We had a magical day trip to Balai Anilao in Batangas. The resort is about 2.5 hours drive from Manila, easy driving, 130kms, along provincial roads in the south of Luzon. We left the house at 6 and were at the resort by 8:30 in the morning. The directions from the website are pretty clear, we had to ask a couple of times, but it was ok. The resort is on the far end of Mabini, along a long windy road up and down the coastline. The resort is located on the side of steep slope with a small rocky beach. But has the clearest water I’ve ever seen. The water is sooo clear, its not too wavey, but does have a current. We went there to snorkel and just lay in the sun. But 90% of the guests were divers and we just had to ask if we could dive too. For P1000 per head, we were given a 30min intro dive right infront of the resort. We saw 100’s of fish, met nemo, touched the coral. Kuya Pong, the dive master was great! The whole staff were super friendly, the whole stay was awesome. P750 per head for day trip, inclusive of buffet lunch, with 3 different variands, fruits, and unlimited coffee and drinks. The team in manila were easy to deal with, one call on Wednesday, payment on Thursday, Tickets on Friday and day of fun on Saturday. Deposits are made via BDO, an 50% is required for confirmation.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2013
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:The rooms are basic and small. Ideal for spending the day on the beach and a good night sleep.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Quite farther than the other resorts in the area but it's location turned out to be an advantage as it is quite secluded. It has a beachfront which is not full of motorized boats used by divers as a take-off station. Adjacent to a protected marine area which makes it ideal for snorkelling. Great place, great food, great staff, great dive instructor, great price.
Read more
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rooms are rustic but decent and clean [Don't need more if diving only] Food was Good Service was Good Dog Friendly Accommodation
Overall good quality / price Ratio Recommended if you are on a tight budget diving trip / not looking for luxury,
Only (-): The Parking Area is remotely located and requires to take the stairs down and walk on the rocky shore before reaching the resort.
Read more
Date of stay: April 2014
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I was invited by a very good friend of mine to join his family, relatives and friends to have fun in Balai Anilao. I checked about the place first through the internet and asked some friends about it and got favorable reviews about the resort. Since my weakness is great food, I was easily convinced to join them after hearing that Balai serves good dishes (buffet style) despite the long trip from Manila.
We left Manila at 4:30 AM to reach Balai before 8AM to enjoy the morning sun of Anilao. We requested for a boat to bring us to Sombrero Island as suggested by their office representative in Manila and was charged P1,500 for the boat rental. We reached Sombrero Island after a 20 minute boat ride and surprised to learn that our group (7 adults, 2 kids and 1 mentally challenged person) was being charged an amount of P1,500 for a maximum of 2-hour stay in an island with no cottages, no food stalls, no other people aside from the guy manning the island. This same guy did not allow us to use one of the two tables in the island without us paying him another P800. We wanted the guy to issue us receipts for all his charges but he wouldn't issue one. We then decided not go down from the boat and we just transferred to another place. We just rented the boat for 2 hours and went back to Balai, looking forward to lunch. We had tilapia and grilled pork... not enough for second servings considering that we were with 2 kids.
Dinner came... salty chicken barbecue, breaded pork chop, cold cream soup and pasta with creamy mushroom sauce were served. I started asking for nearby restaurants or fastfoods to satisfy my cravings and hunger but we were stuck in an isolated place with nothing to do but play mahjong while the others play rummikub with the kids. Since we had an early day, we went back to our rustic rooms at 10pm.
The worst of our stay came...breakfast! We were stunned to see pancakes, rice, bread, eggs, a bowl of "Sabah Mackarel" and a plate of slices of canned meatloaf!!!! Why were we eating canned foods in a resort located in a place which is supposedly rich in fresh seafoods and low-priced meats???!!!! Where were the sumptuous meals that other people talked about?
Due to our great disappointment, we left Balai before lunchtime. We left with no good memories of our stay, and no good experience to share with our friends.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2009
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Just had a 3 days 2 nights stayed in this resort. Really had a bad experience. Will never ever come back to this resort again!
(1) The electrical supply was very unstable. Brown outs at night with no aircon. (2). Lots of mosquitoes at night. My kids were cover with mosquitoes bites. (3). No daily housekeeping during check in. (4). No 24 hours staff was available at night during emergency. Even the guard was not present at his post at night. (5). No proper hygiene and no lifeguard present. One of the kid almost drown and vomited on the swimming pool but people still continue to swim in the dirty water.
Will not recommended this resort at all unless you have no choice and you need a roof to stay.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Last weekend, my sister and together with some firends had our overnight summer escapade at Balai Laiya Resort in San Juan Batangas. Though I have previously visited and stayed in couple of resorts along the shorelines of Laiya too, it was my first time in Balai. Alright, below are the things I noticed from beginning until the end of our trip.
1. Reservation - Never in my entire inquiry process had I have a big problem dealing with their resort reservation agents. They are consistent on the booking information and very much accommodating. You can ask them anything you want - from the size of the rooms, the look / ambiance of the resort, food menu they are going serve on each meals, house rules, flexibility of the inclusive packages, payment procedures - I must say they are very accurate and true. If you are a sigurista traveler just like me - then having an uber honest agent is like heaven.
2. Travel - Since we took the courage of commuting all the way to Laiya, one thing that amazes me is that the resort can be easily found. At first I have this gutty feeling that we'll get lost because along the road I hardly able to find advertisement boards and "this way" signs of Balai, but by asking on most all-so-knowing jeepney drivers on bound to Laiya, we were able to make it just 3 hrs of travel time. I think the resort's popularity in the whole Laiya town wont make you lost along the way - so, who needs map anyway?
3. Location and Ambiance - The entire resort is situated right along the shorelines of Laiya. You can see the clear waters approximately 15 to 25 ft away from the main resort hall. The resort has a perfect view of the whole stretch of Laiya especially when you stand in the sun deck area, what's sad though is you cannot actually see the sun sets nor rise. Also the resort is filled with tall sampaloc trees and flowers which I think adds the breezy, so natural and earthly feeling when you walk along the area. Resort's over-all design is rustic and light, they use more on natural materials such as woods, bamboos, nipa and stones.
4. Rooms and Facilities - Since the resort was fully booked as early as 5 days before the day we stayed, I only got the seaside room with maximum capacity of 3 person. At first I was reluctant to set the deal but because i feel the honesty of their reservation agent, I said yes to it. But to my surprise the room turned out just fine and what i expected. It was cozy, decent, clean, not smelly and has a nice private bathroom toilet inside. Bedsheets were smelly good, same with the towels and yes the room has a small veranda overlooking to the shoreline.
5. Food - This is the most distinct reason why I enjoyed my stay at Balai. Really, i cant believe that the food was so delicious! I always have this notion that when you dine in a buffet style places taken in the country side/provinces of Luzon - expect that they will serve the classic provincial menu, which I find it very typical, so expected and a bit mediocre styled way of cooking. But in Balai - provincial menus turned into a new level of elegance and high distinction. Where can you find a very chessy tomatao-based baked macaroni pasta with shredded eggplant inside - only in Balai. One thing as well, they serve in great quantities - super buffet!
6. Service - The whole staff of Balai is just super perfect. From the front desk (Elma), kitchen helper (Susan), the super tight mamang security guard up to the dining hall caretaker (Greg) - everyone was at their best in terms of respect, kindness and courtesy.
7. Value for Money - though standard rate may hit as high as 2,050 php per person on an overnight accommodation with 4 buffet packaged meal - it is still recommendable and so worth it. Like I already enumerated above, Balai Laiya offers real quality to their customers - and they make sure that your stay in the resort, will be the best ever.
Read more
Date of stay: May 2009
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I love this place. Good food, friendly staff, secluded and quiet. Perfect for a weekend getaway. A place do not have to be grand to be beautiful. This place is simply gorgeous and relaxing. Recommended!
Read more
Date of stay: February 2015
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Translated to mean "HOME", I definitely will make Balai Resort my home in the Philippines! The diving enthusiast that we are, my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary at Balai. We had the most unforgettable trip ever and here is an account of our wonderful experience....
On our 2nd day of diving, Eddie the divemaster guided us to a seafan of pygmy seahorses! Before I got over my euphoria, we saw 3 seahorses (bright yellow, white and brown) at the divesite called Basurah the very next day. After 10 years of diving, my dream finally came true!
To top it all, the resort found out that we were celebrating our anniversary and arranged a romantic dinner for us on the deck - complete with candles, flowers and the view of the sun set!
A little more about the resort - the staff are extremely friendly, the rooms are basic and very clean and the food is fantastic. Buffet meals are served everyday, complete with soup, salad, mains and dessert.
If you do visit, please remember to request for the caramelised bananas with sesame seed!
Read more
Date of stay: June 2007
Value
Rooms
Cleanliness
Check in / front desk
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
1) Service: the workers in Balai Resort are very helpful and warm. They were all smiles when doing their job which made us feel welcomed.
2) Food: Was great! Seriously..:)
3) Room: Decent and basic but clean. Our electrical point in the room was pretty flimsy and exposed. I hope the management will look into it and do something about it to avoid unwanted incidents.
4) Dive: awesome! Thanks to the watchful eyes and effort of our DMs in making sure we get to see the cool stuffs eg. Blue ringed octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, mantis shrimp, harlequin shrimp, harlequin ghost pipefish (more than one type), 8 bargibant seahorses in one coral, etc...
Overall, it was a really satisfying and relaxing dive trip...sunset was beautiful...sea was generally calm most of the time which was nice...
I would definitely come back...
Read more
Date of stay: May 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nothing beats Balai Anilao and Laiya. I miss diving there with Lito and Mona. I miss the good food and drinks. Now, the waters here in the U.S. is too cold. If you guys wanna dive there, try to get in touch with Mel and Casty of Sea-cid. They're damn good dive instructors. They certified me few years back.
Read more
Date of stay: December 2009
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Metro Manila, Philippines157 contributions91 helpful votes
Hi. You can check their website - it lists the rate and inclusions for overnight, and for day trip, number of guests, and type of room. You have to pay a deposit before going there to reserve. They don't usually accept walk-ins, unexpected guests. If you're commuting, do not believe what their website says. There's no jeepney anymore that goes to Balanoy - for years! Can't believe they still haven't updated it. You need to hire a tricycle, and it's triple the cost of a bus ride from Manila, unless you wait for the trike to get enough passengers.
London, United Kingdom7 contributions3 helpful votes
"You have to go down a flight of stairs to reach the shore. Thus, to reach your rooms, you have to climb. If you are the type of traveler who exhausts yourself at the end of the day (or can barely stand after a good meal), it might be best to choose rooms at the lower level. But if you want a better view and you always have the drive to reach your room no matter what, then the extra flight of stairs will do you good.
Also, the currents are sometimes strong, so make sure to have a buddy or a divemaster with you."
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
