Club Balai Isabel

Stepping into a Glorious Escape: Club Balai Isabel

Text by Ana Kristine B. Valenzuela

Published: What’s on & Expat: Destination, January 13- 19, 2008

Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu once said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” These words were blaring out of the shirt of Nelson Terrible, owner of Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas. And to put truth to what can be read on his gray shirt, he did begin his journey – to set up one of Talisay’s famous resorts- one step at a time.

It wasn’t an ordinary journey as he accompanied a group of writers around his resort and its nearby attractions. Surrounded by nature’s bounty, it offers a panoramic view of the Taal Lake.

The Club Balai Isabel, which sits at the lakefront of the world famous Taal volcano would not have been discovered if not for a soft drink company which was scouting for a place as a venue for its teambuilding activities.

Terrible, a real estate developer saw the potential and prospect for growth of the placeand instantly took the challenge of constructing a resort and gallantly transforming the 3.5 hectare property from a simple hut into a trailblazing resort. A few months later, the resort in Talisay, Club Balai Isabel, was built and named after his daughter Isabel who now manages the entire place.

Now, the resort is fast becoming a home to corporations and family outings wanting to host special occasions. Its proximity to Taal’s famous attractions – it offers a vantage view of the Taal Lake and volcano and its verdant surroundings is the resort’s big draw. Furthermore, guests also choose to hold their special functions like weddings, debuts and anniversaries in the resort as no less than Makati Skyline is catering the resort’s food.

Short Retreats

If you want to have a short retreat from the noise of the of the city, Club Balai Isabael is highly recommended. This resort, with a homegrown feel to it, is furnished with rooms and villas built like with five star standards yet it has a pleasant functionality of a condo unit complete amenities. Guests can opt to rest, or engage themselves in the resorts range of activities – a good game of basketball, a round of either tennis or badminton or they can challenge themselves through the rope swings and tunnel hoops in the obstacle cours. For the sporty types, kayaking in the lake is a fine option.

For sailing enthusiasts, the club even offers boats for this sport. The resort has partnered with the Taal Lake Yacht Club for this purpose. Guests can either leisurely direct the winds with the rigger, rudder and dagger and speed up the boat along the lake.

Pool of the Lake

Guests, they can have a dip in the water with the resort’s unique inflatable pool. The inflatable pool or mobideep was invented by a Frenchman and presently this kind of pool can only be found at Club Balai Isabel. The mobideep is one of a kind innovation, it’s a cluster of floating pools within the lake. One can play water games and host cocktail parties in the mobideep inflatable pool. Guests can simply dive into clear and clean water, said to be clean enough for drinking. The pool filters the water up to six micron. With the mobideep safely sitting on one of the biggest lakes in the country, guests can really enjoy sunbathing and swimming amid the distinctive environment.

Apart from the unique amenities, Club Balai Isabel is also taking steps to maintain a clean environment. They have formed a bantay dagat (guard the sea) team to monitor the activities of the lake in Talisay and keep the lake water unpolluted along with the local government.

“Best Service Possible”

Club Balai Isabel is continuously expanding and improving its facilities, with the objective of “never to be boring and providing the best service possible to its clients”, outside the resort is Paseo de san Guillermo, a small trade fair and a complex area managed and operated by Club Balai Isabel. They recently obtained the next-door resort, plus more cottages being built by local carpenters.

Not even a year old, the place has already accommodated as much as seven thousand guests in 2007. Most of the guests have known about Club Balai Isabel through the favorable blog entries from previous guests, proof of the place’s hospitality and unique ambience.

Trailblazing Resort

People are starting to regard Taal not just with Tagaytay but also with Talisay. Little by little, what first comes to mind when Talisay is mentioned is Club Balai Isabel; and Club Balai Isabel is fast becoming synonymous with Talisay.

For Reservations: (02)776-1521 or (043)728-0307

How to get there:

From Santa Rosa, Laguna and Carmona, Cavite, the trip takes only an hour and 15 minutes if traffic is light.

At the Tagaytay Rotonda, you turn left and after 6 km turn right to Ligaya Drive, a well-paved zigzag with subdivisions and communities along the way. The 9-km road leads right to the town proper and the lakeshore.
http://www.balaiisabel.com/