Travels

7 ways to enjoy Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bataan is a very interesting place. It is home to old Philippine architecture which I find super cool and artsy and beautiful. Though I’m already familiar with what’s inside, my experience with Team What To Eat still made me excited because this time, I was about to capture Las Casas at night! Read on, and later you can view more of my photos and video clips on my IG highlights.

It was actually a surprise that aside from those wonderful houses and brick walls, Instagrammable streets, posts, and and trams, there is so much more to Las Casas everyone can definitely enjoy.  *Trying hard to hide my excitement to bring Mnemo here.*

We were there to feature the food Las Casas Bataan boasts. And as expected, generally, the food in every restaurant inside Las Casas Bataan was great and very homey. It was like cooked at home, made especially for you by your mom or lola.

Please do not travel until it's 100% safe!

All travel articles and restaurant reviews in this blog are here to inspire you on your future plans, but please DO NOT LEAVE HOME UNTIL IT'S TOTALLY SAFE! We all are excited to go out and have fun, but let's keep "safety" our number one priority. Stay healthy!

Hey there! My name’s May and you can view more about me here.  I travel a lot for both work and leisure. Thanks to being an auditor and a content creator and, of course, to my love for travel, I barely feel I’m actually at work when traveling. And if  I’m actually off work, I usually am with friends or family, discovering places and trying out new food. I’m juggling three jobs – the two mentioned + being a single mom. You think it’s easy? Of course not! But what glues me together is my passion and love for these three. More about my story here.

I love sharing what I know and how I do things, so if you haven’t read these yet, visit the following pages to view:

Read more of my trip around the BIGG here >>

girl sitting on balcony of an old building
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Home-cooked feels when dining in restaurants

That’s what I loved about the food in Las Casas. You won’t taste any artificial flavours, instead, it will make you miss your mom’s (or dad’s) cooking. It’s one perfect definition of “home away from home”, which I honestly didn’t expect when I first heard about the place.

The first dish I fell in love for was their Sinigang na Baboy. It was I think two years ago since I first had a bowl of their sinigang, and their restaurant that time was located in Hotel de Oriente – which has my now-favorite hotel interiors. I’m not sure if they have the same sous chef as before, but their sinigang’s rich flavors are all maintained as I had it before – so yummy, I’m craving for it right now. 

Ever since I started writing about my food and restaurant experiences, honestly, I became more open to trying unfamiliar dishes and different versions of common dishes. Just like the whole list in Cusina ni Nanay Maria’s newest menu. I honestly wanted to try more than what was served to us. Lol.

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Architecture and design I love journaling about

Let’s move to the arts side, because I am trying not to drool over these pictures of great food. (Btw, their crispy data is a must-try!) My favourite part of Las Casas is their concept of showcasing our heritage, culture, and arts. It’s easy to tell the owner’s into this hobby of collecting old houses and buildings, but if you think twice, they’re not just ordinary houses and buildings. Aside from they are one of the oldest in the country, they also hold different titles OR they were owned by someone who sits on some big thrones in our history books.

Among all the houses in Las Casas, my personal favorite is the Casa Ladrillo. That is the beautiful brick house just near the beach area. It’s not one of the houses you can visit while in the tour, but it’s available for accommodation. 

Another fave is the Hotel de Oriente. It is a replica of the Hotel de Oriente in Binondo (haven’t seen it yet, but okay I will), one of the oldest hotels in Manila. Why do I love it? Look at those details!

3

Fun balsa tour and the classic view

My first river tour was in Bohol.  It’s just now that I realized I wanted to try more of balsa tours around the country or even outside. And I realized I’ve never thought about I wanted before…? Anyway, the balsa tour in Las Casas is a bit like what we had in Bohol – touring spots in an open balsa or simply a raft.

Well except from what we saw here were old and beautiful houses from around the country. (And yes, there was no buffet table of food ready for you to chum.) The balsa is smaller, maybe can accommodate only up to 8 or 10 people to roam around Las Casas along their man-made river. .

I tried collecting my favorite Las Casas houses (see what I did there? No? Redundancy.) in a single post, just for a kind appreciation. But generally, OMG I won’t mind living in these old houses – of course, in a few conditions. Ghosts are not allowed, I need good wifi connection all over the place, and I need lifetime supply of good food. Oh, dreams.

4

Exciting workshops for artsy souls

Food, old wooden houses, brick buildings. They’re just the few. What other people are yet to discover is the Art Tour where they feature world-class Filipino craftsmanship. I knew many, if not all, Filipinos are artsy!

One example of their hard work is their version of the interiors of Hotel de Oriente. there’s one of it’s photos I posted above, and here are more:

interior scumpltures in hotel de orient in las casas bataan
full size spoliarium remade with cut woods
sculpture on doors in hotel oreintal las casas bataan

Yep, those details, right? Very pretty, very accurate. It’s almost not a work of a human. But, everything you see here is handmade by local and in-house artists and guess what? Las Casas offers a tour that will feed your curiosity and artsy self. 

From wood work, tile collages, brick making – they all are my favorite eye candies. If only I could stay there and watch the whole process they’re doing the job. I mean, I even am interested to learn and maybe be one of them. Oh, such a nice job. Imagine you are a part of one of the most-photographed hotel in the Philippines?

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A nice view of the sunset

Oh, hello, beaches. What is a hotel if there’s not spot for chilling and swimming? Most of the city hotels could offer the best swimming experiences by giving you wonderful city views, some do their job by making a huge, magical pool, some gives entertainment, food and whatnots. Las Casas has it’s own very simple way to make you relax, then – the beach.

photo of the sunset

As mentioned, our room was located by the beach view, so we have easier access for the sunset photo-ops and just chill there, talk about stuff, and appreciate the beauty of nature.

I, for one, is a lover of nature. I mean, that’s the main reason why I want to travel – exploring places, know more people, learn different cultures, eat local delicacies, and love the nature. Who doesn’t want a peaceful “me time”?

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Showing off of Pinoy culture

Ancestral houses, old buildings, Pinoy comfort food, Filipino art and skills – they’re just not enough for Las Casas also aims to make you re-live and re-discover Pinoy culture. During our stay, we witnessed some palaro (contests) among locals. People, including us, enjoyed watching these happy faces while they race their kalabaws (carabaos), play palosebo, and do some cultural dance.

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Instagrammable night lights

I never thought Las Casas is this beautiful at night. With the ocean breeze, a little cup of coffee, a round of pizza, and this kind of view. Isn’t it the best night ever?

las casas bataan photo of the church

Wrap up:

Let me hear your thoughts!

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is one of my favorite spots for a quick vacay. Not only for their classic houses and rooms, I also love their food and the overall ambiance. My favorite spot is in our room’s balcony where I can see the small man-made river (or creek?) where the balsa usually pass through.

Staying here is quite expensive, but it’s totally worth it. One day isn’t even enough to explore the place and fully experience all activities. Las Casas really embraces the history, culture, and arts and you’ll definitely appreciate that when you spend even a day here.

How about you? Have you been here yet? Share your stories!

las casas bataan pinterest poster

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is located at Brgy. Ibaba, Bagac, Bataan, Philippines. For reservations, call their direct lines: 332.5338 / 332.5286 / 355.3032, or their mobile: +63917.872.9361. You can also reach them via email at reserve@lascasasfilipinas.com.

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