This Club Balai Isabel review is based on our experience in April 2019.
It was a last minute trip, just like Baguio. Two days before Holy Week, we still didn’t have anything planned. In retrospect, we didn’t really mind just being within Metro Manila because have you experienced Manila traffic during Holy Week?? (It’s nonexistent.) Sometimes you’d really rather stay within the city when everyone else is out there!
Just the same, in between Viber messages with my brother, I aimlessly browsed my Agoda and AirBnb apps to see if there’s anything worth snagging without really expecting anything. Everywhere else was booked, naturally, so what were the chances that I’d find a room big enough for a family of 10, in a place such as Club Balai Isabel, at a discount, during the busiest time of the summer? Slim!
To think Balai Isabel is booked out months ahead, let’s just call this impromptu trip meant to be.
Let’s call it #familytravelhacks too. Because I was definitely surprised to know that there are Club Balai Isabel loft rooms at AirBnb. And now you know it too. You’re welcome. ;)
Anyway, photos!
Lunch & coffee stopover
I don’t know about you but this family enjoys the road trip (and the stopovers) as much as the destination.
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Stopping for a quick lunch at an SLEX stopover and some coffee to go, we made it to Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas in less than 2 hours. No traffic, hooray for us!
Usually, when you’ve booked through Airbnb, you have to deal with meeting up with your host to get the room keys and to check in. Seems not the case at Balai Isabel. I only had to show up at the lobby with my ID and was checked in quite easily.
Exploring the place
The entire club was booked out but thankfully, our loft was located in the less crowded and the farthest area of the club, with a nice view of the Taal Lake and the Aqua Park.
Events Place
Our loft had a really nice view of this new event place they’re opening soon. It’s sooo pretty and overlooking the Taal lake, we just had to take a lot of photos in front of it. I’d get married here again in a heartbeat!
Aqua Park
We were also very close to the Aqua Park and although it looks very tempting, I don’t think the facility is very inviting to younger kids. The kids were more than happy to just lounge in the pool.
Swimming Pools
There are 3 swimming pools at Balai Isabel. We were able to use two of them. Although we enjoyed the big pool, it was also very crowded at the time. We mostly stayed in the smaller pool, the one that’s a bit hidden behind the trees (cozy!!), which we pretty much had to ourselves.
The highlight of the trip, according to the kids
They can literally swim all day.
How do kids grow so fast again?
Crew
6 adults, 3 kids, all comfy in this loft type room, thanks to our kind AirBnb host.
A shoutout to my crew, who I’ll never get tired going places with!
I can’t believe we almost spent the entire Holy Week at home flicking through Netflix. What a better way to spend a holiday for sure. This one’s for the books!
Club Balai Isabel, Talisay Batangas
For years, Tagaytay has been made famous by its view of Taal Lake and its volcano. However, the lakeside towns never became tourist destinations due to the lack of resort facilities, until Club Balai Isabel was developed. Today Balai Isabel’s amenities and facilities make it an excellent choice for holidays, corporate events, and special occasions. With lots of water activities such as kayaking, sailing, banana boat ride, and a tour to get a closer look at Taal Volcano’s crater on horseback or on foot.
Website: www.balaiisabel.com
Get P2,200 off your first AirBnb
This is the exact room we stayed in. If you enjoyed this post and you haven’t tried Airbnb yet, you might want to use this link to get 2,200 Php discount on your first Airbnb booking. :)
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