If you ask me what provinces in the Philippines I know, admittedly, Nueva Ecija wouldn’t be one of them.
I mean, don’t get me wrong—Nueva Ecija is a landlocked province and, naturally, there really isn’t much to see; it’s just a stretch of land with a few bodies of water. Since I love going to the beach, Nueva Ecija won’t be the place I’d plan on going to. That being said, though, a certain resort made me change my perspective about the province: Crystal Waves.
RELATED: Destinations You’ll Love in Nueva Ecija!
Entrance to Crystal Waves
One of the owners of Crystal Waves Hotel and Resort, Atty. Jose San Pedro, shared to us that most people from Nueva Ecija travel outside just to find relaxation, which is why they created this family-owned resort. Now, locals won’t need to go far and travelers have a reason to visit the province popularly known as the “Rice Bowl of the Philippines”
They may not have beaches that most people look for (myself, included), but they did build the premier wave pool resort in Nueva Ecija (and possibly in the whole northern Luzon!). That pioneer project and its accessibility are their strengths. It’s literally along the highway of Dinarayat, Talavera and we saw Crystal Waves as soon as we got off the bus.
The outdoor activities
50-feet-high wall climb
A trip isn’t complete without a thrilling adventure, and Crystal Waves offers five outdoor activities to spice up your stay. They have two zipline varieties: the superman adventure and the professor x adventure (a sitting-down position). They also have two wall challenges: wall climbing and rappelling. It’s recommended that you wear rubber shoes when trying these out so you have a stronger base.
Lastly, their main attraction is the Giant Water Slide. It stands 50 feet high and is 200 meters long. It’s a long slide down that you can ride again and again to your heart’s content! The owners didn’t connect the slide to the pool to give consideration to those who can’t swim (like me, TYG!).
Rappelling at the Adventure Tower
Here’s the price of the activities:
- Zip Line Professor X Adventure – Php150.00
- Zip Line Superman Adventure – Php200.00
- Spiderman Adventrure (Wall Climbing) – Php200.00
- Batman Adventure (Rappelling) – Php200.00
- Giant Water Slide – FREE OF CHARGE
Crystal Waves is also starting to build an obstacle course, so watch out for that in the near future!
The Main Attraction: The Giant Water Slide
The accommodations
What’s nice about Crystal Waves is that they have many rooms to accommodate their guests. I’m really not kidding when I say that the place is very spacious, so having enough rooms to cover it all is very commendable. This is also why the resort is perfect for team buildings, retreats, or even just a barkada outing.
The rooms are simple yet beautiful; you can even have a nice photoshoot on your bed! Each room comes with the usual—towels, hygiene kit, TV, and complimentary bottled waters.
You can also bring in food if you want! There’s no kitchen for you to cook in, but there’s a grilling station around the area so you can ask them about it if you plan on using one.
My tip: Bring some marshmallow and have a smores night with your friends as you have a deep talk under the stars.
Dining hall of Crystal Waves
Rooms price list:
- Bonifacio Room (double sharing with complimentary breakfast for 2) – Php 1,500.00
- Rizal Room (double sharing with complimentary breakfast for 2) – Php 3,000.00
- Aguinaldo Room (quad sharing with complimentary breakfast for 4) – Php 3,800.00
- Dormitory Room (Good for 20 persons with complimentary breakfast) – Php 12,000.00
Extra Adults – Php700.00 per head
Check-in: 2:00pm
Check-out: 12noon
The 3 giant pools
Probably my favorite feature of the resort—their pools. Before entering Crystal Waves, I already knew that they have three pools. What I didn’t expect was the size of each! Two of the pools are Olympic sizes and the kiddie pool was a considerable size with its own slide tower.
The first pool is the wave pool; this is what most people look forward to. Every hour, you would hear an announcement that the wave pool is about to start. By that time, you should head to the wave pool immediately and wait for a few minutes before the waves come in. My initial thought was “Man, this would probably be boring”, but, again, my expectation was exceeded. The waves were intense that you would literally float away as if you were in the ocean! It’s fun, but be careful if you don’t know how to swim. The pool can go up to 7 feet deep.Â
The second pool is the Mickey Mouse-inspired Olympic size pool. You probably wouldn’t notice the shape, but if you go up the adventure tower, you would see the resemblance to Mickey Mouse. This pool is my preferred choice because the view is superb—the crystal-clear water matches the green scenery and blue sky. This pool is 3 to 7 feet in depth.
Mickey Mouse-inspired Olympic Size Pool
The third pool is for the youngsters and the young-at-hearts: the kiddie pool. This pool is only 3 feet deep and is perfect for the slide tower; kids will enjoy going up and down the slides without worrying about the depth of the pool. There’s also a giant bucket that fills up every five minutes and gushes all its content down the slide. Kids usually wait below it just to get splashed on by this massive bucket!
The kiddie pool’s Slide Tower. Spot the giant bucket at the top!
The events place
Looking for a place to have your debut? Birthday? Christening? Seminar? Crystal Waves can offer two event venues—one that is within the resort and another enormous building just outside the resort which can fit up to 1,000 people. The Crystal Waves Events just officially opened last July 1, so this brand-new, beautiful venue is ready to host your next celebration. Just call them and ask for a quotation if you’re interested.
The newly-opened Crystal Waves Events
The Crystal Waves Events is absolutely gorgeous from its architectural design to the minimalist interior. Look at these pictures and see for yourself!
Very Instagrammable, don’t you think? Imagine a wedding in this place—that would be perfect!
The serene environment
The whole purpose of a trip is to have your R&R, and you will surely have that at Crystal Waves. There may be sounds of children having so much fun in the wave pool, but the resort is too vast for you to even get disturbed by that. It’ll just be you and the sound of nature as you walk around the area, sit under the trees/cottages, and even under the pavilion. The sound of birds chirping, trees rustling as the wind blows, and hourly waves of the pool will soothe your urbanized soul.
Relaxing cottages to just talk and chill
Trust me: check this resort out and you’ll see that it’s perfect to host your next team building/retreat/barkada escape because of its serenity.
Day Tour
Crystal Waves is also open for Day Tours. It gives you a pass to their pools, giant water slide, and their public shower rooms. You can opt to rent a cottage so you could have a place to place your things or food if you plan on eating some meals throughout your stay.
Rates:
- ADULT – Php 230.00
- CHILD (4ft below) – Php 180.00
- SENIOR CITIZEN – 20 % DISCOUNT
- Day tour hours: 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Cottage rates:
- DAHLIA (10-15 persons) – Php 600.00
- WALING WALING (10-15 persons) – Php 650.00
- ASTER (15-20 persons) – Php 700.00
- GUMAMELA (20-25 persons) – Php 800.00
Garden Pavilion that is even more beautiful at night
Getting to Crystal Waves Resort from Manila
The direction to Crystal Waves is very, very easy. Plus, it helps that the bus drivers from Manila know the resort! With just at least 500 pesos, you could reach the place.
- Go to Baliwag Cubao Terminal (this is near Five Star Cubao Bus Terminal)
- Ride Bus to San Jose (as students, we spent PHP 166 per head)
- Tell conductor to drop you off at Crystal Waves. It’s along the highway of Dinarayat, Talavera
- You’ll be dropped at a Caltex Station. Don’t fret! Crystal Waves is right behind it.
- Voila! You have arrived!
Along with Crystal Waves, I’m excited to discover what else Nueva Ecija has to offer. My friends and I had such a good experience that we want to explore the province more (especially that we know how to go there now). Of course, we’re looking forward to staying in at Crystal Waves again when we want to spend the night somewhere. The place is already beautiful as it is and we can’t wait for the improvements that they are constantly doing.
Share this article and tag the friends you’ll bring along to this lovely place! If you have any questions, feel free to comment below! We’ll be glad to answer them!
Crystal Waves Hotel and Resort
Dinarayat, Talavera, 3114 Talavera, Nueva Ecija
Facebook: @crystalwaveshotelandresort
Website: www.crystalwaves.com.ph
Number:Â (044) 803 5090 / 0932 867 5855
Email: reservations@crystalwaves.com.ph
