A Luxurious Weekend Relaxation in Pico de Loro Cove at Hamilo Coast

“An investment in travel is an investment in yourself.” 

~ Matthew Karsten ~

Pico Sands Hotel

Life is indeed beautiful and wonderful. Thus, exploring more of myself through travels is one of my goals as I enjoyed my last two years being in 20s. With that said, I started my year 2015 with getaways mostly during off work days and the recent trip was spent in Pico de Loro Cove at Hamilo Coast, Nasugbu, Batangas. It was a weekend of relaxation, exploring new things and appreciating more of Mother Nature. It was a superb getaway that I’ve been looking forward way way way back. Thanks God for the awesome surprises!

the hotel's lobby

premier deluxe with lagoon view room

the view at our room's balcony!

It was mid-day of Saturday where Mr. Sunshine shines so bright, giving me a hint that a very good weather throughout the trip will be ours. Luckily, everything went smoothly. In less than two hours, I and my friend were standing in the lobby of Pico Sands Hotel waiting for our room’s magnetic key card. 

The ambiance was so relaxing plus the music that plays throughout the hotel’s lobby soothes our senses and seems like it’s about to send us to sleep. Pico Sands Hotel is a seven storey hotel with 154 rooms offering a spacious rooms equipped with modern amenities and captivating views of the lush mountains and tranquil lagoon. Our Premier Lagoon View Room’s located at 5^th floor has a splendid view and girls, no need to bring hair dryer because each rooms has it.

Meanwhile, Pico de Loro Cove is a 40-hectare and is the first development in the “Premier Sustainable Coastal Resort Town” of Hamilo Coast. Hamilo Coast is an expansive 5,900 hectare property located in Nasugbu, Batangas with 13 coves, a 31 kilometer coastline, rich marine life and abundant flora and fauna.

In addition, Pico de Loro Cove is one of several marine protected areas in Hamilo Coast where marine life is preserved and enhanced in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines since 2007. Pico de Loro Cove is named after Mt. Pico which resembles a parrot’s beak wherein parrot means “Loro” in Tagalog (Filipino language).

Penne Inigo

mozzarella sticks

our drinks (I forgot the name but it has "immunity something" for the orange one and for the green it is "relax something"

Spaghetti Amatriciana

Four Cheese pizza

Right after we checked-in and rest for a while on our designated room, we indulged ourselves with sumptuous foods over a great view and windy atmosphere at Pico Restaurant and Bar. Well, we just had a snack on which looks like a very heavy snack. Thus, living the restaurant to catch the romantic sunset in a more dreamy setting of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Chapel with a heavy tummy was quite a struggle. You have two options of going there, it is either by walk or by shuttle (it’s free!). We opted for the latter since sun sets anytime soon.

St

capturing sun sets

majestic view, inside St. Therese Chapel

Pico de Loro's white beach

restaurants at the beach

Perfect! While in chapel you will see the area of Pico de Loro Cove, the white beach, and the array of restaurants by the beach that accessible by the members only. Non-members can also have an access to the beach and restaurants but with restriction. A day is not enough to explore Pico de Loro Cove as there are so many things to do here. You can have your personal leisure time while the Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club offers an extensive range of indoor and outdoor activities such as swimming, kayaking, snorkeling, billiards, cove tours, day trip in Santelmo cove, tennis, volleyball, basketball, bowling, videogame, music room and even those fitness buff can burn fats at the club’s fitness center. 

reef bar

sun coral cafe

lounging area

swimming pool at night

music room

bowling

billiards

loving this elegant lobby

Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club at night

playroom

children's playroom

table tennis

swimming pools at night

Gym

Volleyball

beautiful and sophisticated lobby of Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club

Or, if you’re like me, lounging at the beach and appreciating nature’s beauty are more than enough.

hi there! living the life to the fullest.

Hey clock, why you are ticking so fast! Little did we noticed it’s already 8pm, time for dinner at the Reef Bar located in the white beach? Reef Bar offers all kinds of grilled foods – liempo, prawns, squids, fish and many more! Here are some of the palatable dishes we feasted on.

comfy seats everywhere

nachos!

Grilled Chicken

Calamares and Fries

Prawns

fancy dinner by the beach with my fave Mango Shake

 Of course, a meal couldn’t be complete without dessert. And this Pan Choco Gateau is to die for! (I’m now craving for it, it was like choco lava though.)

Pan Choco Gateau

Happy tummy once more! My friend and Yani, went back to Pico Sands Hotel right after dinner for our scheduled 90 minute body scrub with massage at The Rain Spa. So for this getaway there's no happy hour, no cocktails but a rejuvenated and relaxed body. By the way, massage prices are affordable and sulit! You really got what you’ve paid for, it’s worth it!

The Rain Spa

prepping to be pampered

love the details of this

feeling relax and fresh after the body scrub and massage

And before we ended our day, a sweet treats from Pico Sands Hotel were delivered to our room! More chocolate cakes! Aye… Thank you so much!

chocolate cakes, thank you!

Sunday. 7:00am, the alarm sets on my phone rang. Snoozed. Back to sleep. Rang again. Turned it off. Sleep. Ha-ha. Absolutely, the massage we had last night gave us the most sounding sleep. At 9:00am, we decided to get up, fixed ourselves and have a buffet breakfast at Lagoa Restaurant. They offer Calamansi Juice which I liked most and everything was a flavorful morning delights – bacon, tinapa, longganisang lucban, salads, and fresh fruits! Plus, eating with hues of blue and greens as my view was way too perfect to start my day.

speechless! splendid!

good morning world! let's eat while having this wonderful view

fresh fruits and flavorful foods for brekkie

time to get wet and (tan?) summer ready!

enjoying life to the fullest, hi there travel buddy!

children's pool where I took a very quick nap

That’s why we made sure that gadgets and cameras were fully charged so that we can spend the day lounging by the pool or by the beach to make sure we tried almost everything before we checked out at 3pm. After breakfast, we had photo ops and can you believe that I even scored a quick nap at children’s swimming pool? Ha-ha. Well, that’s the perfect spot that I found to have a relaxing lazy daytime. Afterwards, we went to the hanging bridge. But before we get there, more photos along the way – at the lagoon, group photo at the lagoon, photo ops here and there and more photo ops!

Pico de Loro Cove!

embracing and appreciating nature's beauty

group photo with fellow travelers

lots of green, palm trees

failed OOTD, oh, it is so freaking hot but I love it

so calm and relaxing

breathtaking view, the life I want to live

making moment at the hanging bridge

oh, hi there! will be posting a separate OOTD post at the hanging bridge soon

 Just in time for lunch in Sun Coral Café where we feasted on Crispy Pata, Adobo, Pinakbet, Pork/Prawn Sinigang, Binagoongan, and Kare-kare.

our food - binagooongan, crispy pata, prawns sinigang & adobo

having lunch with these awesome travelers

This is the best getaway I had so far. It was very relaxing and hassle-free getaway. It is more of indulging myself with great foods, great views, and with great companies in a superb place. I am looking forward to visit Pico de Loro Cove and the other coves anytime soon. Thank you so much Ms. Celine for accommodating us and giving us an awesome Pico de Loro Cove experience.

Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club's Lobby

How to get there? 

Hamilo Coast is a sprawling seaside sanctuary located near the southwestern tip of Luzon, one of the three main island groups of the Philippines. Located within the municipality of Nasugbu in Batangas province, it is bounded by the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) on the west and cloud-covered mountain ranges in the east. Three coves at Hamilo Coast have been declared Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), namely, Pico de Loro Cove, Santelmo Cove, and Etayo Cove.

From Tagaytay, a quick 60-minute drive along the Alfonso-Marogondon Road leads to the entrance of Hamilo Coast.

From Metro Manila has been reduced to only 90 minutes by car with the completion of the Ternate-Nasugbu Road.

Driving directions from Manila:

Route 1: Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) – Ternate - Nasugbu

Distance: 73 km

Travel time: 90 minutes

Directions:

    - From the SM Mall of Asia Complex, take Coastal Road and go straight to the CAVITEX exit. 

    - From the CAVITEX exit, go straight to Kawit going through Bacao Road and Tejero.

    - Take the road from the Petron gas station going to Tanza, passing by Naic until Ternate.

    - Follow the main road, then turn left to access the Ternate tunnel.

    - Enjoy the scenic view of one of Patungan Cove on the right until the road reaches the main gate of Hamilo Coast.

Route 2: South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) – Santa Rosa – Tagaytay - Nasugbu

Distance: 133 km

Travel time: 2.5 to 3 hours

Directions:

    - From the SM Mall of Asia Complex, go to EDSA, then turn right into SLEX.

    - From SLEX, take the Eton Greenfield exit, then go straight past the Paseo de Santa Rosa community mall. Turn left into Tagaytay Road.

    - From Tagaytay Road, turn right upon reaching the Tagaytay Public Market, and go straight until the Palico intersection. Turn right after the Caltex gas station.

    - Go straight until the Shell gas station and the arch of Nasugbu town proper. Turn right. Go straight down this road and simply follow the directional signs to Hamilo Coast.

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Pico Sands Hotel

Hamilo Coast, Pico de Loro Cove

Barangay Papaya, Nasugbu, Batangas, PH

Contact No.: (02)464 7888 | (0917) 809 1289

Email: reservations@picosandshotel.com

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

For Membership Inquiries:

Costa del Hamilo, Inc. – Sales Department

4/F One Ecom Center, SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, PH

Contact No.: (02) 945 8000

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Have a great day!

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Hugs & Kisses,

Aylin || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram