summer swimming

It’s great to get out of the city once in a while. This past Holy Week we were able to visit our home town in Zambales. Initially, I was reluctant to go because I didn’t want to leave my dogs in a kennel for even a couple of days. So, we decided to bring them along. All of them. All 8 of them! Well, they’re not all my dogs, only 4. The other 4 were my sister’s. So we had 2 mini pins, 5 shih tzus and 1 lab puppy. They were all so well behaved during the travel that I kept giving them extra treats! We were able to go swimming during the trip too.

D’ Farm Resort, Barrio Baloganon in Masinloc, Zambales - One of the resorts we visited was called D’Farm, it’s somewhere in Baloganon in Masinloc, Zambales. If you ever go visit the town, be sure to drop by the resort. Now, I’m not really a pool kind of person, I prefer beaches, but this is one resort I wouldn’t mind going back to. It’s relatively new, so all the cabins and facilities were in great shape and I sincerely hope they stay that way. It’s not even completely done yet, there’s about 1/4th of the resort still under construction. But, the construction doesn’t really bother the guests because it’s on the farther side of the resort.
They have units that are air-conditioned and they have ones that are not. But the air is pretty much cool up there so it’s comfortable even without the AC. We stayed at one of the units with AC, it’s kind of a one bedroom loft and it has two AC, one on the second floor and one on the first floor. They have satellite TV, a mini refrigerator and hot showers. They offer videoke rental upon request and you can use their grill if you want some charred meat. No corkage fee on any of the food or drink you bring in, but you have to be responsible for your own mess. They keep the place clean of litter and even the pool gets cleaned of falling leaves from time to time. They have pools for adults as well as for kids and there is always someone around the pool area watching over everybody. The public toilets and the shower areas are clean and well kept, and the staff was nice and polite, we even got to meet the owner! You can check out the pictures of the resort in their website, but, they have no other information there regarding the resort. It’s just a website with a whole bunch of pictures of the resort and not even the directions on how to get there. Hopefully, the webmaster can fix that up ASAP.
http://dfarm.multiply.com/

Dawal Beach Resort, Barrio Uacon in Candelaria, Zambales – This is one resort I don’t think I’ll come back to anytime soon. Although it’s great that they’ve incorporated a beach with pools as well, and an option to visit the island nearby called Potipot Island which you can go and visit on a boat for P40.00 per person, everything has a fee. From the minute you step into their resort, there’s a fee. There’s an entrance fee for the pool, an entrance fee for the beach, then of course you’ll have to have a room or gazebo where you can lounge around or maybe eat your lunch, there’s a fee for that too, not to mention corkage for every dish and drink you bring in. Okay, I don’t really mind all the fee so much and I suppose they need all that to keep the place running, right? I mean, they do keep the place clean and there’s a trash bin in every corner and kudos to the landscaper guy too! I just hope they spend some of it on their public bathrooms. Some of their stalls and faucets are broken, the place smells and it looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in a while. I also noticed no one was safe guarding the pools, especially the kiddie pools. But, aside from the bathrooms and lack of lifeguards, the resort is still a nice place to spend your summer days. They have great game facilities like basketball, billiards and table tennis, there’s a restaurant and bar within the resort, ample parking space, and security guards.
http://dawal.com.ph/