It’s the typhoon season in the Philippines and heavy-duty showers pound us when we least expect it. That’s not really encouraging when you are planning a trip to a heavenly wellness retreat, is it? We are headed to The Farm at San Benito in Batangas and we pack cautiously for the archipelago’s unpredictable weather. With a kid in tow, a warm jacket and an umbrella both find their way into my bag. Yet, precisely from the time we reached The Farm to the time we left, the clouds just behaved so well. It must have been a cosmic conspiracy to let us soak up peace and tranquility, and the colour green.
It takes only a little over ninety minutes to reach The Farm from Manila. Though they offer a chopper service from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I would suggest taking the SLEX — the South Luzon Expressway — for a super smooth and scenic drive. And just before reaching the resort, as we crossed the city of Lipa, the setting gave way to tall coconut trees, idyllic hamlets, small children walking to school, and the odd stray dog. The coastal-rural vistas reminded me of my native place back in the Konkan belt of Maharashtra. Of course, the coconut trees went on to make their presence felt even more strongly inside, and the landscape at The Farm is a different story altogether.
Delhi-based hotelier and entrepreneur Naresh Khattar’s Avalon Resorts took over The Farm in 2002 from German nationals Eckard and Perla Rempe. The Farm’s tally of awards for holistic therapies now stands at 26, the latest from Germany’s SENSES for the ‘Best Medical Wellness Resort in the World’, I found out right at the resort’s aesthetic reception. The resort is set upon a whopping 50 hectares of land, out of which only ten have been developed. So imagine the dense, jungle-like setting surrounding its 32 villas and suites. Eye-catching flower mandalas blended easily with the wood and coir fixtures, and if we turned a little to our right, a pretty pond with ducks and fish offered a sneak peek into how blissful life was about to become.
What I liked most at The Farm was its openness — there are no best kept secrets. I could walk into the kitchen to see how it worked. Their ‘Oil of Life tour’ showed us how coconuts are processed for The Farm’s signature virgin cold-pressed coconut oil and handmade soaps — quite fascinating it was, by the way, to know the healing properties of this oil. Then of course the personnel are extremely polite and warm and helpful, which is true of most Filipinos. However, it was the structural openness that simplified the entire wellness-spiritual healing-bonding process.
Even the accommodation is built with the fewest walled intrusions between guests and the enviable natural settings outside. All six types of rooms that are offered have elegantly done up interiors. I found the heated infinity pool of our villa, overlooking the San Benito ridge, a particular marvel. The super-size bathroom had full-length glass panes with wonderful views of the thickly wooded hillside beyond. Do try out their complimentary body scrub of lemongrass, sea salt and coconut oil. It’s a delight.
In fact, I thought, every architectural element at The Farm resonated with elegance. The path that led down to the Waterfall Pool had carefully placed pieces of moss-layered rock, some in the shape of a conch.
Nothing here, I thought, was without a purpose, but I can’t say we swallowed all of it without pause.
We are genetically predisposed to be ardent foodies. So you can imagine why subscribing to The Farm’s ‘organic vegan only’ cuisine made us apprehensive — to top that, everything is cooked only 15 per cent to prevent the loss of enzymes, making all that we ate essentially closer to raw things that grow on plants. But I needn’t have worried — The Farm’s critically acclaimed and award-winning gourmet menu, mostly made with ingredients grown at the resort’s own organic gardens, has very clean flavours and distinct textures. There’s crunch in every bite and their restaurant is very aptly named ‘Alive!’ We felt very alive…and satiated. The super-nutritious lunch and dinner menu is altered daily and the cycle is repeated after every fourteen days. Nuts are liberally used and coconut sugar replaces the everyday refined stuff. Do try out the soba noodles with stir fried vegetables, and the pastas. Even a week after we returned from the retreat, my husband, who otherwise swears by chicken, seemed to be doing perfectly fine with merely roots and shoots.
The Farm offers two kinds of services in tandem — medical treatments (after consultations with a doctor) and spa therapies (the spa manager guided me here). There’s a bewilderingly huge variety of tailored options — The Farm, it seems, treats practically every physical and emotional ailment. I entered the ‘clinic’ with tons of apprehensions about what a medical diagnosis would reveal of me — I had signed up for a ‘nutritional microscopy’, which analyses a live blood cell for scientific results. Thankfully, the doctor’s warm disposition helped me focus on the readings. She correlated all my mental and physical health concerns and very patiently explained all of it under the Oriental healing philosophy of Jin Shin Jyutsu. There were a few simple exercises I need to do sincerely, she said. Not that scary after all.
So off I went to the spa manager to find out what sort of therapy he would recommend for me. The Farm’s ‘Healing Sanctuary’ also comes with a spiritual setting — there are more mandalas, the yellow lights are dim, a gravel path leads to each of the treatment rooms, there’s a large sitting area overlooking a placid infinity pool, trees surrounding the vicinity, and the mountains are the backdrop. Even the peacocks and the ducks strolling outside were gleaming, I tell you.
A highly popular therapy here is the purifying Yin Yang Body Polish, The Farm’s signature offering, though it seemed to me that any of the many detoxifying treatments, wraps or relaxation massages (the therapists are all trained in-house) would do an excellent job of realigning body and soul.
The Farm expectedly offers detox and weight loss regimes, of course, but a daily printed schedule of activities also suggests yoga classes, gym sessions, fitness walks and even therapeutic flower arrangement sessions and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living workshops. If you have hyper-energetic kids in tow, you can keep them creatively occupied with horticulture walks, sessions in soap cutting and wrapping, landscaping exercises, or climbing a coconut tree or two (yes, would you believe?). Mine’s even younger but the ever-smiling staff took her fishing and duck feeding, causing huge happiness all round.
The gorgeous Mount Malayarat Golf and Country Club, about 15min away, is where The Farm’s guests go to tee in style. Personally, I found it hard to decide between lazing about in the tepid water of the infinity pools or getting fit and energetic. No points for guessing my pick but, hey, I haven’t been getting enough ‘me time’, have you? I found that sitting under a gazebo by a calm waterfront with lush green lawns and tall trees for company automatically decluttered my thoughts. Silence does sound beautiful. Really.
Staying at The Farm is a luxurious indulgence, no doubt. But, somehow, it also gave us a chance to appreciate the simple things in life. I hate to admit it but I walked barefoot on grass after eons — I had almost forgotten that it can be the simplest way to pamper tired feet. They certainly made it very hard to leave but their vegan fixation also meant the complete absence of milk during our stay. That’s why we were easily moved by the vision of good ol’ chai waiting for us at home.
The information
Location 119 Barangay Tipakan, 4217 Lipa City, Batangas
Accommodation 32 villas and suites across six categories: five Sulu Terraces; eight Palmera Suites; two Anahaw Family Villas; six Garden Villas; ten Narra Pool Villas; one Master Villa; and one unit called ‘The Lakan’.
Tariff Sulu Terrace: from Php 8,400; Palmera Suite: Php 14,700; Anahaw Family Villa: Php 18,900; Garden Villa: Php 21,000; Narra Pool Villa: Php 39,500; Master Villa: Php 52,500; ‘The Lakan’: Php 58,500
Contact +63-2-884-8074, thefarmatsanbenito.com