
• Guests staying at the condo units will have to pay “guest fee” to have access to their amenities. Please note though that the guest fee only only includes free use of the country club pool, shuttle service, table and chairs on the pool area and on the beach. Use of other facilities like, basketball, volleyball, badminton, bowling, play area for kids has corresponding fees.
• The guest fee is 1,300 pesos per person during weekends and peak season. Lean season has different rate. Children below 3 years old is free and senior citizen discount applies. You can ask your host or visit Pico de Loro’s website for the schedule of fees.
• You only need to pay the guest fee one time which is valid for 7 days. If you’ll stay for more than 7 days, you have to pay the guest fee again which will be valid for the next 7 days.
• Unaccompanied members cannot access the “Beach Club”. The beach club has it’s own pool and beach area which is exclusive for members only. Even if you stayed at Pico Sands Hotel, you cannot access the Beach Club if you’re not with a member.
• If you don’t have a credit card, you will have to avail of their cash card for 1,050 with 1,000 load. The 50 pesos the card fee.
• Free unlimited parking
• Pico de Loro is in a secluded area. No stores, restaurants, fastfood chains or convenient stores nearby. Come prepared. Make sure to bring all the stuff you need.
• There’s a convenient store inside but as expected, the price is ridiculously high! We bought 1 kg of Jasponica rice worth 253 pesos!!!

Here are the PROs and CONs in renting a condo unit or staying at Pico Sands Hotel.

Pros of renting a condo:

• You can bring and cook your own food
• Ideal for large families. Some condo units can accommodate up to 12 or more people.
• You can save a lot if you’ll just rent a condo since you can bring and cook food

Cons of renting a condo:

• If you’re not keen into details, you may get a bad unit. Not all units are maintained well and have complete amenities. Some doesn’t provide towels and toiletries and kitchenware. Be very careful in choosing a unit. Check reviews if you’re going to book via AirBnB. Ask your host what are included in the unit.
• Clean as you go
• You have to pay guest fee

Pros of staying at the hotel:

• Hotel Service
• Free buffet breakfast
• No need to pay for guest fee

Cons of staying at the hotel:

• Food are expensive. The staff told us that during weekends, they don’t offer ala carte menu. Thus, you have to avail the buffet for 900 pesos! That’s 900 freakin’ pesos!
• Can be very expensive for large families as room rates are high

Overall, I enjoyed our stay. I'll give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐. The staff are very helpful and polite. It may be expensive but I understand that it’s needed to maintain the property well. My husband and I plan to go back and stay for at least 3 days to fully enjoy place.