Cutting it real close to the end of summer, I joined our company’s overnight outing to Laiya White Cove in Batangas. We are a group of 27 people with kids. I googled them a little and found their old website. I thought it looked pretty nice but it seems the website hasn’t been changed since 2012. They also have a Facebook page.
Word of warning if you rely on the internet. The resort has no internet and the signal can be spotty. This also means that you can’t email them. You might need to call them directly or have someone go there for an ocular. If there is anything you need for activities, it might be best to contact someone from the resort directly.
The Laiya White Cove is a 4 hour drive from Makati via Startoll Ibaan. We started very early in the morning so that we’d still have a whole day at the beach. Since this was a weekday, the traffic was not so bad. Our ride was pretty smooth. We didn’t stop by any stores or sights along the way.
Laiya Beach
First thing I went to see was the beach. Check in was still at 2pm and we got there at 9am. Beach was pretty nice but a pretty long walk from the cottages. Really liked the view on the west side. The mountains were a little hazy at first but cleared up the next day.
This resort in particular sits right on the corner of the beach and a river. The river water levels vary and can be muddy depending on weather and tide. The picture above is the day after rain and high tide.
Another thing I noticed was the presence of some trash. There wasn’t a lot but I think it will really be bad for the beach if left unchecked. Definitely saw some plastic utensils in the sand.
The water itself was warm and just a little murky. The murkiness might be because of the rains that happened the days prior. The sand close to the shore isn’t very fine but when you get further, the sand becomes finer.
There are people selling pearls, and souvenirs walking around. Someone also comes with an ice cream cart as well. Although he told us the flavor was cheese but it was definitely mango haha. The resort on the east side has a small stall right behind the life guard’s elevated seat that sells halo-halo. They use a korean ice shaver for the ice and costs 85php for one. Near that is a henna tattoo service as well with designs starting at 150php.
White Cove Rooms
There was four of us to a room. The room is rather large so I definitely can see more staying in our room with extra beds. Sorry I wasn’t able to get a photo of the couch.
The room had a cignal TV, and air conditioning. There was space enough for couch, a small table, and a chair near the door. There is a small dresser in front of the bathroom with toiletries. You can find a small safe, toothbrushes, toothpaste, tissues, shampoo, and soap in the room for you to use. The bathroom is clean and even has a bidet.
The shower supposedly has hot water but it seems that it was turned off in our room. We found the switch under the sink before we left. I am not sure why it was off. The shower drain also seems to be on slightly elevated ground so I needed to sweep the water towards it to stop the bathroom flooding.
There is no wifi in the entire resort. The mobile reception is a little spotty as well so keep that in mind in case you need want to share pictures.
Service
The service was okay. Before our trip, I was able to check reviews on Laiya White Cove in TripAdvisor. There were several mentions of bad service so I was bracing myself just in case. I am glad this wasn’t the case when we went there.
Our bathroom had a problem and someone came to fix it when we asked. There was this problem with another group where their key broke. There was no spare key for some reason, but they were promptly given another room. The servers at the restaurant were attentive and efficient as well.
They did ask us to pay for extra blankets and a change of towels so be aware of that. It rained while we were out on the beach so our towels were soaked. We asked if we could change ours but were told there was a 100php fee per towel. Luckily we packed extra towels.
White Cove Facilities
The facilities are also ok but definitely could be better. I looked at the pictures from 2012 and it seems like it was pretty good. It just feels like parts of the facility isn’t maintained too well. Some areas seem dusty and messy in some places.
I also noticed that the 2nd floor of the restaurant is pretty deserted and neglected. No one was on the second floor. The steps on the staircase had broken edges and rain was getting to it. Two bats were circling around the second floor. There were steel rods protruding from the sides of the building as well. Like there was something planned for it but was cancelled.
There is a large number of shaded seats. Some were closer to the water than others though. We would bring a chair with us closer to the water for our towels.
There are also showers and bathrooms for those coming from the water. A little hard to see the sign for it but found it after asking. Can rinse off the salt water or do your shower there.
Food
The food was really good. Again something I read a review said that the food wasn’t very appealing. Ended up really liking what we ordered. The only drawback with them is that they do not have any dessert. Closest thing they have is Swissmiss hot chocolate. The halo-halo next door would be the closest place you can get dessert or if someone selling ice cream walks by. There is also a 7-Eleven right outside the gate if you needed anything.
Here are some pictures of what we ate. I couldn’t catch all of them in time heh. We had 4 meals in their restaurant. The three images is bulalo, sinigang na bangus, and crispy pata. Other dishes we had were fried tilapia, salmon, pinakbet, chopsuey, fried chicken, sizzling squid, laing, and tanigue bistek.
Most of us underestimated the size of their breakfast meals. Seems like they make their own pancakes so they are pretty large. I ordered 3pcs pancake for my breakfast and could only eat 2 of them.
I liked our stay in Laiya White Cove. Certain parts of the facility just feels like a waste. They looked really nice in the 2012 pictures. I hope they have plans on fixing it up in the near future.
