Located in Laiya at the southern portion of the central island of Luzon is the Taramindu Beach Garden Inn. This small inconspicuous resort is among many others that line the coast along this side of Batangas. How does this resort stack up to a traveler seeking a time out session from the hustles and bustles of the metro?

Tiramisu?

No it’s Taramindu, a name taken from the estimated century-old Tamarind trees that still stand within the resort. These trees provide a thorough cover from the heat and give the resort part of its appeal. The resort itself is located within Laiya, San Juan, Batangas, which is at the eastern portion of the coast facing the island of Mindoro. Mount Daguldol overlooks the resort from the west.

This is the beach front of Taramindu.

Getting There

The resort is about 2 and a half to 3 hours away from Manila by car, but expect that to reach up to 5 hours otherwise, or if you’re taking public transportation. Whether by bus/jeepney/tricycle or private vehicle, one will pass by Lipa City, which is about an hour to an hour and a half away from Manila. Bus fares to Lipa cost P108.50 a head. From here, it would cost a further P200+ both ways per head via jeepneys and tricycles to get to Laiya. For a group of six or more, a private van could be hired on the spot; in our case this brought us to Laiya (an hour and a half’s ride), and then picked us up the next day and brought us back to Lipa City, costing the group P3,000 total.

After weathering through the not-quite cemented roads, the entrance to Taramindu is, oddly enough, located near a small cemtery.

The entrance to Taramindu isn’t quite conspicuous, but do watch out for a tarpaulin sign.

The Resort

Taramindu’s main building boasts a mix of modern and traditional designs, rife with earthy colors, and takes up about half of the width of one side of the resort; the other side is a small garden filled with the grainy white-grayish sand where one can sit, relax, and enjoy the sight of Mount Daguldol on one side, and the calming waters on the other. A small dining hall called Balukbaluk is located near the beach, and sports a small sundeck overlooking the waters. A small nipa-cover with a raised wooden platform is located at the beach itself, where one can sit and have a small snack or simply lie back and enjoy the ocean breeze.

The lovely front porch of the inn facing the sea.

Taramindu is a small private Inn with only ten rooms; this makes it a more intimate experience for its guests where they can feel that they have this part of the beach to themselves. One suite overlooking the beach is available for larger families and honeymooners; the manager and owner’s place at the lower floor of the building also doubles as the resort’s administration office and clinic.

The main building of the Taramindu Inn makes use of only one side of the lot, the other is a recreational area where one can play volleyball or badminton, and where the manager likes to play golf putting in the morning.

The top floor serves as the party and videoke entertainment area where a small bar with about six groups of small tables and chairs, and a general purpose area are located. The empty portion facing the ocean can be used as a party area; the bar is only open in the evening. Incandescent lighting in designer lamps that matches the wooden theme of the bar, while small candles cast a small glow for a more relaxing atmosphere. Some of the lamps and Christmas lights are hung by the tamarind tree and this gives the resort a nice radiance during the evening.

The mini bar is open only at night and one can do a little drinking with some friends or have an intimate dinner with that special someone. The empty area further down can be used as a dance floor.

The Standard Guest Room

The room we stayed at was about 3.5 to 4 meters by 3 meters in terms of floor area. It had an earthy theme making use of light and dark brown colors, and used a reddish and earthy tile design for the floor. It had a double decker and a queen size bed. There’s a door leading to the adjacent room, for larger families and groups who wish to have access to both areas. A standard wall-type air conditioner is installed in the room, as well as a small TV set with cable connection and a DVD player. Supporting the TV is a simple dresser, with a mirror, and a desk with a drawer. The room can accommodate an additional two guests who can sleep on the floor with mattresses, which can be requested from the administration office. Warm room lighting is covered by two incandescent wall lamps.

The front of the standard rooms.

Besides the queen-sized bed is a bunk bed for two people. Two more adults can actually fit in this room by sleeping on the floor (with a mattress of course).

Upon entering the room, the guest is greeted by many of the standard amenities in good resorts.

The TV is on top of the dresser table while the airconditioner is located on the right most corner, along with a place where one can put their stuff on. There’s also a door connected to the other room for larger groups or families.

The washroom for our unit was about 2 meters long and half a meter wide. It comes complete with a mirror and wash basin, a toilet and a showering area with heater and movable shower head. Two towels are already provided upon entering the room and additional ones can be requested. There’s basic soap and toilet paper roll provided. The washroom is also lit by a soft warm glow of incandescent lighting, but doesn’t seem to be as effective because of the red earthy tiles. A window provides natural lighting to the room and is softened by the use of curtains.

The washroom is modest in size and comes complete with a basin, toilet and showering area. Soap and towels are provided. The washroom is also pretty clean.

The showering area with a movable showerhead and heater, for those who don’t like bathing in freezing-cold water.

The Suite

The most luxurious room in the inn had a similar finish as with the regular rooms, but has additional amenities. Aside from the dresser, TV and air conditioner, there’s a mini-bar, a bench-slash-open drawer, a sliding veranda facing the ocean, and a slightly longer bathroom to accommodate a bathtub. The room was brighter due to the number of windows it has. There is a queen size bed and a single one in the room, and the larger floor area should be able to accommodate up to three more guests who again, will have to sleep on mattresses laid down on the floor. Two lamps also light up the room, one near the mini-bar, and the other by the dresser and bed.

The bathroom is a little wider compared to the regular guest rooms, and is set up in the same manner- a basic soap pack by the mirror and basin, a toilet and a showering area with a heater and movable shower head. As already mentioned, the only big differences are the use of more windows and a bathtub overlooking the beach. The washroom, again, looks as well maintained as the other guest rooms’.

The suite looks pretty much like the standard guest rooms, but about one and a half to twice as big. It’s got a verdana, a bathtub in the washroom, and a mini-bar to keep that wine cold.

Here’s another perspective of the suite, now showing the mini-bar and a sitting / storage area where again, one can put their stuff on.

The washroom looks very much like that of the standard guest rooms, though a bit wider.

A bathtub overlooking the sea is provided for some paradise, privacy and the comforts of the suite.

The veranda is also finished with the same motif as the room and is spacious enough for four or more guests to sit back and relax. A table is provided for a little game of cards, or just something to put a snack on. The wooden finishes for the window and sliding frames, and the roof adds to the relaxing atmosphere of the suite.

The verdana overlooking the sea is quite relaxing to be in and it can accommodate more than four guests.

Into The Water

Though referred to as a “white beach” the beach in this part of Batangas is coarse, with bits and pieces of shattered coral, sand, and granite elements – averaging about half a millimeter to two millimeters in diameter, making it difficult to walk around in. The black minerals – which look like bits of mica - give the sand some texture, and gives the beach an overall grayish tone.

The beach front of Taramindu.

A lot of these small vessels line up the coast to the west side of the beach. Plenty of fishermen here, too.

The coastline is quite wide; the length of the sandy area going to the water isn’t that long. In fact, there’s a somewhat steep slide when one is about to enter the water. The portion near the beach isn’t that shallow and is about three to four feet deep. The bottom isn’t bereft of obstacles, as there are a number of rocks that may get in the way of one’s feet. Waves in this area are not strong enough for surfing. Motorized bankas and small scale fishing vessels are available for visitors who’d like to take a dive or a snorkeling session by the reefs.

On the western side of the beach is a nice high rocky place where one can climb up and take a good look at the clear waters and the nearby mountains on the horizon.

The waters in this area looks quite clear.

To the east is a long beach line; the same goes for the west side, except the west side is rockier. There are the usual small sea snails, hermit crabs, crabs, brittle stars and sea urchins that can be seen thriving in this area, with the occasional sea anemone and corals that are revealed when the water becomes shallow. Taramindu is besides a beach lot that’s still under construction and numerous boats parked to the west. It takes about a five to eight minute walk to get to the rocky portion of the coast line.

Bill It To My Tab

The Balukbaluk dining hall / restaurant serves a mostly Filipino menu, and home-cooked at that. An example of breakfast: fried rice, egg, slices of tomatoes, parsley leaves, and a choice of beef tapa (like beef jerky), tocino (sweetened and cured meat), garlic longganisa (a type of Filipino pork sausage wrapped within intestines), daing na bangus (deep fried milk fish), corned beef, and hotdog. We tried out their tapa, tocino, and garlic longganisa.

This longganisa breakfast meal is attractive to the eye and delicious, lest you are allergic to pork in any way. Our only complaint: why is there only a single piece cut in half?

The beef tapa is as scrumptious as the longganisa and doesn't look too dry, too.

Lunch offers a wider selection: chicken barbecue, pinakbet (mixed vegetables and – notably pumpkin – with coconut milk), bulalo (a beef-based soup known for its inclusion of a beef thigh bone with bone-marrow), liempo (slices of grilled pork) and sinigang na baboy (a somewhat sweet and sour soup that tastes a hint of vinegar and tamarind with pig and mixed vegetables). Vegetarians will most likely go for the pinakbet though there’s a few slices of pork in there.

Chicken barbeque anyone?

There's seafood pasta, too.

If you can't make up your mind, there's always the liempo or sliced pork barbeque to go for.

Pinakbet with a hint of bagoong for the vegetarians.

A bit of sinigang to warm up the stomach.

Snacks include halo-halo, pepperoni pizza, calamares and sizzling squid heads. The halo-halo was complete with flavored jellies, ube (or purple yam), sweetened milk and beans. Their version had a unique sweetness to it, probably due to the milk used.

And who can escape the desire for Halo Halo?

Pizza, "home made" without much of the oil.

Rice cost around P15 to P20, drinks and desserts are about P35 to P50. Side dishes go for about P100 for light meals like arroz caldo (Filipino-style congee usually with chicken bits) and noodles, up to a little over P200 for full dishes. Other items on the menu are pork or bangus sisig (sizzling milkfish slices / bits and pork rinds), sizzling gambas (sizzling shrimp), kinilaw (vinegar bathed raw fish slices, usually tanigue) for appetizers, seafoods like tilapia fish, squid, and shrimp, and other entrees specific to veggies, pork, beef and chicken.

Food is billed to your room, payable upon checkout, and can be tracked with the administration office.

Other Amenities To Keep Boredom Away

These include a massage service for tired individuals or couples, a small in-house store that sells bathing suits, slippers and other basic swimming gear that visitors might have forgotten to bring, kayaks and banana boats, as well as a bangka or boat ride – for a tour around the coast line – and diving or snorkeling. A guided mountain trek can also be scheduled by the guests. There’s a net for a game of volleyball or badminton just outside the rooms, and there are indoor games like mahjong, chess, scrabble, and magnetic darts that can be borrowed and played by the guests. Some of these activities may require a fee for the use of equipment or services.

The Rates

Room rates vary according to season. The “seasons” have general dates to when they're expected to start and end, but this may vary by a couple of days depending on the resort. There’s the low season which starts from June 16 to October 15, the regular season, which is from January 7 to March 15, and from October 16 to December 15, and the peak season, which is from March 16 to June 15, and December 16 to January 6. During the low season, a standard room rate costs P3,000/night for weekdays to P3,500/night for weekends. The suite costs P4,000/night for weekdays and P4,200 for weekends. During regular seasons, the standard room rates move up by P500 to P3,500/night for weekdays and P4,000/night for weekends. The suite starts at P4,500/night for weekdays and P5,000/night for weekends.During peak seasons, the standard room rates start at P4,500/night for weekdays and P5,000/night for weekends. The suite starts at P5,000/night for weekdays and P6,000/night for weekends. During Holy Week – from Holy Thursday up to Easter Sunday, the cost for standard room goes up to P5,000/night, while the suite costs P6,000/night. The room rates are per room per night, rather than per person per night. Guests are required to avail of Taramindu’s food packages. The food credit starts at P600 for adults and P400 for a child for an overnight stay. For two nights, it’s P1000 and P600 for adults and children respectively, and for three nights, it’s adults’ food credit goes up to P1,200 while the children’s go up to P800. Bringing of other food may require paying a corkage fee, but it's best to give the resort a call about this for more information.

Overall

Good atmosphere, good prices, and the inn’s little extras will keep guests relaxed or busy with something fun and interesting.

Contact

For more information on Taramindu Beach Garden Inn, please contact their Manila office at +63 448-5611 or +63 917 824-0024 via mobile phone. For more information, visit their website at www.taramindubeachgardeninn.com.