Rexon and Kiten Beach House Review

April 8, 2017

  

This is that time of the year that we're all busy planning for summer outing with our family and friends. Well unlike the previous years, this year's planning for our family outing got a little stressful because of the last minute preparations, budget concerns, conflict in schedules, fully booked destination, health issues, personal preferences and earthquakes. Yes earthquake! And it happens to be in Batangas as well where we intend to beat the summer heat. But despite all these,  we manage to find just the right place and go on as somehow planned.

Originally, we planned to do an overnight stay at Playa Laiya Beach Resort in Laiya San Juan Batangas but resolved not to do so mainly because they have no rooms for overnight (just cabanas)  and the pool is not accessible at night. (see my related blog on Playa Laiya Beach Resort Review). So we decided to rent a beach house for April 8 and just have a day tour at Playa Laiya the following day. This idea might seem costly but the truth is, it's not and it's actually one of the best plans we came up with or my sisters came up with for a very short period of time.

door to the master bedrrom

the master bedroom

this bed can accommodate up to 6 pax

this bed can accommodate up to 3 pax

the tv which shows us a view from
the cameras installed inside the
 house and in a store

the restroom in the
master bedroom

Dakila Beach House is actually our first choice but it's fully booked. Well what do we expect? It's peak season! But i guess we're just meant to find Rexon & Kiten Beach House (which all this time I thought was Rexona so for sure it won't let us down lol)  Unlike Dakila,  Rexon & Kiten is not beach front but that won't even matter once your eyes get a glimpse of their house. I remember my father saying "Dito na lang tayo". It's not the typical house that you expect for rent because it's actually a home.

Ms. Kiten, the owner

the door to the guest room 
and on the right is the
dining area

Kiten, the owner,  explains that it's their humble dwelling for ten years and just started renting it out as a beach house.  We're actually the third client to stay in this home away from home. A 50% deposit or 5k is required to confirm reservation. For 10k, we get 2 rooms with their own bathrooms, a little terrace,  spacious living and dining area,  kitchen with a restroom as well. I was expecting that we won't be comfortable sleeping at night since the place is only good for 13 pax as relayed to us so we brought mat. But that was a very humble estimate coz for me, the master bedroom can accommodate 9-10 pax (for average-size people) and 6 pax for the guest room. The others can also sleep in the living room. And to exceed our expectations, the kitchen is fully equipped with a bunch of junk foods and a wine laid down on the table as a welcome present from Ms. Kiten. How sweet! She reminds us that we can use all items in the kitchen but need to clean them after otherwise we'll be charged P300. By the way, there's also free WiFi.

the bed which can
accommodate 2 pax

double deck which can
accommodate 4 pax

Of course,  we'll never forget in our checklist our favorite pastime - karaoke. But unfortunately, it's only available in the second floor which was occupied already so we just brought our own karaoke. But to our surprise, a brand new karaoke player is all set to tear down our throats. Ms. Kiten explains that she got anxious with my sister persistently asking for karaoke and luckily a supplier contacted her and made the purchase right away.

the kitchen with a restroom on the left side

the dining area

We called Ms.  Kiten for directions upon arrival at Brgy. Hugom and the landmark we have to look for is Casa Dolores which she says is just right across Rexon & Kiten Beach House. The road is very narrow and you'll wonder how it's two-way when it's one-way. We find a group of men helping us with directions but are also into selling parking spaces. Well Ms. Kiten already took care of that after confirming the number of vehicles we'll bring as it is included in the 10k package. My cousin noticed the parking lot looking rather unusual then we learned that it was actually a chapel. Right on that spot we can already view the ocean, a number of beach houses, various sari-sari stores and the two-storey Rexon & Kiten Beach House painted in neon green. As we get closer, i see this tree wishing me a Merry Christmas.

welcome present from Ms. Kiten

the living room with brand new karaoke

So we unloaded our things.  There were actually teenagers who helped us out with our baggage.  I'm not sure how they're related to Ms. Kiten. Anyway,  the endless praises for the house began from the chandelier to the tiles which seem to be everywhere,  bidet which my sister finds very remarkable, the cleanliness, the ambiance and of course,  the hospitality of Ms. Kiten. She's like our long lost relative. And this is what we Filipinos love to call "sulit". Yes, the place is worth every penny.

the parking lot which is actually a chapel

a view of Rexon & Kiten Beach House
from the parking area

the Christmas tree with the
faucet where we clean up
before we enter the house

the terrace

Now what makes this vacation so unforgettable is the earthquake. It was around 3pm, i was in the terrace with my mother engaged in a conversation with Ms.  Kiten when i noticed the roof of our neighbor's house and the floor i'm on are moving. Yes, i forgot the duck and cover, just the hold. It was longer and stronger than the one we experienced that same week. I was supposed to panic but i saw Ms.  Kiten praying and my heart was at peace instantly. My silent prayer was hoping to be heard. Then the earthquake subsided, the electricity was gone and we went outside the house and discussed what just happened. #ThankYouLord

with Ms. Kiten & Joshua (her cousin if I'm not mistaken)
discussing about banana boat ride

My cousin,  sister and brother saw the chairs and the chandelier moving and was scared that it would fall. There was an outpour of text messages from relatives and what they experienced. I sense an overwhelming fear from my sister's expressions and the tears followed. Well, who wouldn't be scared knowing that Batangas is experiencing a series of earthquakes and we are just meters away from the beach and what are the chances for a tsunami to happen. Well, I don't know. We all don't know. So i was rushing to check the internet for some news. And it was a magnitude 5.9 with its epicenter in Mabini Batangas which explains why we felt so much from this quake. And as i checked on Twitter, i read this post which brought me back to life. I felt so empowered so i retweeted it.

Honestly, it was difficult to recover, to continue having fun after the quake. It felt unethical and untimely. That's human nature. I was tempted to give in to fear because it seems like the only choice. But God is far greater than all our fears combined.  And i remember that fear disables but trusting the Lord protects us from that. 

way to the banana boat ride
as we pass through other beach houses

So little by little, we find ourselves back on our feet again with great enthusiasm to enjoy and do what we came here for. As shocking as it seems,  we went on with our banana boat adventure which i've been dreaming of for so long. It's actually in my bucket list. And thank God i finally achieved it ☝I admit that the earthquake and tsunami are still in my head so you know my prayers are endless.

 and nipa cottages

Miraculously, the ride went well. We had so much fun,  almost forgotten the recent earthquake and i have some funny stories to tell which i prefer not to do here lol.

Actually,  the beach wasn't what i expected. I imagine there'd be fewer people but no,  i was wrong. It was crowded. Families were bonding and enjoying the water, sand and every picture-perfect spot as if the earthquake did not happen. You can feel that it's really summer time. This part of the beach is not privately owned so you can tell why a lot of people prefer this place over other beach resorts. Well, it's free and that's what we love about it. The water and sand is actually much better than the other resorts. Water activities like banana boat, titan/fly fish,  jet ski, boat ride and island hopping are also available. For 3k, we had 2 trips with the banana boat which can accommodate 10 pax for every ride.

We also plan to do the island hopping that afternoon where we get to check out the island and cave where Mutya & Dyesebel (teleserye) used to shoot plus we'll get to do some snorkeling there. But according to Ms. Kiten it's kinda late, that the tour would take 3 hours and we better do it in the morning. The quote was P2,800 good for 10pax and P200 per head for additional headcount.



The resorts share the same ocean so we get to see Laluz on the right with its famous rock. On the other side,  well i'm not really sure which is which but i think it's a row of Laiya Coco Grove,  Playa Laiya,  Blue Coral etc. Non-guests may take a tour for P50.

 




As usual the free beach has its downside like the garbage, the noise and the not so little not so big space you have to share with other people. These things are all tolerable to us. So it's just a matter of knowing what works for you and what doesn't. If you prefer a more private place and have a budget for it,  then i suggest you check the other neighboring resorts. 

other beach house located
at the beach front

color game

cleaning up

After we're done with our moments in the sand, water, stroll along the beach and pictures of course, we head back to the beach house where the faucet awaits our dirty feet. 

The rest of the night was about the earthquake news, dinner,  karaoke, chitchat and the itinerary for tomorrow. And as much as we'd like to do the island hopping there,  we realized that it would consume the hours we ought to spent at Playa Laiya so we declined.

 

We woke up early to a beautiful Palm Sunday with our parents preparing breakfast and the food for lunch at Playa. We started packing our bags, loading our things in the van and cleaning the house so we could meet the 8am departure time. We're actually 4 hours earlier than our supposed check out time. But that's okay!  We already made the most out of our stay there.

To know more about Rexon and Kiten Beach House,  please visit their facebook page at https://m.facebook.com/laiyabeachhouserental.rexonkiten.weebly/

To God Be All The Glory

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, 

do it all for the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31