25th at Club Balai Isabel

Growing up, I've always celebrated my birthday with my family.  Since it always falls on a holiday, we make it a point to go on out-of-town trips during my special day or the weekend closest to it - kind of like a last hurrah before school work starts.

Welcome to Club Balai Isabel!

This year, we decided to celebrate my birthday at Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas.  It's one of those beautiful resorts (and popular wedding destinations) strategically located around the Taal Lake.  This means you get a breathtaking view of the Taal Volcano for free during your entire stay.  It's a perfect weekend getaway for those who just want to relax and feel closer to nature.  The ambiance is so relaxing, it's tempting to sleep in all day or better yet, cool off in one of their three swimming pools.

Originally, we wanted to book a unit at Lakeside Suites but since it can only accommodate four people and there were five of us, they suggested we book a unit at Lakeshore Suites instead.  We didn't mind because according to them, the only difference is that the Lakeshore Suites reservation doesn't include complimentary breakfast.  Not really a deal breaker, right?

Our family room at Lakeshore Suites

Check-in was supposed to be at 2 PM but since Nee-chan had to deal with her OLA stuff, Mom, Karly and I went ahead and arrived a little after 4 PM.  The resort could be a little hard to find but thanks to Karly's GPS, we were able to find it without getting lost.  After checking in at the reception area, we went straight to our unit at Mataas na Kahoy.

The room has its own kitchen so you can prepare your own food if you want to. 

Our unit was so homey, we all fell asleep after settling in! Haha  Luckily, we were able to wake up before 6 PM.  We decided to head to Terraza Lakeside Restaurant (the only restaurant at the resort) for dinner and meet Daddy and Nee-chan there.  On our way out, we stopped for few minutes to catch a glimpse of the fireworks from a wedding reception nearby.  So beautiful and so romantic. ♥

Top: Fireworks from the wedding reception.  Bottom: Club Balai Isabel's reception area.

The restaurant is within walking distance so taking a night stroll to get there was quite relaxing.  The air was so cool, we opted to seat poolside instead of indoors.  Customers can choose from the buffet, ala carte or set menu.  We decided to get the set menu for Php 990 which is already good for 3-4 persons.  To top it off, we ordered additional refreshments (iced tea, mango and mango-banana shakes) and desserts (chocolate cake and buko pandan).  Really sulit!

Terraza Lakeside Restaurant

After dinner, we decided to go for a quick dip to burn all those calories off.  I thought it would be too cold to swim but the pool's warm water felt good on our tired bodies.  After an hour or so, we decided to head home and crash early so we can catch the sunrise tomorrow morning.  I bet sunrise at Taal Lake would be breathtaking!

Night swimming at Il Terraza Pool

I didn't get the chance to find out though! :(  My bed was too comfy and I was too sleepy to wake up at 5 AM.  Ahh the downside of being a sleepyhead! :((  In fairness, we were up by 7 AM to grab some early breakfast at the restaurant.  This time, we decided to go for the buffet since there were so many yummy-looking treats on the menu.  If I remember correctly, the breakfast buffet costs Php 250 while lunch and dinner buffet cost Php 450 each.

Breakfast buffet by the pool, anyone?  Look at how many plates daddy was able to finish!

As usual, we sat by the poolside again.  Who can pass up this magnificent view?  I had pancakes,  omelet, toast, puto, kutsinta, crispy fish (forgot what it's called but it's so delish), beef tapa, fried rice, fruits and orange juice for breakfast.  Whew, now that's what I call power breakfast!

Il Terraza Pool by day.

After breakfast, we walked around the lake shore and took pictures.  It was my first time to see a lake up close.  I didn't know lakes have grassy floors.  Or at least those plants looked more like grass to me than seaweeds.  As in pang-talahiban ang peg!  o.O

Pantalan at Il Terraza is one of the many reception areas you can use for events.

There were also a lot of fish in the lake (yes, not just in the sea).  I'm aware that there are several fish pens in Taal Lake but still, it was surprising to see it for yourself.  Some of them even looked like the crispy fish I ate for breakfast. Huhu

We couldn't help but marvel at Taal's beauty.

We decided to go pool hopping before it gets too hot to swim.  Next stop: Kumintang Pool - Club Balai Isabel's biggest pool.  On our way, we passed by several silly signs like these:

Creative signs are scattered all throughout the resort reminding people to dispose their trash properly.

Also, we spotted the bridal car from last night's wedding.  We even congratulated the newlyweds last night when we saw them pass by our unit while we were drying ourselves off at the veranda.

Cute bridal car concept.

After a few minutes, we finally arrived at Kumintang Pool.  It was huuuuuuuge!  I couldn't even go to the other half of the pool because it was too deep for me.  The sun was scorching hot but the water was really cool so we stayed for a couple of hours.  Guess where daddy is during this time.  Well, he was where all the daddies were!  At the Taal Pavilion watching a pay-per-view of the Pacquiao-Bradley fight!  We all know how that turned out.

Kumintang Pool

We were enjoying ourselves so much, we almost forgot that we had one more pool to visit!  Next stop: Talisay Garden Pool.  It's a much smaller pool than the other two.  I think it's perfect for private parties.  The only downside is it's a garden pool so expect a few leaves and some creepy crawlies to be swimming in the pool with you.  Same reason why we didn't even bother to try it out.  Yikes!

Talisay Garden Pool

Nee-chan and I couldn't say no to the nearby swing though.  Ahh the wind feels so good~!

No one's too old for swings.

Quite disappointed, we decided to just head back to Kumintang Pool to take pictures.  Like Il Terraza Pool, it has the beautiful Taal Lake as its backdrop too.  We even saw some tourists enjoying their banana boat rides.  I've never swam in a lake before but I couldn't imagine being tossed into the lake while aboard a banana boat.  I get chills just thinking about the grassy lake floor waiting below. :s

The breathtaking Taal Lake

During our photo ops, we noticed how the Taal Volcano seemed to change its colors.  I'm guessing it depends on the position of the clouds but still, it was an amusing sight to see.

Enjoying the fresh air and the view.

After a few more hours, we decided to wash up and get ready for check-out.  Check-out is usually at 12 NN but they were kind enough to allow us to extend up to 2 PM since we checked-in late yesterday.

We met up with daddy at the restaurant for lunch.  We knew the results even before he arrived thanks to Twitter (and free WiFi).  We settled for the buffet menu once again as we were already starving and ala carte meals take longer to prepare (not to mention, more expensive as well).  We had mushroom soup, chicken curry, roast beef, rice, red and white pasta, fresh fruits and mango shake for lunch.  I was so full, I didn't bother ordering additional desserts.

We all enjoyed our short but sweet stay at Club Balai Isabel!

At 2 PM, we headed to the reception hall to settle our dues and surrender our key.  While mom was talking with the receptionist downstairs, the three of us went to the recreation area on the second floor and played some Foosball.  And dad?  He was downstairs buying fruits from the staff! Haha  Club Balai Isabel grows their own mangoes and avocados so dad bought some for us to take home.  They're delicious by the way, so make sure to buy some if you go there! ;)

Foosball with Karly

After looking around the area, we headed home and arrived around 5 PM.  I was asleep the whole ride back home!  Funny how at one point, I was woken up due to a sudden stop and I thought we stopped by a gas station for a washroom break but then I realized we were just stuck in traffic! Haha  Sinong bangag?  It was definitely a weekend well-spent!  One of the most relaxing birthdays I ever had and I'm definitely coming back.  By then, I hope they've already got their zipline installed.


Travel dates: June 9-10, 2012
Photo credits: Karly, the official photographer

For more information on Club Balai Isabel, visit their official website by clicking here.  For reservations, email them at reservations@balaiisabel.com or contact them by calling (02) 584-4157.  You can also make a reservation online by clicking here.