The delicious aroma of freshly grilled pork barbecue wafted throughout the resort. That’s our dinner, being cooked by the Blu Serenity Villa butler. Twilight was at hand. I was taking photos as the sky glowed electric. My wife and kid was at the pool, enjoying its warm spring waters. After almost two years, we’re finally on a staycation.

BLU SERENITY VILLA IN LOS BANOS, LAGUNA

We travelled all the way from Malabon City to Los Baños in Laguna to finally have a respite from the humdrum life of the Covid19 Pandemic. This is actually the first time that Akira will experience a staycation. Well, we did have one at Luxent Hotel before the pandemic forced everyone inside their homes, but he was just a few months old back then and he really wasn’t able to enjoy it. Not counted.

►BOOK TRANSPORTATION FROM MANILA TO LAGUNA ONLINE

AKIRA, HAPPILY PLAYING AT THE RESORT

This staycation is really more for Akira than for us. We hardly ever went out the past two years, but with virus cases on an all-time low and finding a resort offering exclusive use, it’s finally time to go out.

►BOOK DISCOUNTED TOURS IN LAGUNA

 

 

THE RESORT

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TWILIGHT AT BLU SERENITY VILLA

Blu Serenity Villa is located just past the busy Pansol area where numerous hot spring resorts have mushroomed in the past decade. But this is no ordinary Pansol resort, they pride themselves in being a premium and exclusive resort in Los Baños.

BLUES AND WHITE AT THE BLU SERENITY VILLA

Characterized by immaculate white walls and Moroccan blue accents, it evokes a sense of the Mediterranean sans the domes and the sea. Since, Laguna is quite a ways away from the ocean, they have fresh spring pools instead.

THE KIDDIE POOL WITH AKIRA AND MOM, BLISSFULGURO

The kiddie pool has a wading area good for toddlers like Akira and a two to three-foot section for older kids. The adult pool on the other hand plunges from a depth of five feet to seven feet at the far end. Perfect for diving and seasoned swimmers like us.

THE POOL FORMS THE CENTER OF THE RESORT

The pools form the nucleus of the resort. Surrounding it are the open-aired dining hall and lounge area, the reception hall for events, the gym, mini cinema, arcade hall, and rooms.

► EXPLORE MORE: LAKE SAMPALOC LAGUNA

 

 

ROOMS & SUITES

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MINI SUITE WHERE WE STAYED AT BLU SERENITY VILLA

There are five rooms available for guests in Blu Serenity Villa. One double bed room at the ground floor—perfect for oldies not wanting to take the stairs—and four mini suites located on the second floor. The resort can comfortably bed twenty persons.

MINI KITCHEN

UPSCALE COFFEE MAKING FACILITY

We were billeted on one of the suites. Its mini kitchen has a small fridge, a B Coffee Co. machine with assorted capsules, working sink and faucet, and cupboard for you to fill with your baon and snacks. You really can’t cook here since there aren’t any utensils and cooking appliances, but you can snack with comfort on the two posh chairs situated beside the counter.

THE LIVING AREA SOFA WITH ITS PULL OUT BED

All the suites have a comfy sofa that can function as a bed, and underneath, another pull out bed for extra company. It faces a 42” flatscreen smart TV where you can access Netflix and Youtube with ease.

MINI BALCONY OVERLOOKING THE POOL

MOUNT MAKILING AS SEEN FROM THE BALCONY

On its left, the room opens to a small balcony facing the pool. A pair of patio chairs and table await guests wanting to have coffee with a view of Mount Makiling.

OPEN CLOSET STORAGE FOR CLOTHES

There are no closets of any kind inside the room, what they have are open hanging stands with quality wooden hangers. They also have a couple of plastic boxes for your knick knacks and what-nots.

THE FULL DOUBLE BED AT BLU SERENITY VILLA

The bedroom houses a full double bed with an en suite toilet and bath. The bed, though not as soft as I’m used to, is surprisingly very comfortable. It’s very similar to Uratex’s Orthocare mattresses, methinks. The linens—with a thread count of 1,200 for the duvet and pillowcases, and 300 for the bedsheet—are definitely of hotel quality.

For two nights, we’ve experienced nothing but good and deep sleep on this bed.

ALWAYS A GOOD NIGHT REST  |  EN SUITE TOILET AND BATH

The toilet and bath is pretty basic and really not that spacious. But still, it’s fitted with rain-type showerhead, hot water, a bidet, and supplied with premium bath soap and shampoo. So, no complaints there.

EN SUITE AFTERNOON MASSAGE

And oh, should you want a massage, a local masseuse is also available to be had inside your rooms. We’ve tried it, and besides being one of the best massages I’ve had in a while, you also get to help support locals in the area.

► AROUND THE AREA: RIZAL SHRINE CALAMBA

 

 

RENTING THE WHOLE RESORT

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BLU SERENITY VILLA DURING LATE AFTERNOONS

Blu Serenity Villa prides itself for being an exclusive resort. That means, once you rent a room, you rent the whole resort.

It’s perfect for birthdays and big events. It’s also good for huge families and friends who want to have an overnight pool party. That’s five rooms, maximum of twenty individuals, with complimentary breakfast.

SUNRISE AT THE RESORT

But what if you’re not a big group? Well, the resort allows small groups in as long as they rent a minimum of two rooms. A room is good up to four persons—so, you can squeeze in a total of eight guests. Each room comes with complimentary breakfast for two.

Day tours are also possible for up to thirty persons and comes with welcome drinks and evening snacks.

► CHECK DISCOUNTED ROOM RATES & AVAILABILITY

 

 

FOOD & COOKING

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ORDERING FOOD FROM LOCAL RESTAURANTS VIA FOOD DELIVERY APPS

During our two-night stay in the resort, food has never been a problem. While Blue Serenity Villa does not have an in-house restaurant, they have everything needed to feed a small family up to a big group.

THE OPEN KITCHEN AREA

The open bar and kitchen area has all the appurtenances needed for a cookout—a big-ass French door fridge (beers and softdrinks available for a fee), cooking stoves, complete utensils, and a huge barbecue pit. They’re so complete they even provide beautifully Instagrammable plates for your food.

PORK BARBECUE FROM OUR BBQ NIGHT SESSION

But what if you don’t want to cook, or you just don’t know how? Well, the resort also provides options for a butler. They do all the cooking for you so can concentrate all your energy on partying or entertaining guests.

LUNCH AND BREAKFAST PREPARED BY THE RESORT BUTLER

Another option, which we also tried, is to order food online. FoodPanda and Grab Food are both available in the area. It’s the perfect way to sample Los Baños’ culinary scene without leaving the comforts of your seat—or pool.

►LAGUNA TOURIST SPOTS: NAGCARLAN UNDERGROUND CEMETERY

 

 

RESORT AMENITIES

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LOUNGE AREA AT THE MULTI-FUNCTION HALL

The ground floor area of the resort are mostly dedicated to its amenities. We spent hours here during the hotter parts of the day when we’re unable to use the swimming pools.

AIR-CONDITIONED MULTI PURPOSE HALL AT BLU SERENITY RESORT

Blu Serenity has a huge air-conditioned multi-purpose hall for events—perfect for birthdays, debuts, and even corporate events. It can comfortably seat 100 people. When not in use for events, it transforms to a billiard hall and a lounge area.

BLU SERENITY VILLA’S YELLOW GYM

For health buffs, the gym offers weights, exercise bikes, treadmills, and a mini sauna room. Well, we really aren’t much into this, but Akira did enjoy riding the exercise bike, lol.

4K DOLBY ATMOS MINI CINEMA AT BLU SERENITY VILLA

The amenities we enjoyed the most were the mini-theater and arcade hall. Yup, they have a mini-theater. And yup, they have video arcade games.

THE THEATER CAN SEAT TWENTY FOUR PERSONS

We haven’t been able to watch a single movie on theaters since the pandemic started, so we were really excited to try the resort’s twenty four-seater 4k Dolby Atmos Cinema. Heck, I even bought a copy of Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home with me to get that full cinema experience once again.

►HOME THEATER: LUMOS RAY REVIEW

LEO THE TRUCK ON BIG SCREEN

However, Blu Serenity Villa’s cinema instantly connects to Netflix and Youtube. And for this round, Akira won. Of course, we wanted our son to finally experience how it is to watch his favorite show on the big screen—Leo The Truck it is then.

The theater is open for guests who rented out the whole resort, for those who rented only a few rooms, it can be used for a fee.

PLAYING AT THE RESORT’S ARCADE HALL

And when not on the theater, we’re usually on the arcade hall.

Inside, they have an arcade machine with multi games built in. It has games good for toddlers like Akira, but more importantly it has Tekken. The room also has a Street Basketball shooting game, which is surprisingly tiring—since you can play non-stop, unencumbered by the need for game tokens, lol.

FERRARI TURBO OUTRUN FUN

But the best part for us, was the Ferrari Turbo OutRun arcade machines. Like I said, since there’s no need for tokens, we were able to master the driving physics of the game without throwing away a fortune. Heck, even Akira was able to competently drive! There are two driving machines so we were also able to go head to head. Talk about competitive.     
   
And lastly, the arcade houses the videoke machine. Okay, that can wait for our next stay with the Team RH crew.

 

 

YAY OR NAY? FINAL THOUGHTS

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AKIRA WITH HIS TOYS AND BEETLE AT THE BLU SERENITY VILLA

We fully enjoyed our stay at Blue Serenity Villa. At first, I feared that we’d get bored after a few hours—being the only guest in the resort—but surprisingly, we felt that the three days we spent wasn’t even enough. We would’ve loved to cook more, watch some movies at the cinema, play a few more hours at the arcade, and swim some more.

AFTER TWO YEARS, STAYCATION AT LAST!

Indeed, it’s a yay. We got what we came here for—a fun and, more importantly, safe staycation for the family. Especially one with an unvaccinated toddler.

The two-year lull in staycations was definitely worth the wait at Blue Serenity Villa.

~ OUR GRATITUDE TO BLU SERENITY VILLA FOR INVITING US FOR A TWO-NIGHT STAY AT THEIR RESORT

 

 

Blu Serenity Villa ►ROOM RATES
Address: 323-I Tikling Extension, Rhoda Subdivision, Brgy. Anos, Los Baños, Laguna
Contact Number: (0917) 300-5890, (0977) 820-1028 | Facebook
Check In/Out Time: 1:00PM / 11:00AM   
GPS Coordinates Map: 14.175106, 121.233687