How was your summer with your family so far? Did you have outings or field trips? Did you have a vacation or a staycation?

Summer is not yet over. You can still plan a trip to a resort to swim in the pool or beach.

Let me share our family summer vacation at Island Cove Hotel and Leisure Park recently. This is the first time that we went there as a family. My husband and I had been there on separate occasions. I have conducted team building workshops there in the past. This time, I was back not to work but to just relax and unwind. This vacation is our late celebration of my birthday (which fell on the month of April), the success of the boys’ summer classes and my successful book launch on Amazon for my e-book From Career Woman to SAHM, WAHM then Businessmom.

First, let me tell why I chose this resort.

Our boys had been enrolled in a number of summer classes. I wanted to go sooner but I injured my right elbow and the boys’ classes were not yet finished. It was quite a tiring summer for us; so, I thought that it would be better if we travel to somewhere near our place. Less time on travel, more time to relax and enjoy the facilities. Cavite matched these considerations.

Another reason why I chose this resort is because it had plenty of swimming pools and other facilities like an aviary (but since it has other animals other than birds, I would call it a mini zoo) and a Fishing Village that we can explore and enjoy. I will share with you what we enjoyed during our stay as I tell you more about our vacation.

Since our kids still have summer classes that were not yet over, we booked our vacation during the holiday. We went to Island Cove on April 30 to May 2.

First on our agenda was swimming. Our two older kids had swimming lessons this summer. So, I wanted them to apply what they have learned during our vacation. Island Cove is perfect for this agenda of ours because it had a number of swimming pools for kids and adults. It even has a water park called Oceania Swim and Splash Park. It has a 3,000 square meter two-layered lagoon-shaped swimming pool with four giant slides.

On top of these features, they also have pools near the hotel. That’s where we booked a room. We got a pool-side room because our boys love to swim. This makes it very accessible and convenient for us. Our boys can just walk to the pool to swim and go back to our hotel room to take a bath after swimming. No need to carry a lot of things. The water park is nice but you have to ride the resorts’ shuttle to go there. There is a kiddie pool and an adult pool near the hotel. There is also a gazebo.

We spent our first afternoon at the resort swimming at Oceania Swim and Splash Park. It was already evening when we left. We had dinner at the nearby Fishing Village.

The Fishing Village has delicious Filipino food. But if you decide to eat there especially in the evening, be sure to put on insect repellant. There are plenty of mosquitoes. Make sure also that you wear pants or tops with sleeves to protect yourself from being bitten by mosquitoes. We didn’t know this when we went there so we learned this the hard way. I gave suggestions to them through their customer survey form to put candles and use natural sprays that help keep the bugs away. Other than that, we enjoyed our first meal at the resort. They also had fresh fruit shakes and juices.

The following day, the kids swam at the pool near our hotel room.

Second on my agenda was to give my husband and boys the opportunity to bond while trying a new activity… fishing. Island Cove has a Fishing Village. That’s one of the reasons I chose this resort. We went fishing on the second day of our stay. We went there in the late afternoon after we went swimming in the pools near our hotel room.

The boys and my husband fished using bamboo. The rate was P150 using the bamboo fishing rod. You can use the other kind of fishing rod and use worms or shrimps as bait also. But the rate is higher. They were not successful, though. Maybe, next time. We’ll try again on our next visit.

After our first fishing experience, we had dinner again at the Fishing Village. We ordered a set menu for a group meal and invited some of my husband’s relatives who live nearby. The food for the group meal was really a lot!

We didn’t finish the food we ordered. I highly recommend their feast or group meals for big families with big appetites. They have generous servings.

We wanted to try the videoke room also but we ran out of time. We were already tired after our dinner and we just wanted to watch a movie inside our hotel room. We’ve decided we will come back again next time to do this.

On our last day at the resort, we visited the aviary and the boys played at the Splash Park. Our boys definitely had a blast at the Splash Park! This was inside Oceania also. You need to get your tickets at the front desk if you want to visit this. Hotel guests automatically get complimentary tickets to Oceania. I suggest that you join the kids in the fun when you go to the Splash Park. I forgot to bring my rash guard when went back to Oceania for the second time during our stay and I was too lazy to go back to our room.

I would say that we had a vacation and field trip all-in-one! We learned through our visit to their aviary, which should be called a mini-zoo actually. 🙂 There were monkeys and snakes also and many other animals aside from different species of birds. We enjoyed our tour. The staff was very accommodating and knowledgeable. But it was really hot and we were soaked after our tour. I suggest that families who will visit the aviary would bring face towels that they can use to wipe their sweat and extra clothes if they are not checked in at the hotel. It would also help if you wear hats and shades/sunglasses and sunblock.

Overall, I loved our stay at Island Cove. My kids kept on telling us that they want to come back again and that we should stay longer so we can use more of the amenities. You can also go biking and ride Go Carts there. There is also plenty of open spaces where kids can run. It was a huge resort and naturally, three days and two nights were not enough for our family of five to explore and enjoy.

The food at Sangley Point where hotel guests eat breakfast serves very good food also. We enjoyed the breakfast buffet during the holiday. The breakfast buffet on May 2 did not have as much variety as during the May 1 breakfast. But the food was still good. We had lunch there also during our stay. Again, the servings were big and we enjoyed the fresh fruit shakes.

So, if you live near Cavite and you are looking for a kid-friendly resort where you and your kids can bond this summer (or even after summer), this is a good place to consider. For details about their rates, just click here and you will be taken to their website. We paid for around P5,000 per night for this vacation. Sometimes, this resort is also offered on group buying sites like Metrodeal. On off-peak days, you can get a rate that’s almost P3,000 only. If budget is tight, you can also opt for a day trip to this resort. You can enjoy the pools, aviary and eat in their restaurants. This was also offered before in group buying sites for less than P300. You can also book a day trip directly from their website.