Anilao in Batangas is known as the birthplace of scuba diving in the Philippines. The small barangay in the coastal town of Mabini is one of the most popular diving destinations accessible by land travel for those who live in Metro Manila. Anilao is said to be the home to more than half of the Philippines’ documented shore fish species as well as over 300 species of coral.
While covering the Anilao Underwater Shootout this December 2021, we got to stay two nights in Casa Escondida Anilao Resort & Dive Center, one of the DOT-accredited resorts in Mabini designed by divers, for divers.
As part of the new normal guidelines, only resorts with a certificate of authority from the Department of Tourism (DOT) may operate in full capacity, subject to the observance of public health protocols.
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Location
Casa Escondida, which means “hidden house” in Spanish, is a specialty dive resort owned and operated by a diving professional and instructor Dong Vergara. Officially opened on June 2016, this resort offers an ideal getaway from Manila-based divers for weekend stays.
The beach-front property is located along the Mabini Circumferential Road, in Mabini, Batangas. Getting here takes roughly 2 to 3 hours by land travel South of Metro Manila via the Calabarzon Expy/STAR Tollway.
Ambiance
The resort and dive center offers clean and modern accommodations, a restaurant with a view of the sea, outdoor swimming pool, and a beachfront dive shop. The open-air view deck and bar area facing the Balayan Bay offers a glimpse of the sunset to the West.
The resort offers fast and efficient WiFi (2G and 5G), making it a good option for those who still need to work online during their stay. After months of being stuck in Manila because of the pandemic, it was really refreshing to be able to stay somewhere with a view of the sea just for a change of scenery.
There are a couple of beach deck chairs near the pool and a view deck where you can just work or lounge around with a view of refreshing scenery.
Accommodations
Casa Escondida offers 24 minimalist standard and deluxe rooms, designed to give guests a restful stay. Each standard room comes with a choice of 2 single beds OR 1 luxurious king-size bed. All of the standard and deluxe rooms are fully air-conditioned.
Like the lobby and hallways, all the rooms are decorated with stunning underwater photos of marine life.
The spacious deluxe rooms were designed to offer an incredible view of the sea, with floor-to-ceiling windows that allow natural light to come in throughout the day. Deluxe rooms come with 2 queen-size beds, a bedside table with a reading lamp, and a flat screen TV on the facing wall.
Directly overlooking the pool, the private suites offer a stunning view of the sea, especially at sunset. Designed for relaxation and enjoyment, each suite is fully air conditioned, and comes with your choice of 2 queen-size beds OR 1 king-size + 1 queen-size bed.
Each private bath boasts a unique design, double sink vanities, a generous shower area, and a luxurious Jacuzzi.
New sanitation protocols have been put in place with rooms being regularly disinfected after every guest stays. To reduce plastic wastage, bottled water or single-use bathroom amenities aren’t given out anymore. There are water refilling stations where you can easily refill your own tumblers, while shampoo and soap are placed in dispensers in the bath area. Be sure to bring your own toiletries, especially toothpaste, since it’s not included.
Dining
Casa Escondida’s restaurant and bar area offers a great view of the sea and the pool. Full board meals (breakfast, lunch, merienda, dinner) comes packaged with the room stay.
Before the pandemic, meals were served here buffet-style, but because of the new normal protocols, guests can only check out the buffet menu and ask the staff on duty to get them the dishes they want, which will be served to you.
During our stay, we got a variety of Pinoy favorites like sinigang na hipon, kare-kare, tortang talong, rellenong pusit, halaan soup, ensaladang lato, garlic shrimps, and more. You can always request staff to get you more food if you run out. All meals came with dessert, like fresh fruit, and cakes. One of the food highlights was a delicious Ube Blueberry Cheesecake.
The dining area also a station with free flowing coffee, tea, and more where you can just serve yourself any time of the day. The bar serves local beer like San Mig and a few international brands including Hoegaarden, Heineken, Corona and more.
Dive Shop & Courses
Casa Escondida offers a comfortable base for regular divers to stay any time they want. The surrounding area is a tropical haven for scuba divers and dive photographers for its rich biodiversity and beautiful waters.
It’s also an ideal resort for first-time divers who want to try out this “bucketlist” activity relatively near Manila, and as a venue for dive-related events, team building, or just staycations near Manila.
They have in-house certified dive instructors to hold lessons, training and certification workshops in various dive and specialty courses.
First-time divers can start out at the pool or warm up by snorkeling on Hidden House Reef just a quick swim away. For more advanced divers, there are over 30 dive destinations just a boat ride away.
New safety measures have been put in place to ensure a safe diving experience for all guests, including regular disinfection of diving equipment and gear.
PADI Dive Courses:
- Open Water Certification
- Advanced Open Water Certification
- Emergency First-aid Responder Certification (EFR)
- Rescue Diver Certification
- Nitrox Enriched Oxygen Certification
- Divemaster Certifcation
Other courses available:
- Peak Performance Buyoancy Diver
- Sidemount Diver
- Deep Dive
- Night Diver
- Equipment Specialist
- Wreck
- Search & recovery
- Enriched Air Diver
- Emergency Oxygen Provider
- Drift
- Digital Underwater Photography
- EFR Instructor
- PADI Assistant Instructor
- OWSI
- MSDT
- IDC Staff Instructor
Other attractions
While they cater primarily to divers, Casa Escondida is also non-diver friendly by offering packages that include trekking. You can enjoy hiking at the beginner-friendly Mt. Gulugod Baboy or go beach-hopping and snorkeling at Sombrero Island, which is just a 25-minute boat ride from the resort.
The Mabini Circumferential Road itself also offers an exciting getaway for recreational cyclists. Weekend warriors will want to load up their bikes on their cars and tackle the challenging zigzag uphills and enjoy the coastal scenery during their vacation away from the traffic-choked and congested streets of the city.
Rates
Room rates range from P4,500/pax for 2 pax in a standard room to P9,000 for 1 pax in the suite rooms, which includes full board meals (lunch, pm snack, dinner, breakfast and lunch before you check out) for those staying overnight. Children 0-4 years old are free of charge. Children 5-9 years old will be charged 50% of the per person rate. Daytrip rate includes buffet lunch and pm snack; no room included
New normal guidelines (as of Dec. 2021)
Batangas itself is open to domestic tourists from GCQ areas with a valid identification card and proof of reservation at Batangas resorts and hotels. However, some municipalities or resorts may also require additional requirements or restrictions with regards to age, comorbidities or the quarantine status of the guest’s point of origin.
Be sure to check with the LGU of your destination and your chosen accommodation directly for their specific requirements regarding the latest guidelines. At the time of our visit to Mabini, we needed:
- Advanced reservations at a resort
- Proof of Health status: Negative Antigen test (resort requirement esp. for dive activities)
Casa Escondida Anilao requires negative Antigen tests for guests availing of the Dive activities regardless of vaccination status. We were able to acquire this from Chedrick Laboratory and Diagnostic Center, a drive-thru lab in Bauan on the way to the resort.
- RT-PCR Test – P3,200
- Rapid Antigen – P1,000
- Rapid Antibody – P800
Chedrick Laboratory and Diagnostic. F. Mangobos St. Pob. 1, Bauan, Batangas (in front of Bejasa Hospital). Contact: (043) 403-5686. Smart: 0929-5625628. Globe: 0917-7739240. Facebook page: Chedrick Laboratory
The resort is employing a contactless check-in process. You need to sign in to the resort’s WiFI and fill up a health declaration form, scan your body temperature and, upload a copy of a valid ID all using your smartphone before a room key is issued.
Address & Contact information
Casa Escondida Resort & Dive Center. Brgy. Ligaya, Mabini, Anilao, Batangas, Philippines. Facebook: Casa Escondida Anilao Resort and Dive Center. Email: casaescondidaanilao@gmail.com