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Pure bliss, sweet and simple. That is how I would describe Stilts.
Everything in it from the trees that lined the entrance, the front desk that gives a peek of the haven that is to come ...
The house on stilts sitting on the shores facing China Sea ...
The serene and secluded beach ...
The garden with a canopy of greens and happy, vibrant flowers ... The entire resort is dotted with lush greens.
The quotations that are light to the heart ...
The hammock beckons and the fresh sea wind invigorates the soul.
The beautiful sunset ... that stills the mind.
Cap off the night with lightness ...
The quaint and charming house ... that makes my heart skip with delight.
The National Geographic material fun of kayaking ...
The treasures of snorkeling right below our stilts cottage.
Truly a paradise! This is one of the few vacations my family and I had that I don't have to take a vacation after the vacation. It was calm and invigorating.
A factoid type of review will be a disgrace to the beauty of Stilts. But if you need to know ... 🙂
Cottage and Rooms:
There are 5 large cottages like the one we stayed in. I think the best are Cebu (where we stayed), Tagaytay and Palawan as they offer the best views of the ocean. Then they have 1 medium, 2 small and 5 beach cottages. I prefer staying in the Stilts cottage.
Rooms inside our Cebu cottage.
The family cottage can house maybe 15 people. There is the master's bedroom with 1 queen bed and 1 single bed - that opens up to the wooden lanai and the lovely ocean. One guest room with 1 queen bed with enough space to put beds on the floor. A loft with 2 single beds and I think there were about 10 mattresses you can distribute all over the house. The masters' and guest's room has air conditioning while the loft has a ceiling fan. My kids had fun climbing up the ladder to the loft and saying hi to my parents who were in the guest room. The loft can be accessed from the sala and opens up to the guest room.
The sheets, for bed sheet OC's like me, are nice and clean. They are not A grade but they don't have a moldy smell and no "himulmul." Same goes for their towel.
Bathrooms: The bathrooms are not 5-star standard but they are pleasant and Spartan clean. It is all white set against the colored glass windows. Lovely. There are 3 bathrooms one big one with the toilet and shower, one with just the shower and one pretty powder room.
Room Amenities: It has a lovely sala, a quaint dining complete with cold water dispenser and empty refrigerator so you can load it with your own drinks:-) The hammock in the lanai together with the long bench is picturesque. They also have an outdoor clothes liner but be sure to secure your clothes since it is quite windy.
Beach Cottages at Stilts
Resort Amenities: Lounging around in the beautiful cottage and making sand castles consumed us. But for those who needs to be doing something ... they have the pool lined with calachuchi trees and happy cosmos plants. They also have kayaking, snorkelling, boating, fishing, riding a banana boat, biking, beach volleyball and billiards. My kids were just happy to play in the sand. Gather shells which we threw back to the ocean after.
Beach: The beach is very clean. The water is clean and clear you could see your feet while walking. However, there are a lot of seaweeds just by the shore. Clean ones though. The sand on the shore is filled with small shells and you can't exactly walk on that part without booties or slippers. Other parts though have smooth brownish sand. Beach is generally for relaxing, snorkelling or kayaking and not swimming. Everyone loves it that the whole place is exclusive. I can count the number of people easily. Plus everyone is in a serene, calm mode as if everyone is in unison with the surroundings.
Side Story: A testament to the clean, clear water - our water proof camera slipped off our wrist twice! One at the shore and one while kayaking in the middle of the ocean! We found it again! And yes, we are not the smartest people in the world:-)
Extras you might want to bring: Bring booties so you can walk on the seaweeds if you wish. Bring snorkelling gear though you can also rent. Bring your camera battery charger! I took over 500 pics! lovely, lovely! Bring beach play toys - shovels for the kids, a pail to gather there shells, a small net to catch some fish:-) Bring hot chocolate or coffee mix. It would have been lovely to sip hot chocolate while the cool breeze blows in the cottage lanai overlooking the ocean.
Things to do for kids: My kids loved our cottage so much, they just want to hang around it. "ahhh relax" as my 11 year old said. They also had fun in the beach picking shells, making sand castles, kayaking and snorkelling.
Service: Everyone was friendly and gives good service. I like it that they have a collective tip box at the front desk so you don't feel you have to reach into your wallet for every move:-)
Food: The food are all good and reasonably priced. Their chicken barbecue and liempo are delicious and only at P140-P180 per order. And you should try their oven brick pizza which is thin and crispy! The breakfast buffet is simple yet satisfying with a choice of tapa, tocino, omelet and tasty ginger rice.
Travel Time: From Manila expect to spend 3.5 hours on the road. There was no traffic when we went there though at 3.5 hours.
Overall Rating:
Lovely, beautiful, simple, sweet, serene ... running out of adjectives ... but I think you already get the picture:-)
Important Information:
Address: Calatagan, Batangas, Philippines
Website: www.stiltscalataganbeachresort.net
Contact Numbers: (+632) 511-7469 or (632) 511-1895 Manila Sales Office. Other numbers are (+63) 917-580-7653 / 908-866-2254 / 917-523-7777 / 917-586
Rate:
| Cottage Capacity | Published | With Taxes and Charges |
| Stilts (7 pax up) | P14,000 | P17,080 |
| 5 pax | P10,000 | P12,200 |
| 3 pax | P7,000 | P8,540 |
| 2 pax | P4,000 | P4,880 |
Density of People: Very exclusive. I can count the number of people with my hands.
Date of Travel: October 2012
Directions: Take SLEX and exit at Sta. Rosa and follow road to Tagaytay. Go past Tagaytay until you reach junction of Balayan (Caltex Station on your right). At that junction, turn right to Nasugbu. You will see lots of trucks carrying sugar canes because you will pass Central Azucarera de Don Pedro on your left. When you reach the Shell Gas Station (on your left), turn left to go to Lian Town Proper Calatagan. You will pass by Lago de Oro, Calatagan Golf Course and Sto. Domingo Church. After the church slow down to take a left a Apacible Street. When you reach Pedro Palacio Barrio School take a right to Stilts. For a road map click this.
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. My family and I went to Stilts and paid for our accommodations and meals.
Hi how much was the house you stayed on? This was very helpful..I was planningto have my birthday there.
Hi Jena! Sorry late reply. Hope your trip to Stilts went well. This may be too late a response but we paid 18k for the Stilts house. Sharing the Stilts house with friends and family is best so you can split the cost:-)
thank you for this review on Stilts, will definitely be the #1 on my list for next year’s vacation =)
Hi PurpleMommy! Thanks for your comment. Excited for you to try Stilts. Hope you enjoy Stilts as much as we did:-)
Lovely pictures! Very enticing! Earlier today I was counting the long weekends from today until the end of 2013. I counted 8! So Stilts, watch out for us!
Hi Raissa! Thanks for liking the pics! Hooray to 8 long weekends, let us fill them up!:-) Hope your family will love Stilts as much as mine did.