The long holidays gave us time to go on a road trip. Been wanting to visit Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar due to the many blogs I read. We planned for a overnight stay Dec 29-30 but all rooms were already booked so we opted for a day tour . We left Manila at 5am and drove to Bagac, Bataan via NLEX-SCTEX-Dinalupihan exit. We passed several towns of Bataan and surprisingly, the road were all paved. Traffic was smooth because people were all on holiday mode. There were zigzag roads much like in Baguio. With the help of gps, we arrived safely at around 9am at the resort.
The day tour cost Php650 per head inclusive of the walking tour and beach. Swimming pool is exclusive to checked-in guests. Our arrival was timely as the 930am tour was about to begin. We registered at the reception and was given a stub for face towel to be used after the tour.
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| Reception House |
Our tour guide was Dexter . He's quite young and in his early twenty's I guess. He's very charming, knowledgeable and funny. He has this portable speaker device which was loud enough for the tour-ist to hear.
We were toured inside some of the houses which served as a museum.
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| wooden bed at Casa Lubao |
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| very nice ceiling of Casa Lubao |
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| clothes were ironed this way during the olden days |
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| ancient ironing board |
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| toilet in the early days |
Casa Hidalgo - this mansion was then used as the first campus of the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts in 1909. One can see some of the original columns battered by nails and little decay. The room was huge as classes were once held in them.
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| wide wooden stairway (be careful as it was slippery) | |
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| notice the nail battered wood and the old paint |
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| spacious area used as classroom |
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| original column on the left and replica on the right |
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| UP seal |
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| ground floor of casa |
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| Casa Meycauayan |
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| Casa Jaen I |
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| intricate art on the ceiling |
Casa Escolta which served as the resort's hotel has 17 rooms fully equipped with modern amenities. The rooms were designed by the owner's wife Mrs. Tess Acuzar.
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| Casa Escolta |
Casa Bizantina according to the brochure, was built in 1890, leased to Instituto de Manila from 1914-1919 and to various tenants after WWII. In 2009, Casa Bizantina was home to 50 squatters families. It was later demolished , transferred and reconstructed in Bagac to form part of the heritage house collection.
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| Casa Bizantina |
The walking tour ended here at Casa Bizantina at past 11am. Despite the scorching sun and the long walks on cobblestone walkways, the tour was well worth it. It was very informative, interesting and amusing. Of course, the tour wont be complete without a posterity photo with Dexter.
Here are other photos taken inside the resort.
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| swimming pool |
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| beach front accommodation |
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| beach |
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| Jones bridge replica |
My thoughts on this trip:
1- wear sunblock, wide hats, comfy shoes; kinda difficult to walk on uneven cobblestone walkway.
2- bring water during the tour
3-some of the houses were shiningly waxed; remove your socks and be extra careful , tends to be slippery especially at the stairs
4-booka room way in advance if planning to stay overnite; rates vary on weekend, weekdays and holidays
5-email address is useless; i enquired via their email twice and no response; call the land line instead
6-there are cheap resorts near Las Casas if you're not able to get accommodation; but dont set high expectation; for me, it's safer to stay in one of these cheap resorts than to drive at nighttime
7-bring map if you dont have GPS; you can google the place in advance and just print it; or if you have 3G phone, you can use google map app
8-food items are not allowed inside; the fil-spanish resto is quite expensive; allow a budget of Php700-1000 for 2-3 persons; we ordered kare kare and it was good for 3 persons, tortang talong was big serving and good for 3 persons also.
9-Dexter is highly recommended tour guide; he's funny and animated.
How we got there:
took NLEX-SCTEX-Dinalupihan exit and followed the GPS; you will pass by Mt Samat /Dambana ng Kagitingan
Website: www.lascasasfilipinas.com
Manila Office: 332-5338, 335-3032
