25 June 2016

When in Zambales - Villa Janella Resort and Pundaquit Beach at San Antonio



A few weeks before my final exams, my family decided to go for an overnight trip to Zambales. I decided to go despite my exams because my parents will be bringing Zack with them for sure. My sisters were the ones who searched for a resort but my dad made it clear to stay away from the crowded beaches of Subic and Olongapo. Thus, we settled with Pundaquit Beach at San Antonio instead. I was actually at Zambales a few weeks prior our trip for a field trip, but I didn't get to swim so I was excited for this trip.

Mountains + sea = best view!!!
Capones and Camara Islands can be seen from the beach
Villa Janella Resort
We left Bulacan at around 5am. We had breakfast (as always) at McDonald's Lakeshore. We got at San Antonio at around 11. It would have took us longer if they didn't got rid of the toll gates at SCTEX and NLEX. Passing through Subic and Olongapo took us a while because of the slow moving traffic. Anyway, we headed to Villa Janella Resort at Pundaquit to check if they have available rooms because we weren't able to book reservations. Luckily, a huge group of tourists were just checking out when we arrived. We decided to have lunch first at the town proper, bought some food and water, then head back to check in.

We stayed in one of the rooms at this building
Cottages are of course much cheaper, but we won't fit.
We availed of their deluxe room for P4000, plus P600 for the extra bed. It could accommodate around 4 to 6 guests. There were seven of us, including Zack, in the room but we fit in there just right. They also have cottages available at the resort (fan rooms) for a much lower price. The photos posted of their accommodations at their website are pretty much accurate.

Villa Janella's pool area
Small cottages fronting the beach where you could dine and hangout

We didn't go out of our air conditioned room until 4 in the afternoon. It was too hot during the day and the sand was hot to the point of burning my soles. We were offered to tour Capones and Camara island that afternoon but we decided to postpone that for tomorrow. And postponing that side trip was a great idea. The waves were huge in the afternoon. We didn't even dare swim because the beach was somewhat sloped and the tide was already high. We went swimming at Villa Janella's pool instead until around 5.

The sand at Pundaquit Beach isn't white nor fine but we still enjoyed it.
Anyway, I find the resort kind of pricey as compared to the place we stayed at Baler and Alaminos. The room was quite smaller too and there was no hot shower. Another downside is that they don't have food available at the resort. We had to go out to eat. And if you're commuting, that could be a hassle and expensive. Good thing there was a nice restaurant nearby. But I guess those shortcomings were compensated by their location. The resort was nice because it's fronting the beach and the beach wasn't crowded. There were only few people at the beach that afternoon. Another plus was their pool. Zack definitely enjoyed their pool and there are only few budget friendly beach resorts that have a pool. I'll be sharing more of our Zambales trip on my next blog posts, including our Camara and Capones Island tour and our entire budget for the trip! :)

Check out my other blog posts of Zambales:
Releasing Sea Turtles at PawiCare Hatchery - http://www.mishrendon.com/2016/05/when-in-zambales-releasing-sea-turtles.html
Capones Island and Camara Island Tour - http://www.mishrendon.com/2016/10/when-in-zambales-capones-island-and.html

XO, Mish


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