Capturing memories in Villa Elisha, Pestaño Farm
We all need a bit of R&R every once in a while. A balanced life is important in maintaining our health and well-being. Also, we need to spend quality time with people who matter to us—like our family, friends and coworkers.
Recently, my team and I spent a short vacay-slash-teambuilding at Villa Elisha, Pestaño Farm in Antipolo, Rizal, and featured it in one of our “Pamilya Talk” episodes. It’s just an hour and a half drive from Quezon City, so it’s an ideal getaway spot if you need to get back to the city right away.
The farm offers a breathtaking view, with lots of trees and plants—so you can be one with nature. It also houses farm animals like chickens, horses, sheep, turkeys and even ostriches which you can feed at certain times of the day.
A few tips when planning a get-together or family outing: make sure you book your reservations as early as possible. Not only will you be able to make the necessary preparations, you also might just be able to get special discounts and promos. It is also a good idea to make a list of the different types of food you’ll bring if you decide to do a potluck.
We were able to meet Gina Pestaño, one of the owners of Villa Elisha. As we were touring the beautiful resort house, she shares that her own family loves to eat and host get-togethers. So when they were working on the layout of the resort house, they decided to adapt a more open layout so that there is more room to roam around and interact.
The house is spacious—it can accommodate 15-20 persons. There is a total of three bedrooms and it also has a master bedroom that has an open and expandable design.
If you are planning to celebrate a special occasion, you can opt to book Villa Elisha instead of a restaurant. Here, you can cook your own food as the house is equipped with a fully functional kitchen. For those who like grilled food, there is an outdoor barbecue cooking area as well.
It has a swimming pool surrounded with lush greens, so it feels like swimming in the middle of a forest. After having a nice and restful sleep, you’ll wake up to the beautiful sounds of birds chirping in the morning.
The farm itself is 30 hectares. If you are up for an adventure, you can ride an all-terrain vehicle or ATV to explore it. Choose the level of difficulty that you like — do you want a paved road or a dirt road?
It was a good thing I brought with me my Canon EOS RP, and I was honestly surprised at how tita-friendly it is and easy to use. Being a Tita, complicated gadgets sometimes intimidate me. But the Canon EOS RP is now my new favorite travel buddy. It’s lightweight and compact, so it’s perfect for backpack travels, and in the case of this vlogger Tita, for “run and gun” productions. It is a mirrorless, full frame camera, so you don’t need to worry about the crop factor—meaning, the image gets cut off because the camera’s sensor is too small to capture the entire image. Also, with its autofocus feature, it’s much easier to stay on point even if your subject is moving.
Also located in the farm is Philip’s sanctuary, where the team-building facilities are located. There are obstacle courses with different levels of difficulty depending on what the participants would like. There are also facilitators available for the obstacle courses as well as team-building programs.
A few days in this farm just might be what you need to destress from the hustle and bustle of city life. Time flies so fast, it is important to pause every once in a while to, as they say, smell the roses. Before you know it, the kids have all grown up, and your barkada and work colleagues have already gone to different directions. All that’s left with you are the memories that you shared with them.
So if you are looking for a place to share with your loved ones while communing with nature, I highly recommend Villa Elisha in Pestaño Farm.
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