Summer has officially started. It’s scorching hot and the perfect thing to do is to go out and swim. We found the best occasion to do it–to celebrate my mom’s birthday.
Although my family hails from Batangas, we are much nearer to the province of Laguna rather than the other municipalities and cities in Batangas. That’s because our town, Sto. Tomas, is considered as the gateway to Batangas. Our town is situated between three Laguna towns: Calamba, Bay, and Alaminos.
Since our town is adjacent to the province of Laguna, we have easy access to the resorts and hot springs in Laguna. For my mom’s birthday, we went to the nearby town of Bay, Laguna. My cousin have a membership card with The Grand Villa Resort & Butterfly Centre located at Brgy. Tranca, Bay, Laguna. It’s considered as a mountain resort, since the resort is situated at the mountainous area of Bay. We have to endure steep road on the way there, but no worries since the road is very smooth.
Since we were more than ten people (cousins and grandchildren included), we availed of a Cabana for the day pass. For smaller groups, you can avail of cottages. There are also dormitories, hotels, and family rooms, like the one below.
The Grand Villa Resort & Butterfly Centre, from the name itself, is more than just a resort. It’s a 22-hectare mountain resort with amenities such as the Butterfly Farm, the Aviary Center, function hall, spa, and a mini-chapel. Unfortunately, the butterfly farm and aviary center were closed when we went there. Maybe it’s because it’s a week day when we visited.
Inside the Chapel, you will find altars and images depicting the Holy Family. It’s very solemn inside. The chapel has a small-village-chapel atmosphere.
The resort may also be the perfect venue for important milestones in your life, such as birthday celebrations, debut, wedding, and anniversary celebrations. The resort has a big function hall that can accommodate big groups.
For big families or companies, there are also villas and nipa huts scattered all over the resort.
The poolside is open til 10:00 p.m. There is also a sunken bar, where you can order cold beer and appetizers, while having a night swim. 🙂
Since hubby and I also celebrated our third anniversary as a couple (back when we were boyfriend/girlfriend), we took few precious minutes off and had cold beer and cheese sticks at the bar.
Overall, it was a nice experience. My family and relatives had a good time and enjoyed swimming all day. I just have few minor comments. The shower rooms should be inspected regularly since some of the faucets are not working. The resort staff, especially the ones at the check-in counter, should also be more friendly and hospitable.
Anyway, we see ourselves coming back to this lovely, secluded mountain resort.
The Grand Villa Resort & Butterfly Centre is located at Brgy. Tranca, Bay, Laguna. Coming from Batangas, we went there via the Bitin, Bay road, where the famous Mak-Ban geothermal plan is situated.
*This is not a paid blog. This is based from the blogger’s pleasant experience with the resort.