On my mother's birthday last year, I brought my parents to a trending place called Lumadayo. It is one and a half hours away from our house but since we had lunch first at The Buzzz Cafe in Jagna, we only traveled for about an hour.
This place was featured last year on a famous Boholano Facebook page and everyone wanted to go. Upon seeing the post, I called the resort right away as I see it very calming and I wanted my mother to be relaxed on her birthday.
I was grateful that the owner replied and reserved two teepee rooms for us. But we didn't arrive without getting lost. Unfortunately at that time, Google Maps was still not updated with the correct address so we were taken to a dead-end road. We messaged the owner and finally reached Lumadayo with her help.
The entrance of the said property. Parking spaces are available outside of the property. The place is safe so nothing to worry about the vehicle being behind the gate.
The owners also manage another property called Harbour Gardens Tourist Inn. They do not allow walk-in guests to keep the place as private as possible. Let's go inside!
Dajon kamo is a Boholano phrase that means come in! There are many shrubs, fruit-bearing trees, and more in the resort. It was originally a retreat house for the owners but after developing it, they decided to open it to the public.
LUMADAYO is a portmanteau of Lumad ( native ), Dayo ( foreign ). According to the owners, they are native to the town of Albur but because of their jobs, they had to move to another town or city and only came back when they were a bit older thus they consider themselves foreign too.
Here's a mini bamboo and wood bridge. They have developed a body of water beneath it, however, there it was dry during our visit, perhaps they are not yet done with that.
As for the sign "padung Bud" it means going to Bud, perhaps a specific place that's significant to the couple or maybe the mountain top. There are also some relaxing things to do going up which I will share later on.
Just right next to the bamboo bridge near the entrance is the owner's room, this is where they stay whenever in the resort. Opposite to that is the dining area and kitchen as well as the common comfort room.
Obviously, this place has been preserved and the owner mentioned they had to cut down trees during the time of development but they have planted new ones and tried their best not to destroy nature, only the mature trees were taken down.
The swimming pool is also just next to the bamboo bridge. I got a little scared walking in the bamboo bridge because it felt unsteady but according to my husband, it's just how it is as they used a whole bamboo. Perhaps it is best to tighten them. I somehow like how they used the tree branches as railings!
Behind the dining area are two teepee rooms, they have fan rooms only but these houses look very aesthetic! Each got their hammocks and a concrete outdoor table and chairs. Comfort rooms and showers are also there for each room. They somehow always blended with nature.
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This one was my parent's room. The teepee room is suspended from the ground, they used bamboo for the floor and the walls, they were pretty neat and they got a bamboo storage box too for any items that the guests would like to put in. The platform also serves as a place for the guests to sit and enjoy watching nature!
Our room however was the other one behind the pool and it's the house that is giving the place a Bali vibe. It looks pretty nice when viewed from my parent's room because of the pool and the plants in front of it. I am glad we get to reserve this room instead so let's go check it out!
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That's me working right away upon arrival because my client messaged me to get some things done. The property has a free WIFI connection so it's a good place to stay for those who are nomads or working remotely. The speed was pretty decent, I forgot to do a speed test but trust me, it's fine. My husband was even able to do a call for their daily meeting!
I am not sure if the owner said he was an engineer before or if he was a seafarer. I forgot but he did mention his previous job. However, he had already retired and spent his time developing this property which he considered his getaway from the busy life of the city. He likes to spend most of his time just listening to the sound of the birds and nature.
I commended him for the neat landscaping done in this spot. The pool being blue complements well with the green grass and the orange-brown huts.
This teepee room is so elevated that we have to use a bamboo staircase going up. It's not very child or senior-friendly though. We had Matti, our three-year-old toddler with us and we had to keep an eye on him while staying here.
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This room is worth Php 1000 a night. It's made of bamboo and Nipa material. Since it was nipa, although sunny, there was enough ventilation. Outside of the room is a native coffee table, a buri mat, and some pillows - not too comfortable but we were able to work here. There's a bamboo box on the opposite side too where they placed some of the cleaning materials like the broom.
The room has two single beds which we combined, a sheer mosquito net to protect us from the insects, and a fan instead. The room is just enough for sleeping. What I love is that they got a transparent window here so that night while my little one was sleeping, my husband and I had some time talking outside of the room and we could see Matti through the small window.
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Aside from those, there's a mini spot with a net made out of synthetic ropes. They added pillows in there and while it was aesthetic, it was not the best spot for lounging because the ropes were too hard.
From this spot, we have a view of most of the things in the resort, the lounge chairs at the right and left, the heart-shaped chair, the pool, and the pathway, we could see everything from here.
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And so in the afternoon, after settling, my little one requested we should go swim and so we did! We were accompanied by my parents who had fun enjoying the pool! The water used here is from a spring, so it's natural and is not harmful to the skin! I like that the water was not cold! Relaxing! Here are some of our photos:
My parents having a good time! I always think of tagging them because they are already in their senior years. That day was extra special as it was my mother's birthday. I hope she enjoyed her day from treating her to a good lunch to this overnight stay!
One downside of the resort is that they do not offer dinner meals. We asked a favor from their helper if it was okay for us to order breakfast from them instead because it would be hard for us to go out of the resort and back. Thankfully, they agreed but for dinner, we were offered they buy barbecue for us outside and we could give them the money and add some for the service charge. I find it a good deal because we aren't familiar with the area.
We had dinner at the dining area near the entrance. We were the only guests at that time because the other couple who booked the other room next to my parents left the resort without any consent, they hadn't even paid for their room yet.
At night in Lumadayo!
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I love small resorts like this because it's very intimate, and there's less noise, in this case, zero noise at all plus it's close to nature! That evening, we went to take some night photos with our phones!
There was a plan for night swimming but we ended up just going back to the room and sleeping. The surrounding sounds are just calling us to go to bed!
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We had a great sleep! We woke up and decided to check out the spot at the top of the hill. My parents told me it was nice over there as they already explored it the other day. And so we prepared our water and started hiking up!
Chicken and rabbits are being grown here too! This area is perfect as water will not stay stagnant when it rains because of the slope!
As there were so many steps going up, they also provided a covered cottage for stopovers! I like the idea, and they used tree branches again for the railing but the ground is cemented. We did stop a bit and then moved on!
We could see this bamboo house or tree house but we also spotted some butterflies doing their morning routine! They flew from one flower to another and it's just a delight to watch! I even captured it on my camera! Check the video at the end of this blog!
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As you can see, I was already tired as this little one refused to walk by himself! My husband and I took turns carrying him. At this point, James got ahead of us and took this photo.
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They got tents on platforms, I believe I saw two or three of them. I forgot how much they charge for tent accommodation though but I believe it is way cheaper than the rooms.
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One of my favorite things here was their fire pit area! They got white chairs which look pretty comfortable surrounding the fire pit! If I had known there was a firepit, we could have spent our time here the other night! Anyway, I think if I'll be back here, I'll bring some of our other family members and we can do a bonfire together!
Just next to the fire pit is the "lantawan" or in English, look-out spot. It's still new because the materials look just newly installed. It's on a Narra tree and I attempted going up but the wind that morning was a bit strong that I felt like I was being shaken so I stopped mid-way and went down.
We climbed the other tree house instead which was better than the "Lantawan". They got bean bags around here and Matti enjoyed the mini maze as the tree house was extended to the other open lounge area.
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They specifically noted that hard drinks are not allowed in the resort. Slippers have to be left in the ground too to avoid the tree house getting dirty!
Such a nice concept! I am thrilled because this can be a place for youth events and gatherings! So those who are okay with using a tent can stay up here but they also have the option to swim! There's however a separate fee for that. These amenities however were not disclosed when the resort was being featured.
There is still more to see but we decided to stop here as I heard my mother calling us from the room as our breakfast was all ready. So just stopped here to check their lanai.
Made of wood, the platform looked well built with its roof material looking new to us. It looks rubberized, so my husband took a photo of it for reference as we want something like this on our property! The sheer curtains added beauty to it.
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It's called "Tambayan" or hangout. Thick pillows are provided and there's a mini table with a traditional table game called "Sungka". My husband played it with Matti, he gave him a little tutorial on how to play but the little one was not concerned of the game but about the plant on the table.
Pathways were cemented. I must say the owner had spent thousands to develop this place, and some workers were also planting around the area so they are aiming to have more greens to cover the place. I wonder how it looks now, hopefully, their plants are well watered as it's truly hot and dry these days.
We went downstairs already and joined our parents for breakfast. We decided to eat at the outdoor table next to my parent's room.
We were served with eggs and some fried fish which was good! They also gave us hot water and instant coffee! They used these vintage plates and cups!
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I am so happy and thankful to the resort owners for providing breakfast! I was charged just enough for everything. I forgot the specific amount we spent for that Pinoy-style breakfast but I remember how glad I was to see the fried fish!
Checkout time was around 11 AM so we still had time to enjoy the place after breakfast. We spent the remaining hours at the pool! We talked about so many things, laughed a lot, and planned for the future!
So, Boholanos no longer need to leave the country to experience the world-renowned laid-back vibe of Bali. 𝘓𝘜𝘔𝘈𝘋𝘈𝘠𝘖 will make you feel closer to nature indeed!
Here are the rates:
Exclusive Day use: Php2,000 for 10pax, maximum of 15pax, Php75 per extra pax
Entrance fee: Php50 (no pool use), Php75 (with pool use)
Overnight stay: Php 1,000 per room
Contact number: 09668671043
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Boholana | Cebu | Philippines | Travel | Photography Enthusiast | Calligraphy | Art
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