Laiya Coco Grove Resort (Laiya, Batangas)

To celebrate Mama’s birthday back in May, our family once again drove to Laiya, Batangas and had a relaxing stay at Laiya Coco Grove. I got so stressed out with my botched birthday trip so I made sure to plan ahead for Mama’s birthday. I started around the third week of February, but my early planning didn’t do me any good because most of the resorts I had inquired were already fully-booked! I failed to realize that my mom’s birthday is on the last week of May and that this window is everybody’s last hurrah for the summer! (Next time, December pa lang, mag-book na ako! HAHAHAHA!!!) Going back to Laiya was initially out of the equation given that we stayed in Blue Coral Beach Resort on the last two family trips prior to this one. I didn’t really have much of a choice so I started sending email inquiries to some of Laiya beach resorts. Luckily, I was able to book Laiya Coco Grove by the second week of March.

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Laiya Batangas

I originally booked their Family Room because the initial plan was to go with Mama, Papa, my brother and my sister-in-law. If I’m not mistaken, it’s good for 7 adults. The room costs around PHP10,000. Food is not allowed to be brought inside the resort so we paid an additional of PHP800/person for the meals. It’s inclusive of dinner on the first day then breakfast and lunch the following day. They required me to pay half of the reservation so I deposited PHP9,000. All transactions were really swift and done via email.

Now, here’s the exciting part! Barely a month before our trip, my sister-in-law had a medical emergency so she and my brother would not be able to make it. I sent an email to the reservation officer asking if we could downgrade the room to a smaller one. I added that if there’s no room available, then we’d just stick with the family room and just deduct the PHP1,600 for the food. Luckily, they sent us a new quotation for a smaller room! That meant we only needed to pay more or less PHP1,000 upon checkout! I guess that the goddess of luck probably noticed how stressed I was for organizing our family trips for years! Hahahaha! But it looks like luck gave me a little more attention. I’ll let you know in a while.

Traffic was quite heavy despite leaving Manila around 8AM. Just like what I said, it was the last week of May so everybody probably wanted to have a last taste of summer. We made a few stopovers, and the last one was to grab lunch at Jollibee. We’ve been to a few Laiya beach resorts, but Laiya Coco Grove is the only one that already covers for the environmental fees. We just stopped by the collecting area and presented the stub that LCG provided us along with our reservation acknowledgment.

If I remember it correctly, we arrived at the resort around 2 PM. I wasn’t really expecting much from Laiya Coco Grove because I didn’t find a lot of online reviews. I guess it’s because there’s a very long strip of beach resorts in that area. I wasn’t prepared for the surprise that the place was about to give us!

Laiya Coco Grove Resort

Checking-in was a breeze, and I didn’t expect that the first surprise would be unraveled as soon as we set foot at the resort. I noticed a large group of guests setting up a banner at the reception area. I assumed that they were there for their company outing.

The receptionist who first talked to me was just a trainee. After seeing my name and looking at the logbook, she immediately called someone who I assumed had more tenure. She then told me, “Ma’am, nagbago po kayo ng reservation pero wala na po kasing room. Doon na lang po kayo sa Family Room.” I told her that I received an email confirming me that our reservation could be changed and that we would only be charged PHP10,000 instead of the original PHP17,000 because two of our family members were not able to come with us. The receptionist assured us that we could have the original (and bigger) room that we booked and need not to pay for PHP17,000! In disbelief I asked, “Sure ka Ate ha?” She smiled and asked me back, “Ayaw niyo po ba, Ma’am?” HAHAHAHAHA! (The following day, my mother made tsismis with the receptionist. She told Mama that the company who was staying with us wanted to rent out the entire resort, but Laiya Coco Grove wanted to honor my initial reservation. So I guess instead of bumping us off, they let us keep the room! See? I told you luck finally noticed all my years of hard work in planning for our family trips! HAHAHA!!!)

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Reception

A staff member led us to our room. It looked simple, unassuming and quite small at the façade. It has a bamboo couch outside which is perfect for hanging out (and for drying after a swim before entering the room haha) while looking at a very relaxing view. Our room is surrounded by trees and colorful flowers. We all loved how the ambiance gave us some probinsiya feels complete with the sound of birds and frogs. Hihi! There’s also a bidet just outside which came in very handy in washing away the sands on our feet before entering the room.

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Family Roon

I initially felt so disappointed as soon as I saw the room from the outside primarily because it looked so small. “Eto na ‘yun?” That was all I could ever say. I just told myself that we were just lucky to be paying half of its price. I didn’t know that we were up for a big surprise the moment we opened the door. We all exclaimed a lot of WOW’s when we realized that it looked bigger on the inside. Parang ako lang talaga e. Maliit lang sa paningin pero punong-puno ng talent! HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Twin Beds
Bedroom 1

The hut has two bedrooms with two beds each. Mama and Papa stayed in the first room, while Boyet, Zayne and I stayed on the other. Boyet and I sandwiched Zayne between us so we only used one bed. The beds and pillows are comfortable. The leopard (or is it cheetah?) prints on the pillows and blankets may not be appealing to many, but it somehow added to the homey ambiance of the room. May ganyan kasi kaming kumot sa bahay, as in! Haha. :p

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Two Bedroom
Bedroom 2

Our accommodation also has two spacious bathrooms. The first one looks like the usual with the sink, toilet and shower area all in one room.

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Bathroom

The one in our room has a different setup. The toilet and shower are in separate rooms with the mirror and sink separating them. I find this ideal especially when you’re in a bigger group. Madalas kasi, antayan sa pagligo. So with this kind of setup, one can brush his teeth while the others are pooping and taking a bath. Hahaha!


The resort provides basic toiletries. They were actually very generous because I noticed that there were 7 sets in our room. Most hotels and resorts provide 1 set that’s already good for 2 people. There were also complimentary coffee and bottled water.

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Toiletries

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Complimentary Drinks

Zayne wanted to dip into the pool as soon as she woke up from her afternoon nap. Their pool is nice and clean, although the swimming pools in Blue Coral Beach Resort are much bigger. Zayne stayed still for a few minutes, but she decided that she wanted to play in the sand instead. We gave in to her request because the company who was booked that day was having some sort of an Amazing Race activity at the pool.


Laiya Coco Grove Resort Pool

Zayne loved the sand! We got in time for the low tide so Tatay was able to show her some small fishes and crabs. They spent hours building a sand castle. Hindi nga nila ako pinapansin! Hahaha!

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Beach






Laiya Coco Grove has an extension beach, which according to the receptionist, is more swimmable. They provide free shuttle services for those who wish to check it out. We went the following day. The extension beach got a bit crowded and noisy because it is where their day tour guests stay. We wanted to enjoy the tranquility so we decided to go back after an hour of stay.



Bringing food is not allowed in the resort. We did not mind at all because they served delicious home-cooked meals! Like what I said earlier, we had to pay PHP800 per person for the food. It covers for buffet dinner, breakfast and lunch. Super sulit na, if you ask me.

We had carbonara, calamares, chicken inasal, beef pochero, pork nilaga and maja blanca for dinner. For breakfast, they served garlic rice, egg, torta, tapa, smoked fish, champorado, misua with bola bola, bread and banana. We were early birds on both occasions because we tried to avoid the crowd. But despite staying with the large group, their dining area didn’t feel cramped at all. To cap off our stay, they served us miki bihon, bangus toncho, grilled chicken, pork menudo, cabbage with mushrooms and sago and nata for lunch.

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Restaurant

Laiya Coco Grove is very big. I initially wanted to book the tree house but decided to let it go considering that we have a toddler and soon-to-be senior citizens. Hihi.

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Treehouse

Laiya Coco Grove Resort Family Rooms

Laiya Coco Grove Resort for Big Groups

Laiya Coco Grove is great for everybody, whether you’re with friends or family. Zayne definitely loved their play area! I saw small kids enjoying the playground during our stay.




I felt bad when I checked their Facebook page weeks ago and found out that they closed last July for redevelopment. We were planning to go back really soon so I’m hoping that they’ll reopen with an even better resort. I honestly felt so re-energized after our stay at LCG. We didn’t have a TV in the room so I spent the night cuddling Zayne while Boyet and Papa went to the bar for a few drinks. (Mama is MASA. Masandal, tulog. Haha!) I simply loved the fact that I got detached from the hustle and bustle of Manila life. It was really nice to go out of the room and see the tall trees and beautiful flowers as you find your way to the beach! I seriously hope they reopen really soon so we can all pose like this again! :p



Laiya Coco Grove
San Juan-Laiya Road Aplaya
San Juan, Batangas


* All photos were taken with an Asus Zenfone Selfie

2 comments :

  1. Hangswerte!! At ang ganda nga ng area. Naku mamimiss ko ang beaching. huhuhu..

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    Replies
    1. Sa tagal ko ng vacations at staycations, first time ko ma-upgrade. Haha. Sayang nga kasi balik sana kami ng birthday ko. :(

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