Cintai Corito's Garden: Balinese Escape at Balete, Batangas

Flowers are in bloom, pastures are green as ever, different species of birds chirping and clucking and trees swaying along the refreshing breeze brought by the nearby Taal Lake – it feels like I am dreaming my great Bali dream, but actually, I am not. Everything was real and the only thing I was asked to do is savor every minute of my stay at Balete, Batangas' Cintai Corito's Garden.

If you Google the word “Cintai” (pronounced as Chin-tai), you'll see how this word is related to romance, passion and love. In Indonesia, where this place got its inspiration, Cintai simply means love. A place that is actually made out of love – the love of the children to their mother and the love of a husband to his wife – Cintai Corito’s Garden is overflowing with love that is set to captivate every guest’s heart, soul and mind.

When I visited the place with some friends a few days back, we were surprised to see such beauty exists just around 2 hours away from Metro Manila. Specifically located at Sitio Pandayan, Malabanan Balete, Batangas, Cintai Corito's Garden is currently managed by Paramount Property Management Company, the same group that handles Microtel Philippines.

So if you get to enjoy the way Microtel runs their place, rest assured that you'll get to enjoy Cintai too – and probably a whole lot more.

Serene pathways filled with flowers in full bloom

Upon entering the property of Cintai, we encountered a mini horse and some spotted deer along the road. Looking healthy and happy, together with their caregivers, as we got inside the receiving area, we were introduced to more livestock and poultry living in the area.

According to Mr. Francis Salanguit, Resident Manager, "Cintai Corito's Garden houses  a great number of animals, and some of them are alpacas and even the endangered Philippine eagle and falcon. All of them have DENR permit and these creatures are taken care of really well."

As for the whole place, peacock is the main inspiration of the whole place. With this animal’s really captivating color and glam, Cintai has also some peacock pets that go around the place adding more color and life to the whole place.

Heart-stomping art covering the whole Cintai Corito's Garden

Cintai Corito’s Garden has 18 well-kept and strategically placed villas, which are divided in to Deluxe (Php6,000 a night), Terrace (Php11,550 a night) and Garden (Php16,500 a night) categories. They have one Executive Villa (Php27,500 a night), which can house 6-9 persons. The price may be too high, but one thing I can assure of, a total relaxation and a place full of love is what await you here.

Facade, Interior, Lanai and Outdoor Jacuzzi 

of the Executive Villa

The prices above include welcome drinks, use of facilities, complimentary breakfast, use of movie room and mountain bikes. If you are coming in with your kids, 12 years old below who will be sharing beds with parents are free of charge. But if you are coming in with an extra adult, extra person in every room will cost you Php1,650.00, this comes with bed and breakfast.

For our stay here, we had their Terrace Villa. Located somewhere below the mountain over looking Taal Lae, our villa has 2 queen-size beds, bathroom, a personal bar refrigerator and its own terrace outside. Since it is located at the far end, we had a very serene stay all throughout. It almost felt like we were the only people there. It’s so quite but not that creepy quite; it shares a stunning garden feel that you’ll forget how chaotic outside; and it renders a stunning purplish sky during sunset – something that made me love the place even more.

The Interior of our Terrace Villa

For those who want a complete relaxing stay, Cintai Corito’s Garden can prepare a spa package for you and your family or friends. As for those who prefer some outdoor activity, aside from the swimming pools and mountain bikes, they also have tour packages that can take you as far as Taal Volcano – their staff are there 24/7 to assist their guests.

One of the 4 swimming pools here in Cintai

As for us, well, aside from taking pictures all over the place – and I mean ALL OVER THE PLACE – we got to enjoy the sumptuous meals prepared for us. For example, when we got there, we were offered with these sumptuous and I must say the BEST SUMAN EVER – the Balete Suman with Melted Tablea Chocolate. You should try these here in Cintai Corito’s Garden, seriously! THE BEST!

Balete Suman with Melted Tablea Chocolate

For dinner and lunch, since we were there with a large group, which we really didn't actually notice, they served a buffet dinner and lunch for all of us. We got to enjoy their soups, lechon kawali, grilled tilapia, salad and fruits. For the breakfast, their Lomi is delicious too along with their fried tawilis and chicken adobo.

Since the place is also full of fruit-bearing trees like mangoes, macopa, kamias and more, their staff told us that we can even pick some fruits to eat while lounging in our rooms or in the cabanas displayed around the garden.

Cintai Corito’s Garden has two pavilions, which are perfect for some gatherings - birthdays, debuts and weddings. There's the Napas Pavilion that offers a Balinese garden feel, while the Pavilion Tresna offers an exquisite and really private area for you and your guests. It has a towering and really, really stunning adorned door that say nothing but LOVE. 

The Magical Interior of Pavilion Tresna

The door is so beautiful that it will pull you and have a picture or pictures of you taken.

Day tourists are also welcome to Cintai Corito’s Garden. They can take a dip in the relaxing pool of Cintai and dine at Abadi Restaurant or Gazebo. Changing rooms, which are equally adorned by intricate details, are shared to day tourists.

Abadi Restaurant

All in all, I’d say that our overnight stay her is nothing but a memorable one - a must-do-again kind of stay. I just think that having a reliable wi-fi connection in every room may be a good idea because I find every corner Instagram-able - something that people like me who are obsess about taking pictures will surely enjoy.

So, if you are looking for a Balinese escape from the crazy metro and wanna make the best out of Summer 2014, well, head south to Balete, Batangas and  find the sweetest and most relaxing escape you could find near Metro Manila. 

For other details, you can visit Cintai Corito’s Garden’s website at http://coritosgarden.com. For room inquiry and bookings, you can simply contact them at 0917.833.1508 and 0917.833.1728. You can also e-mail them at coritosgarden@gmail.com or follow them at https://www.facebook.com/coritosgarden for more details and promos.

Commuting? From  Buendia (LRT), take a bus going to Lipa. If you are coming from Alabang, you can also take a bus going to Lipa. Once you reached Lipa Bus Terminal, take a jeepney going to Caltex Malabanan. The Caltex gas station is on your left side, so make sure that your attention is on your left side. Go down at the Caltex Malabanan, and then take another jeepney ride, this time going to Balete. You can either say Balete or Corito's Garden. Drivers are familiar to the place since it has this stunning signage outside.

Happy summer, everyone and happy Rammmpa!