Hyssop House Casa Uno has been our family beach property for decades and is the budget-friendly option amongst all our Casas. At Casa Uno, you get a rustic looking yet charming place to stay at. It has the feel of coming home to your grandparent's house in the province: where the old mango trees tower over the roof, with big old wooden cabinets and the metal swing still gives you kid-like joy whenever you sit in it. Casa Uno is for those who don't mind stepping into the old provincial world.
The space
A FRIENDLY REMINDER that this is a private house in a local neighborhood. We are not a hotel (please read our things to note below to see what this means :) ). That out of the way, welcome to our beach house!
A 3 hour car trip from Manila brings you to this cozy beach house, a mere 3 minute scenic walk away from the actual Ligtasin Cove beach. This 3 bedroom house is located on the main road of Sitio Ligtasin where the local amenities such as food stores and mini groceries are readily accessible.
Enjoy the light filled space with glass doors that open up to the garden, dip in the cocktail pool or take a refreshing outdoor shower when you're not at the beach. At night, roast marshmallows over a dedicated fire pit, while grilling up dinner on our rustic grill. An outdoor bar space is also designed to bring you the perfect chill beach experience.
The published price is for 10 guests, but we can allow up to 14 guests (additional of 4) for an additional fee.
THE COMMON SPACES - The living room, dining room and kitchen are well-ventilated with electric fans. A big industrial fan is provided for use for the garden area (please ask HH staff for the proper outlets). The common spaces promote outdoor living and thus have no air-conditioning. We do however have an air-conditioner in the second floor living room for those that truly need it.
THE KITCHEN - Free use of kitchen utensils and equipment (pots and pans, microwave, rice cooker, cooktop, oven, outdoor griller, coffee maker, dinnerware). Bring your own condiments and ingredients.
THE BATHROOMS - Inside the house there are 2 full bathrooms WITH hot water provision for the shower. One outdoor shower is available for quick rinses (no hot water).
THE BEDROOMS - All 3 bedrooms have air-conditioning. The 2 other locked bedrooms at the second floor of the house are the private rooms of the owners and are NOT included in the rent.
PARKING - Up to 2 SUVs may park inside.
** This is a non-smoking house. Smoking within the property is only allowed in the firepit area, with the premise that you will properly dispose of cigarette butts inside the firepit. Please do not kill your cigarettes on the white cement structures of the firepit.
Guest access
- Only registered guests will be able to access the entire house.
- Pls note that upon entry of Matabungkay or Binubusan (whichever entrance you may use), you will be charged around P35 per head for environmental fee. Pls just tell the people there that you have a booking at a private house in Ligtasin.
Other things to note
Our first and most important reminder is that this is NOT a hotel or a public resort, and so we expect our guests to not treat it like one. At Hotels and resorts, people tend to abuse the use of the space, appliances and items, not really taking care of them. Casa Uno was originally the beach house of one of our parents and it is where we spent and built childhood memories at (yes, we've known each other since high school). As we grew older and was able to acquire the place as a couple, we developed it into our private sanctuary where our whole family goes to rest, heal and recover from the hustle of everyday city life. We built it as a sanctuary, a place where we could just enjoy the outdoor life and commune with nature and each other. Being condo dwellers in the city, it is a treat for us to be able to just open the doors and be in the garden right away.
Given this and in the meantime, we are allowing people to rent it in airbnb ONLY if they understand that they should treat it well because this is our heritage home and it means so much to us. How does one take care of it? If you are coming in after a swim, then just mop up the water that you bring in. If the airconditioners are turned on in the rooms, do not leave the doors of the room open. Don't come into the house with muddy slippers. Don't leave trash all around the place, under pillows, in plant boxes etc. We are not asking people to have a dull vacation because they need to overly worry about cleaning up after themselves, but just practice the right amount of courtesy for the staff and us homeowners, enough so that we can say that our house was used and left well.
The second is that we designed this house the way we envision hanging out with our family. We get enough of airconditioned and manicured spaces in the city, and so we purposefully left out airconditioning in the living room so that people can just enjoy the natural fresh air of the province. (although we do have air-conditioning in the second floor living room for when it gets too hot). It's healthier and something that we simply cannot do everyday in the city, so it is an experience that we want for our family. We specifically designed the living and dining rooms to open up to the garden and pool so that one can just enjoy the breeze, plants and trees while still inside the house. We built outdoor spaces that you can use so that you can see things other than 4 walls. In the summer, it can be a bit hot, but hey, it's the beach!! You're here to experience beach weather, and this is exactly it!! If you feel hot, then jump in the pool, or take a walk in the garden, or stay in the outdoor dining area. The point is, please do not expect our home to conform to the perceived conveniences that hotels and resorts provide. If you choose to rent our home, then you are choosing to experience the outdoor lifestyle that we have designed for this place and our family, beach weather, bugs, nature, DIY and all. Our particular experience is not for all, we agree, but we welcome those who would want to partake of this unique lifestyle that we live.
That said, here are a few other things to note:
- Price is good for 10 pax. We can accommodate additional guests of up to 4 extra pax for an additional payment of P500/head/night. Pets are STRICTLY not allowed inside the premises and we will refuse entry if one is brought.
- Reminder that we are NOT A BEACHFRONT property. The beach, however, is just a 3-5 min walk from our house.
- Children need to be supervised here at all times, especially when around the pool and machine house.
- There is possibility for noise as we have neighbors, and also the local community wakes up at dawn to start peddling seafood and bread. If in case there is karaoke noise that bothers you, our staff can ask our neighbors to lower the volume.
- We have a very safe and secure car parking garage, which can accommodate 2 SUV’s at a time. If you need more parking space, there is a parking space for rent next door. HH is not liable for any problems that may occur with that transaction though.
- We have HH staff that live near the property and will give you your privacy unless called. Our staff isn't there to provide butler-like service (as how airbnbs are) but only as a support in case something urgent is needed in the house such as appliances not working etc. Some hire them to clean and cook but that would be outside of our authorized services. You can do so but with the condition that you cannot hold Hyssop House liable for the quality of the service which they will provide. They can also set up the bonfire for you but may charge for firewood.
- Please expect insects, bugs and critters within the property which could visit you inside the house often. Hey, this is what being close to nature is like, it’s part of the rural experience. Please bring insect repellants.
- Internet connection and electricity disruptions are out of our control. We do however have solar power and a generator set on standby for power interruptions. The genset can handle the airconditioners which will help you rest well in the rooms. During genset usage though, you cannot use appliances which generate heat such as the bathroom heaters, microwave, coffee maker, rice cooker, hot water dispenser and the like. That’s really the compromise for uncontrolled situations like this but we do have alternatives that you can use such as a stove top rice cooker and hot water kettle. If you stick that, you’ll be fine.
- We provide wifi that can be accessed in all rooms and the common areas. Our wifi provider is PLDT Fiber with a speed of 150Mpbs, and we have a back up Globe internet fiber that is 150Mbps as well.
- Water source is from a deep well so we do not recommend using it for cooking/baking and drinking. You may instead use the mineral water provided during your stay for these. Just as a note, deep well water may have a different smell than our regular filtered tap water.
- We provide a bluetooth speaker and mics which you can use for videoke. We don't have a videoke system but everyone just uses youtube for that.
- We provide a 55” LED TV with bluetooth sound bar which you can use during your stay. We do not provide a free Netflix account or cable tv for use, but you can just sign in with your own Netflix password for use during your stay.
- HH does not provide food services.
- Hyssop house provides the ff consumables for free: 1 roll of toilet paper per bathroom per stay, 1 roll of table napkin, dishwashing liquid with sponge, hand soap in kitchen and bathrooms, 1 5-gallon bottle drinking water (mineral), Cooking gas
- Reminder to bring your own towels, toiletries, GROUND coffee (our coffee maker only uses ground coffee) and food and ingredients.
- We have 2 Bambikes (bamboo bike) available for rent at P500 each for the whole duration of your stay (max of 1 week). Kindly inquire with our staff if it is available for use.
- If you intend to bring snacks to the beach, please make sure you dispose of your trash properly. Better yet, bring it back to HH for proper disposal. Let's keep our all our Philippine beaches clean please!
- Non in-house services: (we can give contacts when inquired after booking)
Food Service & deliveries
Bambike Eco-Tour
Balsa Rental
Fishing Boat Rental
Laundry service
Freshly caught seafood pick up/delivery
Watersports (pedalboats, bananaboats, jetskis)
