Our main goal was to have a nice and much needed R&R, so I wanted a place with an in-house spa, an indoor pool or jacuzzi, and somewhere that's easily accessible by public transportation because we don't have a car. It would be a plus if the place has a scenic view to boot.
In the end, I decided against Valentino Resort because we didn't want to travel very far. It came down to Sanctuario de San Pablo and Rockpoint Hotel. I chose the latter because it's nearer, relatively cheaper and they had an on-going Rainy Days Promo that month.
I called up their office, and the person who answered was very polite and helpful. That was a good sign, I thought. She accepted my reservation even without a downpayment because it was Friday afternoon and the bank where I need to deposit the money to was already closed. The booking was for the following Monday.
I was excited because in their website, the place looked promising, even though I had read a few negative feedback about the resort. The Rainy Days Promo seemed like a sweet deal, too. For P3,915.00 we would get:
- Overnight stay at the Executive Room (w/ indoor jacuzzi)
- Breakfast and Dinner for 2
- Aromatherapy massage for 2
So Monday came and we arrived in Calamba two hours earlier. Going there by public transport was easy. We board a jeep en route to Crossing-Calamba. Our original plan was to alight at the Crossing Terminal. But because it was still early, we decided to go to Walter Mart first and have our lunch there. When it was only 45 minutes before 2 PM, our check-in time, and because we're already bored in Walter Mart (there's not much to see or do there), we hailed a tricycle. The tricycle driver already knew where Rockpoint Hotel is and asked for an P80 fare.
The trike ride took some 10 minutes. When I first saw the resort, my first thought was it looks small. Inside the lobby/reception area, we were greeted warmly by the guard and the front desk staff. We're still early but it was ok, said the receptionist. She called for someone to check if our room is ready. While we were waiting, she processed the bills and gave us our meal and spa stubs.
After a few more minutes, our room boy came. I forgot his name, but I didn't forget that he was very courteous. He ushered us to our room, taught us how to operate the jacuzzi, and told us that if we need any help, we could just call the front desk.
On the way to our room, we passed by the pool area and he said that there's another pool just behind the wall. The swimming pool didn't look inviting. It wasn't dirty or anything, it just looked plain and common. If you've been to Pansol too many times, you'll know what I mean. I saw an outdoor jacuzzi tucked in the far corner of the pool but I forgot to ask if it's functioning. I didn't go close so I couldn't tell how big it is. All I could see was it was made of ordinary bathroom tiles, but I couldn't tell if the tiles were clean or not.
Maybe because I knew that we have our very own jacuzzi inside our room, that's why I didn't bother to check out the other jacuzzi.
Now, our room:
The room was spacious, that's the first impression. But it didn't look as beautiful as the one posted on their website. It looked the same, but it didn't have that classy feel to it. The picture in their site was cleverly taken to make it appear like a 3 or 4-star hotel room.
It was clean, but not spotless clean. If you're particular about black tile grouts, you'll find some on the floor tiles. But it's not filthy dirty or 'kadiri' dirty. To be honest, I wasn't bothered by it. The room was still clean by my standards.
As I've said, the room looked like the one on their website, except for the bed linen of course. Inside, there's the 21-inch colored TV with clear cable channels, there's a mini-table and 2 nice-looking chairs (not monoblock chairs), another nice-looking dresser with mirror, two bedside tables with pretty lampshades on both, a personal refrigerator, an aircon and electric fan. All the lights were ok, none was busted. The aircon was working very well and kept the room cold so we didn't find any use for the electric fan. But the interior of refrigerator was rusty and looked dirty. We didn't bring any refreshments anyway so it stayed shut the whole time we were there.
There was also a small jug of water that they provided for us. At first, I was hesitant to drink the water but I got thirsty and tried it anyway. It didn't taste like tap water, or anything funny, weird or unclean so it was okay to drink.
I almost forgot the queen size bed. The mattress was ok, not springy.The pillows were ok, too, plump and soft. I love the design of the comforter but when I slipped underneath it, it was a bit itchy. My husband felt the same way so we just lay on top of the comforter the whole time and used half of it as blanket when we slept.
And then there's the bathroom. It was very roomy and clean. I even thought the tiles in the bathroom were cleaner than the floor tiles of the room. The toilet bowl was clean, too. There was sufficient supply of water and the water didn't smell of chlorine. There was also an exhaust fan and ample lighting. They also gave us two sets of towels (2 bath towels and 2 smaller towels), which smelled clean but was a little harsh and stiff (maybe they didn't use fabric softeners.)
Now the jacuzzi. It was big enough for two people, was clean except for some white stains, which the room boy explained was caused by the sulfur content of the hotsprings water. It didn't look dirty and it wasn't really bothersome. At first, we thought the jacuzzi wasn't working, but we found out how to operate it eventually (the room boy already told us how but we still fumbled with fixtures, went silly and had lots of fun).
We really had a very relaxing time in the jacuzzi. The warm water squirting out from the jets massaged every aching part of our body. I forgot to bring some bubble soak so I just improvised. I threw in my Cyleina Tomato soap. There wasn't much bubbles, but it's better than just plain water. We're told not to operate the jacuzzi for more than an hour because the motor might overheat. So we just had an hour of jacuzzi in the afternoon and another hour the following morning.
Right after our first jacuzzi session, I was already sleepy. But we decided to use our massage stubs because the spa will be closed the next day (they are close every Tuesday according to the "manual/menu" that we found in the room). The Kalipayan Nature Spa, their in-house spa, is located in the lower ground of the resort. The interior was very homey and Filipiniana-inspired. The furniture and decors are made from wood, rattan, sawali and bamboo. It felt like a traditional bahay-kubo (nipa hut) inside. And the staff were very friendly, too. It seemed the staff and personnel in Rockpoint Hotel Calamba are all friendly and courteous.
I gave our stub for 2 aromatherapy massage. We were told to wait for a few minutes as they need to prepare the couple's room. Inside the couple's room, we did the usual -- undress and lie down on the massage beds. When we're ready, they lighted scented candles (or was it scented oils) and started the massage. The massage was great. I felt even more relaxed and heady and sleepy. My husband said it was ok, but too light for his preference. (He prefers hard and bone-breaking type of messages.)
After the massage, we headed to the cafeteria to claim our free dinner. The cafeteria is just beside the lobby and looks like a school canteen, in a nostalgic, trip-down-memory-lane way. We presented our meal stub for 2 set meals, but ordered an additional viand just in case their serving is small. I thought the prices were reasonable except for the drinks, which were like double or triple the original price. But that's usual among in-house restos and cafes.
I would've just asked for our food to be delivered in our room had I known that there's a group of six or eight who ordered ahead of us and that it would take an hour before our meals will be served because of this. Good thing, there's a TV in the cafeteria where we watch the fateful bus-hostage drama unfolds. When the food of the earlier group were served, the cafeteria was filled with a very delicious aroma that made me hungry. And we just pretended to watch the TV as the group heartily ate their dinner.
An hour later, our food was finally served piping hot in big, round clay plates. And I could tell you, it was worth the wait. First, their serving size is big. I ordered the fish fillet set meal and my husband picked the beef-something set meal. We also ordered chopsuey. The fish fillet was the best I've tasted. It was crunchy and coated with breadcrumbs on the outside, and flaky-soft and tasty on the inside. The mayo-pickled-something dip that came with it was perfect, too. It complemented the fillet fish very well. My husband's beef dish came with tender and equally tasty beef strips. But we both agreed that my fish fillet was better. The chopsuey was also flavorful and was more than enough for both of us. It just didn't look and taste like chopsuey, more like sauteed vegetables in soy sauce, but it tasted good. We went back to our room smelling like we spent time in the kitchen and cooked the food ourselves (the aroma was that strong and lingered on our clothes) but feeling so full and bloated.
The next morning, I was excited for our breakfast and ordered them early. We had tapsilog and daing na bangus. They weren't as filling as the dinner we had the night before, but still tasted good. And before we checked out at noon, we ordered our lunch (this time, we paid for it because the promo did not include lunch.) We ordered fish fillet again and pork sisig, and both were tasty and delicious as expected.
We checked-out 1 PM and walked our way to the national road. It wasn't very far anyway. Then we just took a jeepney (way cheaper than a tricycle ride) to get to the Crossing Terminal. At the terminal, we took another jeep on the way to San Pedro.
The Verdict
Two thumbs up for the food and the jacuzzi. These are the highlights of our stay at the resort. Plus point also on the massage but it would've been better if they have a sauna in there, too. The room was ok, but as I've said, if you were expecting for a 4-star hotel-class type of room, you'll be disappointed. I couldn't comment on the pool, except that it wasn't enticing, because we didn't took a dip. My husband didn't want to swim because we'll just feel tired afterward. We would rather relax in the jacuzzi. Thumbs up also for the staff and personnel and the service that they rendered us.
But the resort itself was a bit boring for me. I didn't took pictures because there wasn't a lot to take pictures of. If you're a family or a group who's looking for fun and activities or who wants a resort that's close to nature with a scenic view to unwind, I won't recommend this. But if you're a couple, like us who wants some "cuddling" moments and R&R in a room with a jacuzzi, then you might want to check out this resort.
Overall, we had a pleasant experience during our stay in Rockpoint Hotsprings Resort - Hotel and Spa in Calamba. We were looking to have a much needed time-out from our work and relaxed our aching muscles, and we found it there.
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