The great escape. Your perfect getaway starts at Lima Park Hotel, cited as the 2019 TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Top 16 Hotel for Families in the Philippines as voted by travellers worldwide. And just recently, Lima Park Hotel received the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame Excellence award. The first and only 4-star hotel in Batangas, Lima Park Hotel offers excellent service, well-appointed guest rooms, and unparalleled amenities.
Arrive worry-free. Our Concierge will take care of your luggage, while the Valet will make sure that your car is safely parked. Standard check-in time is 2 pm.
You will be welcomed by the revitalising coffee blends from BREW Company, the hotel lobby coffeeshop. BREW Company specialises in hand-crafted artisan coffee that you can take hot, cold, or blended.
After freshening up, the Amore Bus will promptly whisk you away for your Batangas Lake-lands Tours, starting with a pass-through of the world-class, masterplanned Lima Technology Center—home to the biggest multinational manufacturing companies such as EPSON, Hitachi, Yamaha, Daiho, Bandai, and more where more than 60,000 Filipino skilled workers are employed.
From here, you’ll make your way to Balete Bay through Levitown in Marawoy, Lipa and cross the STAR Tollways. Once you’ve made it over the bridge, you’ll be moving leisurely through the winding, picturesque rural road of Balete that literally ends at the shores of Lake Taal.
First stop is Amore Point where you will board one of our catamaran boats to start your Taal Lake Cruise that will take you to Lakepoint Manakah.
From the dock, prepare for a short hike up Lake Point Manakah where you will be rewarded with the breathtaking view of Lake Taal, the Volcano Island, and Mt. Maculot. You’ll be welcomed with fresh buko, picked right off the coconut trees that abundantly grow on the property. Here you can take your time snapping as much pictures as you want. Don’t miss the swings that hang from the massive mango trees. Go up the tree house for a sweeping view of the lake. If you happen to take the afternoon tour, the stunning sunset of Lake Taal will surely leave you in awe.
Time to board the boat back to Amore Point. Next stop: Marian Orchard.
Explore the beautiful gardens of Marian Orchard. Get lost in the myriad of exploding colors of flowers that blanket the instagram-worthy gardens of Marian Orchard. Listen to the Chimes of Mary—14 custom-made bells from the Netherlands that peal every 15 minutes. When at Marian Orchard, spend quiet moments of prayer and reflection at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel; at the Via Crucis, a linear garden with life-size statues depicting the passion of Christ; or pray the rosary at The Rosarium. Other points of interest: Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacred Heart Tower, Two Hearts Promenade, Dome of Mary Mediatrix, Halls of Thanksgiving and Petitions, Calvary Hill, Meditation Garden, and Marian Plaza.
Did you know that Balete is home to numerous honey bee farms? After your tour of Marian Orchard, make a pitstop at any one of Balete’s honey bee farms. Drop by to see how honey is harvested, then take home a bottle of wild honey, or try the honey vinegar. Learn about honey-making, and taste authentic, pure honey harvested from the honeybee farms of Balete.
It’s time to hop on the Amore Bus for the trip back to Lima Park Hotel where a delightful lunch or dinner awaits you at PLUM.
Asian food without borders at PLUM Asian Cuisine. PLUM offers a distinct experience with dining spaces in a casual-comfy setting but styled enough for hosting different milestone celebrations. PLUM is your everyday dining room where you can have your fill of curated Asian classic dishes that are truly Asian.
We recommend trying the Homemade Potstickers—handcrafted purple yam dumplings with shrimp, minced pork shoulder, pork back fat, and Asian seasoning, served with ginger chips, green scallion dip and sweet chili. PLUM’s Beef Rendang should not be missed: stewed beef and oxtail in a symphony of Southeast Asian spices and coconut milk reduced to a flavorful consistency and the Singaporean Chili Shrimps cooked in chili, roasted peppers and tomatoes, oyster sauce and prawn head stock.
To top your food trip, indulge in our version of the affogato: Barako Coffee Jelly with crumbled broas and Paborita crackers, topped with Mantecado ice cream, and served with a shot each of Barako coffee and sweet cream sauce.
Relax away the rest of your day. If you wish, you may have your massage, while the kids might want to swim. Need retail therapy? The Outlets at Lipa is just a skip and hop away from the hotel. Here you’ll experience world-class shopping at H&M, Nike Sports Shop, Speedo, Adidas, 158 Designer’s Blvd, and a lot more.
Come home to a delightful surprise. After a full day, quiet down at Lima Park Hotel’s Horizon Deck while watching the sky turn from fiery orange to a rich magenta before settling to the deep-set blue of the night. Take a nightcap at the Patio Bar. Thursdays and Fridays are jazz and acoustics nights, while you can enjoy the hotel’s unlimited beer promo during happy hours every day of the week. When you’re ready to call it a night, our turndown service will simply lull you to a good night of blissful sleep.
Wake up to beautiful mornings. It’s a free and easy second day of your family vacation. Before heading out for your second day’s activities, take a few laps in the expansive Horizon Swimming Pool, pump up at the gym, take a spin on a bike, or jog amidst refreshing green pines while taking in the beauty of Mts. Makiling and Malarayat.
Here’s some more of the things that you can do and explore:
Enjoy local cuisine. You have not been to Batangas if you haven’t indulged in a huge bowl of Batangas lomi, a local noodle favorite of hot soup thickened with cassava flour made more flavorful with the generous amount of meat cuts and seafood toppings. Check out the road side carinderias along the national highway of Malvar and Lipa for a taste of authentic lomi.
After your food stop, head to Lipa City dubbed the “Little Rome of the Philippines” owing to its numerous shrines, churches, retreat houses, and seminaries.
Bask in architectural grandeur. Admire the beautiful Romanesque architecture of the Metropoli-tan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian (San Sebastian Cathedral), established in 1910 by Pope Pius X as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa. The Lipa Cathedral, the city’s center of Sun-day worship, is characterized by a huge dome, massive walls and balconies, columns and arches built in the Romanesque architecture.
Travel back in time. Another point of interest is the Case de Segunda heritage museum, one of the few remaining original bahay na bato built during the Spanish era. A heritage house as declared by the National Historical Institute, the Casa was once home to generations of artists, poets, and persons of distinction. It was the ancestral home of Segunda Solis Katigbak who was the first love of Philippine hero Jose Rizal.
Take with you a piece of Batangas. For souvenirs, there’s no better place but the local market. After the tour, take with you the delicious goodness of Batangas. Drop by Balete’s talipapa for some tawilis, the world’s only fresh water sardine. You shouldn’t miss sumang magkayakap, a local delicacy made from glutinous rice (kaning malagkit), wrapped in banana leaves, then bundled together. Best served with a special coconut caramel sauce. Yum!
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead pack your weekend bags and embark on your Batangas road trip. Come over for a most delightful stay in your only home in Batangas—Lima Park Hotel. This is where you should be.
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Written by Rose M. Landicho
Photographed by Peter Cons, Marc Vitug, Richard Hidalgo, Jessie Lavitag, and Rose Landicho
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Lima Park Hotel is a four-star 136-room business and leisure hotel located only 60 minutes away from Makati via the South Luzon Expressway and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR Tollway). Lima Park Hotel is located in Lima Commercial Center, Lipa-Malvar, Batangas with contact numbers: +763 43 981.1555 and +63 917 504 2385.
To book a stay or our Batangas Lakelands Tour & Cruise, send us an email: reservations@limaparkhotel.com. Visit www.limaparkhotel.com.
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/LimaParkHotelph.
