Travel+Experiment: Backpacking: Exploring Villa Escudero Plantations & Resort Quezon Province, Philippines

Welcome to Travel+Experiment!

Villa Escudero Plantations was founded in 1872 by Don Plácido Escudero and his wife Doña Claudia Marasigan. Originally a sugar cane plantation, the crop was converted to coconut by their son, Don Arsenio Escudero in the early 1900s. A pioneering agriculture industrialist, he built the country’s first working hydroelectric plant - Labasin Dam - to supply his desiccated coconut factory and the Escudero Plantation house, which he and his wife Doña Rosario Adap built in 1929.

Villa Escudero Plantations is 800 hectares (2,000 acres) of working coconut plantation and hacienda located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of the city of San Pablo, Laguna province on the border with Quezon province in the Philippines. Since 1981, the plantation has opened its doors as a resort offering village tours, museum tour, food and accommodations. It has developed a worldwide reputation as a focal point to experience Philippine culture and history in a beautiful rural setting.

In 2008, 415 hectares (1,030 acres), more than half of the estate, was converted into an exclusive residential development called Hacienda Escudero. Highlights of the tour are the visit to the museum of historic, religious, pre-Hispanic and World War II artifacts. Carabao-drawn cart transport takes visitors to the resort area, surrounded by park-like setting accompanied by musicians and singers serenading you with Filipino Filipino folk songs on the way to the resort. The dining table settings are set in the bottom of the waterfall which cascades water underneath the table you are dining in. Also an authentic live cultural dance show choreographed by National Artist Ramon Obusan, performed with live music.

Activities and attractions must see in Villa Escudero.

Destination: Introducing Villa Escudero!

How to get there:

By Bus from Manila

Take the Jac Liner bus going Lucena, Quezon Province. It has hourly bus service to Lucena, Quezon Province from LRT Buendia Station (first trip is 5:00 AM; last trip is 10:00 PM) and Kamias Station (first trip is 2:00 AM; last trip is 9:00 PM) terminals. It takes 2 1/2 hours with its various stopovers along the way. Cost is around 178.00 pesos one way fares, air-conditioned. Make sure to tell the driver or the conductor that you are going to Villa Escudero so they can stop right after the Quezon Arch and drop you off there. The gate of Villa Escudero is just after the Arch and at the left side of the Arch. From the point where the bus drops you off, you cross the road to the other side to walk to the entrance. It's a very long walk. It's advisable to take a tricycle if you see one and ride it to the entrance of Villa Escudero.

Rates (cited in Villa Escudero 2015)

Day Tour Packages

Mondays to Thursday

Adults: 1,250 pesos
Half rate: P625 (Children below 4 feet)

Fridays to Sundays & Holidays

Adults: 1,400 pesos
Half rate: P700 (Children below 4 feet)

Welcome drink, carabao cart rides, use of outdoor recreational facilities and lunch at the waterfalls. By special arrangements with the AERA Memorial Foundation, the museum is open to resort guess. Cultural Show: 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays.

Lodging

Rooms

Total number: 30
Capacity: 4-12/unit

Amenities

Private Restrooms
Electric Fans/Aircon
Hot/Cold Shower
Fresh Linen
Insect repellents

No. of Pax	1	2	3	4	5	6-9	10-12
Long House	P4,130	P3,245	P2,750	P2,415	P2,300	P2,200	-
River Unit	P5,440	P4,145	P3,495	P3,135	P2,980	P2,780	P2,650
Executive Suites (Aircon)	P5,860	P4,970	P4,170	P3,730	-	-	-
Gumamela Suites (Aircon)	P5,860	P4,970	P4,170	P3,730	-	-	-
Katakataka (Aircon)	P6,120	P5,240	P4,440	P3,995	P3,750	-	-

*Rates are per person per unit and inclusive of meals.

**Rates are in Philippine peso and updated as of February 15, 2012

Nipa Hut Day Rental: P750/day (9:00 AM- 5:00 PM)

Conference Hall Rental: (5,500 pesos / room)

Available for rental:

Facilities

Sound System
Overhead Projector
Whiteboards
Screens

Business Center

Cellular Phones
Copying Machines
Fax Machine

Recreational Activities

Bird Watching
Basketball
Fishing
Volleyball
Swimming
Bamboo rafting
Mountain Biking
Filipino Games
Obstacle Course
Palo Sebo
Hiking
Hit the Pot
Tennis
Pabitins

Other Facilties

Wedding Center
Chapel
Jeepney Service
Carabao Carts
Bar
Clinic
Restaurants
Auditorium
Videoke

Mode of Payments

Cash/Currency: Philippine Peso & US Dollar
Travelers Checks: PNB Mabuhay Card, American Express Credit Card, And Visa/Master Credit Card

Reminders

Reservations must be made at our Manila Booking Office at least 48 hours before date of visit.
Resort hours are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Museum hours are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Children below 7 years old are not allowed inside the museum.
Food and drinks cannot be brought into the resort without prior arrangements. Corkage is applied to all alcoholic drinks, tetra packs and soft drinks.
Only proper swimming attire in our swimming pools please!
Please leave your pets at home.
Tariff rates inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT).
Prices and cultural show schedules may be change without prior notice.
For overnight guests, check-in is 11:00 am or 5:00pm.

I. Villa Escudero Tour

1. Museum

The AERA Memorial Museum, founded by spouses Arsenio and Rosario Escudero, contains the private collections of the family from their local travels and around the world. The assorted collections include oriental ceramics, natural history and ethnographic dioramas, costumes, household furniture, weaponry and many other items of interest collected in their travels around the world.

2. Labasin Lake

Labasin Lake is the narrow lake or reservoir created by the Labasin hydroelectric dam. One of the amenities provided by the resort to visitors is rafting and native bamboo rafts are available and is included with the day tour. Some accommodations made with native materials are beautifully set protruding by the lake.

3. Waterfalls Restaurant

Lunch is served on bamboo dining tables set in a few inches of crystalline running water from the falls. The experience of dining on delicious local dishes with the sparkling waterfalls as a backdrop with clear spring water running over your feet is a truly singular and memorable experience only Villa Escudero can offer.

4. Philippine Cultural Show

After lunch, guests have the opportunity to watch the Philippine Experience Show where the country's rich culture comes to life, from its ethnic diversity to its colonial legacy. The dances were painstakingly recreated by the late National Artist for Dance Ramon Obusan of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Mr. Obusan's insistence on authenticity sets this show, performed by resort employees and accompanied by the resort's own musicians and rondalla ensemble, makes this show a far cry from the stylized performances one sees today. (Fridays-Sundays/Holidays only)

5. Rural Village Tour