The hustle of the city seems to be even more intense as it is with the heat of summer. It’s definitely a lot easier to get stressed when you’ve got sticky sweat dripping out of your body while the sweltering sun burns down on your skin. We all know it’s not so easy to escape it all.
But that just might change with this awesome vacation house we discovered just an hour away from the Metro! What makes this special? It’s a legit escape from the city because of its location and tranquility!
Villa Elisha is a literal forest hideaway in Antipolo, Rizal. It’s owned by Tom Pestano and is located inside Philip’s Sanctuary. When I say forest hideaway, I really mean it. On the way to the villa, I first caught glimpse of it hiding in the midst of tall trees. It was very much like a scene from the Twilight movies where you can expect a wolf and/or vampire standing right outside your window.
The house is very spacious. I loved how there were quite a number of hang-out spots around the place that you could literally have a seat anywhere if you got tired.
The tall glass walls and windows also allowed much natural light inside. Plus, you could enjoy the beautiful scenery of lush green trees anywhere you look!
Bedroom good for up to 8 people (with own bathroom)
There are three huge rooms that can accommodate up to 16 people all in all. There’s a common area where there are floor mattresses laid out for 5-6 people.
Common room with TV, books, and sleeping area
What I love about the common room is that there’s a huge window where you can instantly watch the sunlight shining on the trees as soon as you wake up. And there are a wide variety of books all around to enjoy because let’s face it: if you really want to escape, you’ve got to escape electronics as well.
View from the separated bedroom
There’s also a separated room beneath the house which is good for two. It’s actually a pretty good room because it’s right across the pool!
The pool
The villa’s pool is actually quite intimate, which is great if you’re in it to bond and chill. And really, being surrounded by the thick forest while taking a dip is a different kind of relaxing.
Grilling deck
And if you’ve got friends and family with you for your weekend escape, you can also bond over grilling some food with their grilling deck.
Bedroom good for up to 5 people
Villa Elisha is also a great place for team building because Philip’s Sanctuary has a lot of activities available for those staying at the villa. Plus, it’s the perfect place for a retreat because of the lack of mobile reception. Believe me, it’s a good thing. It extremely liberating to not check my phone every five minutes for new notifications.
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A few tips for your stay:Â Bring your own towels and toiletries. Bring food because it’s quite a long way from the marketplace. Make sure that you’ve got your own vehicles because it’s quite hard to find (hence, hideaway).Â
Also, their caretakers are very accommodating! There’s really nothing you could be worried about in this villa.
You know you’ve got to take a chill pill in this heat. Get away from the hustle and just de-stress. Escape to Villa Elisha and give yourself a chill and unplugged getaway.
