Review: Amihan Del Mar Resort - Mabini, Batangas

Shiny glassy sea in Mabini, Batangas

Resort Review | Amihan Del Mar Resort
Brgy. San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas

"Would Travel for Beach".

These are probably the words written on me and my best friend's forehead when we went on an extemporaneous trip to the far end of Anilao in Mabini, Batangas.

We knew where we were going, for sure, as far as the resort name and commute directions are concerned.

Not noticing the "Amihan" signage along the road (our friendly tricycle driver wasn't familiar with the newly-renovated resort), we overshot the place by a few meters. It's probably been a minimum of 8 years since I last set foot in this part of Batangas. It wasn't as I remembered it. Well, no place is.

Amihan Del Mar resort is ran by 4 friends who all share the same affinity to the sea. Two of them are dive masters, offering diving packages from the resort - hey, it's Anilao, after all! For those unaware, it's the best diving spot nearest Manila.

Area map taken from Amihan's FB page

HOW TO GET THERE

The beach resort is located along the circumferential road in Mabini peninsula.

Private car: From south Luzon Expressway (SLEX), drive straight through Star Tollway and exit at Batangas City (going to Batangas Pier). Turn right at the diversion road and drive straight towards Bauan. Turn left at Bauan Doctors General Hospital and drive straight to Mabini (turn left at Anilao Port junction). From the Anilao entry point, the resort is about 15 minutes away.

Commute: Batangas-bound bus terminals are located in LRT-Buendia (Gil Puyat). Take your pick from the many bus lines going to Batangas - CALABARZON (P125, travel time around 1.5 hour). Alight at the Grand Bus Terminal in Batangas City and ride a jeep going to Mabini, parked in the same terminal (P35, travel time around 1 hour). Get off at the Mabini town market (bayan) and ride a tricycle to San Teodoro (P40, travel time around 30 minutes).

Google map of Mabini, Batangas:

View Larger Map

parking area and pedestrian entrance

RESORT AND BEACH GROUNDS

The resort entrance is right by the road side cliff lined by low-profile dive resorts and private vacation homes. You'll have to park your car in the 4-car parking area before entering the property afoot.

Its main grounds is accessible by stairs, so consider the short legwork a warm up for your forthcoming beach activities.

Amihan Resort is not your typical hotel-type beach resort. Here, you have the feeling of staying in a family vacation home, or a backpacker guest house. It depends - if you'll rent the entire house or if you'll book a single room only.

The house common areas, viewdeck and the open areas are all free for guests to exploit. Outdoor shower areas and drying lines are scattered for convenience.

Private resorts, dive resorts alternate the shore

There's only a little grassy open space in the center of the compound, but it is being considered to be converted into a massage/lounging area. There's an in-house helper to assist you with cooking needs (maybe some errands, too).

The beach area is just right outside the property fence. The sand is brownish - similar to Puerto Galera's, but this area of Mabini has an assortment of rocks and pebbles strewn across the shoreline.

I'd say you don't come here if you're looking for a hopping beach scene where you can display your sculpted body. Ain't gonna happen here. Here is a laid back dive resort where the beauty is hidden underwater.

ROOM RATES

Main house seen from the mess hall

The big house overlooking the sea is where all the rooms are located. There are two attic fan rooms and 1 master's bedroom (airconditioned). We stayed in the latter. It has a queen sized bed, a closet with dresser and its own t&b.

Basic toiletries, clean bedding and fresh towels are included in the package. These, as well as use of kitchen appliances, drinking water and condiments.

Published rates:

Masters Aircon Room (own T&B) - P3000/ 2 persons; P500 additional person (with cot).
Attic Fan Room (common T&B) - P2000/ 2 persons; P500 additional person (with cot)

Whole house - P11,000 (includes service of helper from 8am-5pm)

The master's bedroom was clean and well-lit. It has wooden floors, queen bed and built-in wooden dresser which kind of smell old (because it's an ancestral home). The aircon unit is new and there's an electric fan in the room, too.

The windows overlooking the property can be opened if you rather breathe the sea breeze. You might want to close these in late afternoon, though, because mosquitoes-on-steroids come out at dusk (yep, they're huge!).

The bathroom looks newly-renovated. It's clean and well-stocked. There's a hot shower unit, but I'm not sure if it works because we didn't use it.

My only suggestions for the room would be -- a chair or a mini sofa for lounging, a towel rack (for all our wet clothes we don't want to display in public) and maybe cloth curtains in addition to the nice sun shade, because our silhouettes can be seen inside the room at night time.

I didn't get the chance to check out the attic fan rooms, but I was told those were ideal for guests who come in groups.

ACTIVITIES

Its obvious that this resort primarily caters divers. I did my very first intro dive on this trip. Anilao is a popular dive spot for beginners because, apart from its proximity to Manila, the seabed terrain and underwater current is just right for first timers.

DM Francis

Other than SCUBA diving, guests can also enjoy snorkeling, skim boarding, island hopping (Sombrero island, Maricaban island) and hiking the nearby Mt. Gulugod Baboy.

There's also no harm in just simply lying around, hanging out on the beach viewdeck, reading a book on the hammock or watching TV. Too bad, Wifi was still unavailable when we went there.

Of course, we didn't pass on the chance to do the intro dive. Prior to the actual dive, the dive master conducted a short lecture about SCUBA safety and procedures. There really is no reason not to dive when you're in Mabini. There's an entirely different world below the surface of the sea that not everybody gets to see. I was told that there was a resident sea turtle seemingly nesting a few meters from the beach shore, so that's a sight to behold!

Flat waters, perfect for diving!

Here are the published dive rates:

Licensed Divers:
P3500 per person, minimum of 4 divers
P4000 per person, minimum of 3 divers
*Inclusive if 3 boat dives, dive pass, service of Dive Master, Lunch, weights (10lbs)

Intro Dive:
P1500 per person
*Includes orientation/briefing, diving equipment. You will be accompanied by the Dive Master the entire time under water.

Kitchen/dining

FOOD

You'll have to bring your own food since the place is not a full-service resort. The last market stop is at Mabini town center (bayan), about 15 minutes away by car. After that, you can only rely on small sari-sari stores for your ration. I didn't notice any sari-sari store nearby, but the resort sells a few items such as bottled drinks (juice, beer).

Anyhow, you can always buy fresh sea bounty from local fishermen. The house help can assist you in turning it into a sumptuous fare.

After your trip, on the way back to Manila, we've been told to try Johanna's Grille, off the national road (across Bauan Doctor's General Hospital). If Cebu has Casa Verde, Batangas has Johanna's Grille. This post has great info about the place which is famous for its delicious and affordable baby back ribs.

Some more snaps of the place: