Lawiswis Kawayan Garden Resort & Spa — Hotel in Calumpit

EXPECTATION vs REALITY

I went there last June 11-12, 2022 with my boyfriend because we are both craving for a peaceful and quiet place and saw their website, but UNFORTUNATELY, this place DOES NOT provide that kind of vibes we want.

The pool is very small. It can be dominated by a single group of 8-10 persons. We weren't able to swim during our stay because there is almost no space in the pool. But it looked so big in the pictures they advertised.

The plated breakfast included for overnight package is such a disappointment to think that it is included in your payment. (rice, 2 small longganisa, egg, coffee.. that's it)

Imagine at 2AM, there are loud and drunk guests outside partying as if they own the place and no staff from LK stopped them. Come on! Take note, they are in groups. Different groups. If you want to sleep in a quiet and peaceful place, please, not in here.

90% of their facilities are no longer operating. Idk if they are planning to renovate it but all you can do there aside from swimming is just sit on their lobby or outside your room. No internet provided as well.

They have TV in their room, but it will only operate using their flash drive that has I think 7-8 movies uploaded.

No slippers provided in the room. But they have shampoo and body bath in a dispenser. No toothbrush and toothpaste, just towel. Another thing is, the smell of water is rusty and smells like imburnal. No exaggeration. If you know the smell of stocked water, that's the smell. Also, just a friendly reminder, close your mouth when you shower. Just to avoid diarrhea or what, seriously..

The place is accessible by Grabfood in case you do not have any "baon" with you.

The couple's room only has one bed and one small table. In case you are the type of person who has many things with you during your trips, you can put your bags and other things at one corner.

I honestly think that they do not disinfect or clean each rooms thoroughly after use. The bowl is yellowish and the rag is sticky. Given that they do not provide slippers at the very least, it has a diff feeling when you step on the floor. :)

PS. The prices in their website is no longer updated na raw. They offer 3,000/night for couple. This is okay IF you get what you paid for. But on what we experienced? This is waaay pricier than those resort/hotel in Manila. Match your service with the price! Keep up, Lawiswis!

That's all. Will not go there again. We learned our lesson now: Never be carried away by the hype of their posts online (website, facebook). I skipped reading reviews (w/c is my usual thing before booking a place) because I trusted already what I saw, but will never do that again. Always and always verify from...

Overall the place looks great. IF you are planning to drop by here and spend the day, their day tour rates are acceptable. You can even bring your own food or bring food from outside (you just have to bring your trash with you, CLAYGO-Clean As You GO as they say). Their cottages are nice. But the rooms are small, the overnight stay is expensive (the same rate as most other ACTUAL 3-4 star hotels), and the food is very limited. Anyway, here are the pros and cons:

Pros: the property is very nice for this general area. The pool is maintained, the garden looks great, there is a trampoline, table tennis, and the cottages are nice. the front desk personnel is easy to talk to, you can adjust your check-in time (they are not strict with the typical check-in at 2pm and check-out at 12nn. We checked-in at 6pm, and went home by 4pm the next day.) no corkage for outside food (just bring your trash with you) the place is accesible, you can order food from nearby restos (we used Grab) there are some animals on display (lovebirds, chickens, hedgehogs and etc), and some cute dogs are running around (a dachshund and a pomeranian).

Cons: the place is expensive for what they offer. (For most other places for Php4600 you would get a larger cleaner and more equipped room, buffet breakfast, and better staff.) the staff keep disappearing and DO NOT WEAR any face masks, they are nice people, but the pandemic isn't over yet. the ceiling of our bathroom has mold growing on it. It looks like we got an unrenovated room (I'm assuming this since most rooms had sliding doors, ours had the traditional wooden door.) the breakfast is limited (2 longganisas/sausage, 1 cup rice, 1 sunny side-up egg, and coffee per person), this would be acceptable if the amount we paid was lower. They could have at least provided some fruits or veggies. they do not accept credit cards (only cash and gcash)

FYI: the water from the tap smells metallic, it is most likely from a deep well. It can easily be remedied IF the main water source is filtered before being collected in a main water tank.

Conclusion: This place has a LOT of potential. They just have to improve their room maintenance, improve staff training (They should FOLLOW national HEALTH PROTOCOLS), add something more to the inclusive breakfast, and/or lower...

I do not know what others are complaining about cuz I didnt experience any of it. Been there the first time last 2014. Went back again here Dec 7-8. It’s sad to see that it has a low rating. Let me share my latest experience there:||||Our check-in was supposedly 6pm but due to traffic (we came from Alabang) we arrived there around 8pm already. I know we were suppose to have welcome drinks but there was not. But it’s No big deal for us. We were served cold water which was equally refreshing. Jasper was greeted us and Chris, one if the staff, offered help with our luggages. We courteously declined the offer though, we have two arms anyway. After setting the bill, we were escorted to our rooms. (Btw, we failed to pay initial deposit prior to our arrival but we were still accomodated) The AC was turned on already 😊😊😊. Room can accomodate 5pax but we were 6 (I dont know where did my other team mate slept) It was not a large room. But the mere fact that it was cold enough, pillows and blankets are clean, it’s more than enough for us. They served our dinner 30mins after. Since we had brought some foods as well from Max’s, we asked to serve it also. It was not reheated but we don’t mind. We were starving to death and cant wait for another minute. Jasper made sure we had all other request covered before he left as he has another event to attend to. ||||After dinner, of course it was time had our drinking session/swimming. They dont sell beer to we has to go out and buy at nearest 711. They let us borrow cooler for the ice and there was no corkage 😊. Kuya Chris allowed us to use the pool til 2am instead of 12mn. See how cool is that. We finished around 4:30am but to our surprise, kuya Chris was still awake and helped us clean our mess.||||The following day, they waited for us before they served our breakfast. Well the food were not michelin star quality but everything were edible. We had the playroom at discounted rate also. Not to mention that they lend us basketball ball and let us play at their court. ||||Anything we asked were accomodated. The place is cool. A lot of intagramable. You see, I really dont understand the Royal Wannabes are complaining. If u were to expect a Five Star Accomodation, this place is not for you. This place is for rich people like us but with kind heart and simple...