May 10, 2009

Away from it all

When my husband and I attended his cousin's wedding in Tagaytay City, we stayed overnight in Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite rather than driving back to Metro Manila late at night. If your idea of an ideal vacation is doing absolutely nothing in beautiful surroundings, or maybe walking around with a book, plopping onto a comfortable chair in a quiet spot, reading for a few minutes before falling asleep for one of many refreshing naps, then Hacienda Isabella is for you. Its bedrooms don't even have TV (which is of no consequence to us since we really don't watch TV anyway). We were three small family groups and our rooms were in the Casa Blanco which has a patio filled with cushions and pillows just begging to be laid down on.

Casa Blanco patio in Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite

Hacienda Isabella is a four-hectare farm resort with several houses and cottages scattered throughout the property. The main house, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, has a wide veranda where banquets and performances can be held.

veranda of the main house of Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite

The main house serves as the resort's reception and dining area. There are several long dining tables and the food is served family-style with the platters placed in the middle of the table. The main house also has several bedrooms.

interior of the main house of Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite

Part of the view from the veranda of the main house overlooking the two-tiered lawn, another house with bedrooms and a vine-covered gazebo.

view of the lawn from the veranda of the main house of Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite

You may have noticed by now that Hacienda Isabella is also an antique-lover's paradise. The entire resort is a showcase for all the collections that the owners have acquired through the years: furniture, birdhouses, lamps, paintings, luggage, doors, glass panes, even old wooden beams. This house had shelves filled with antique typewriters, still and video cameras, movie projectors, radios and other small equipment.

sitting area of a house filled with antiques in Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite

A single-bedroom cottage perfect for honeymooners, whether on their first or their fiftieth.

a single-bedroom cottage in Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite

Hacienda Isabella has a large swimming pool in one corner of the property. But if you're still not tired of doing absolutely nothing, this little screened cabana just off the pool with two day beds is waiting for you.

screened cabana with daybeds in Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite

For those who just have to do something, Hacienda Isabella has a billiard table in a roofed, free-standing patio. Aren't these old ice-shavers just lovely?

free-standing patio with billiard table and antique ice-shavers in Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite

I would like to apologize to any City Daily Photo administrators who visit this blog if I've been posting so many out-of-town photos these past two months. We don't normally take so many trips outside Metro Manila and it has been an exceptional privilege to show off some of the beautiful places here, just two to three hours drive away. And I haven't forgotten that I still owe four more posts for the Corregidor Island series. Soon, I hope.


Urban or rural, natural or man-made, take a sightseeing tour of our world's diverse scenery!
Scenic Sunday

24 comments:

Don and Krise said...

I wouldn't mind staying there for oh....a month or so. Love the antiques especially.

VP said...

A place without TV, walking, reading and napping, beautiful rooms full of strange things: you have discovered paradise on earth.
Great place, gorgeous photos.

Unknown said...

Beautiful photos and thanks for all the informations. Have a wonderful Sunday.

bertN said...

I've seen those antique ice shavers in use by halo-halo vendors when I was a kid LOL.

penny said...

Thanks, Hilda. I enjoyed your journey to this amazing retreat.
Thanks for sharing.

NYD said...

TV, I can do without. The ice shavers look as if they could produce soft and sumptuous snow cones (electric ones always make the ice hard and unfreindly.) that would go along well with some poolside relaxation.

Are they hiring???

Give us a link to their homepage!

Sarah A. Galang, Ph.D. said...

Beautiful scenes. Thanks for sharing. Can we xlink? I,m from Bacolod City

Reena said...

i was in tagaytay today to celebrate mom's day, but we went to my friend's coffee farm.

that's a nice place. do you have contact info?

i will send you my friend's contact info narin just in case you want to try a different place din to unwind. it's quite similar to this one. :)

Reena said...

shucks, i forgot. :) happy mother's day!

Cezar and Léia said...

Dear Hilda!
What a place!!!! Many thanks for this wondeful clue! This place is really fabulous and I would love to stay there for a time, a peaceful refuge and certainly I don't care about TV!

Many thanks for your visit and good wishes in Luna's blog!I just posted there a kind of "tribute" for all friends Mother!

A nice week in your lovely Manila City!
God bless you
Léia

Coskunca said...

Hi Hilda,
Thanks for sharing nice photos about beatiful house's view.

marley said...

Oh waht a lovely place to stay. My eyelids are getting heavy just thinking about those comfy cushions!

Re my new NYC blog. We've been there several times and I've got about 800 photos! I thought better to do something with them rather than have them sitting around inside my laptop gathering virtual dust!

Lowell said...

Good night, what a fabulous place. Thanks for these wonderful photos. If you twisted my arm, you could probably get me to stay there, oh, for a couple of years, anyway!

Lois said...

I don't mind all the out of town photos at all Hilda! This place is especially beautiful. It looks so relaxing and peaceful.

The Nomadic Pinoy said...

Those old ice shavers do bring a lot of childhood nostalgia. The last time I visited my hometown, I still saw halo-halo vendors shaving ice that way.

Meikina said...

I emailed you earlier but my mail was send back to me telling me that your email account has been disabled. Anyway, thanks for the comment and welcome words. I"ll see you around. Greetings from Kaohsiung.

Frankie / Nick said...

Very serene in an ideal setting. Hope that your Mother's Day was is a fabulous memory.

escape said...

what i noticed is haciendas and old houses in cavite are gaining popularity. and true enough they are really nice. ive been to balay indang and it's a nice place with really good food.

lunarossa said...

It looks absolutely wonderful! It'd be the right place for me! Thanks very much for your very kind birthday wishes. All the best to you as well. Ciao. A.

Hilda said...

NYD:
I couldn't add the link to their website because it's gone! I was able to visit it three weeks ago, but it seems they forgot to renew the domain ownership.

Reena:
I have to ask my tita for the contact information. She was the one who made arrangements for all of us. Another reason why it was a very relaxing weekend for me! :)

Anonymous said...

Hilda looks great!! I need to visit. I think Cue Ledesma or some celebrity is the owner? Nice shots!

Diba said...

Nice photos, great resort, mainly the antiques.

abc said...

Another wonderful place you stayed. I can just sense the atmosphere, must have been very relaxing.
Thanks for your kind thoughts on my blog, my blogging friend.

traveller said...

Oooo, this is lovely.