The most amazing Airbnb I’ve ever stayed at (OMG is right!)

OMG is right!

When Carrie and I were planning our portion of the trip for the Party of 5 challenge, we decided we wanted to showcase all kinds of different property and booking options. Luxury hotels, hotels booked with points, good value cash options, points + cash, etc. Having fairly similar travel styles, we also wanted to showcase what you can do with Airbnb, and boy did we find a doozy.

Having already booked flights and accommodation for (what was at the time) our entire trip, we found that we could get an extra day or two for our portion of the trip. That led us to reevaluate our options where we found an incredible Airbnb which resulted in us rearranging all our plans around.

n.b. Make sure you read the entire post as you have a chance to win a prize later on!

How we found the Airbnb

It ended up being incredibly easy to find this one-of-a-kind property thanks to Airbnb’s OMG sub-category. That’s a filter which is applied to select properties around the world and you can leave the destination as “Anywhere” rather than having to search country-by-country if you’re flexible with your destination.

While doing a search for a couple of days in June and filtering for 5+ bedrooms, there was only one option for Asia, but it was a beaut:

Le Manoir des Bougainvilliers (find it on Airbnb here) is an 8 bedroom, 8 bathroom property with a total of 12 beds. Not only is it massive, but the photos suggested it was uniquely decorated. Even better – it was listed as coming with a personal cook which we knew would earn us some bonus points with Greg given his culinary focus for the last 3 Cards, 3 Continents challenge.

How we booked the Airbnb

What made booking this Airbnb a no-brainer was how cheap it was considering its size and amenities. It costs ~$35 per person per night, so for the five of us with taxes and fees the final cost was only $210 per night.

That worked out perfectly for maximizing the booking. At the time, Kroger was running a deal online where they were offering $25 Kroger gift cards free when buying $200 Airbnb gift cards. I bought a couple of those which means that our two night stay costing ~$420 also earned us $50 of Kroger gift cards. Greg’s not a big Kroger shopper, so I figured I’d keep those but get him a $50 Zingerman’s gift card instead seeing as he’s the one paying for the trip.

Airbnb sadly isn’t on regular shopping portals, but that doesn’t mean you can’t earn points and miles when making a reservation. They have a partnership with Delta where you earn 1 SkyMile per dollar, or you can click through from their partnership with British Airways to earn 3x Avios. We kept the details of the specific Airbnb we were booking secret from Greg, but got his British Airways account number from him so that we could enter that before clicking through in order to earn him ~1,200 Avios.

Getting to the Airbnb

Le Manoir des Bougainvilliers is in Puerto Galera which is on Mindoro island in the Philippines. We’d landed in Manila the night before and stayed at an airport hotel seeing as we were getting in so late.

When researching how to get to the Airbnb, Google Maps suggested we could drive down to Batangas Port, catch a ferry and then take the short drive to the Airbnb. As a result, we booked a rental car for a couple of days as I’d assumed it was a car ferry. I grew up in the UK and pretty much any transportation ferry I’ve ever taken like that has taken cars, so I assumed that would be the case here.

I was wrong.

Thankfully we realized this a couple of weeks before we arrived. The Airbnb host Michel was incredibly helpful, sending through photos and screenshots of all the different ferry options and timings. We’d booked the Airbnb from June 3-5 and originally had flights arriving in Manila early afternoon on June 3. He warned that this likely wouldn’t give us time to catch a ferry in time, so we rebooked our NRT-MNL flights to arrive the night of June 2 so that we could head down earlier in the morning.

The ferry we’d need to take still wouldn’t accept cars though. We could’ve rented one and left it at Batangas Port for the two days, but that didn’t seem worth it as part of the reason for renting the car in the first place was to get around Puerto Galera during our stay.

Michel to the rescue.

He was able to arrange all of our transportation for us which put our minds at ease. First, he arranged for a van to pick us up from our hotel by Manila airport to drive us to Batangas Port about 1.5 hours away (and did the same for the return journey). That cost 4,500 PHP (~$80) which wasn’t bad as it meant we didn’t have to risk taking metered taxis down with no knowledge of the final cost.

At the port we got tickets on the Island Calayan ferry. There are various ferry companies running on this route which you can get tickets for at the port, but Island Calayan was the one leaving at 1pm which was the next sailing after we arrived.

They offered “Tourist class” which is economy and costs 620 PHP (~$11) per person and “Business class” which is – theoretically – business class and costs 850 PHO (~$15) per person. We booked business class seeing as it was only an extra $4 per person and meant we could travel in what we hoped would be more luxury.

That didn’t end up quite being the case. The business class cabin is in a 3-3 formation and was completely full for our sailing there. As a result, it felt more cramped than we’d have liked, plus we mostly had to sit separate from each other as we were spread around the cabin as most other passengers had boarded. Still, I’m sure it was more comfortable than the Tourist class cabin would’ve been, so I feel like it was an extra $4 per person well spent. On the way back, we happened to take the same ferry and it was much less crowded in business class which made for a more comfortable experience.

On the other side, Michel had arranged for a jeepney to pick us up to transport us to his mansion. He met us at the port, then he rode up to the house on his motorcycle while we rode in the jeepney.

This cost 1,000 PHP (~$18) each way which was definitely the most convenient option. There are taxis and other types of vehicles at the port that could’ve transported us, but with five of us each having a carry-on bag and laptop bag, traveling by jeepney was a great choice.

In case you don’t know what a jeepney is (I hadn’t until I’d Googled it just before our stay), they’re like a stretch limo tuk-tuk and look a little like a bus. There was plenty of space on board for the five of us with all our bags – I imagine you could fit a dozen people on there provided you’re not traveling with a ton of large suitcases.

It’s covered which means you stay dry and shaded, but with open sides which means you stay cool in the heat and humidity. There are railings on both sides, so there’s no danger of leaning backwards and falling out, although if you’re traveling with young children you’d obviously want to keep a tight rein on them.

For those of us 5′ 9″ and under, it was a comfortable ride. For someone like Tim who’s 6′ 3″, you might need to come up with creative seating angles to be a little more comfortable as the ceiling will likely be a little low.

 

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The Airbnb itself

The Airbnb is on a steep hill, so the jeepney parked on a flat section about 50 yards from the house. Walking up to the entrance gave a slight glimpse as to what awaited us. Greg, Nick and Tim had no clue what laid beyond though as the Asia portion of the trip had been kept a secret by Carrie and me.

We couldn’t wait to see their faces as they walked through the entrance.

What laid inside was a sprawling mansion with Asian influences throughout. Despite decor in rooms and outdoor areas spanning country boundaries, there was somehow coherence throughout the property as it had all been designed by Michel.

Here’s a view from the opposite end of Le Manoir des Bougainvilliers which gives a sense as to its size despite the photo not showing the entire place.

During the 3 Cards, 3 Continents challenge, one of the things I did while at Singapore’s Changi airport was their maze. That was simple to breeze through; this Airbnb on the other hand truly was a maze. There were staircases leading up and down and all around.

Thankfully Michel was on hand to give us a guided tour of the property. This was fantastic as it helped give far more context and history behind how it was designed and built. He started working on the place in the 1980s and he’s still adding on to it. He’s worked all over Asia which is what’s influenced so much of the design.

One of my favorite design features were the doors entering the bedroom which Carrie chose. Rather than having glass, they had shells as their panes. The construction of the doors means the shells can’t be replaced, so it’s impressive that Michel is willing to have Airbnb guests staying in rooms with expensive features like this.

Several of the bedrooms have air conditioning which can be much needed. Despite that, I chose a bedroom with no air conditioning – the Thai room.

This had a double (or maybe queen?) bed below, with a mattress at the top on a mezzanine floor accessible via a narrow spiral staircase.

Although the room didn’t have air conditioning, it did have a decent fan which kept me cool at night. Despite hating the heat, I simply couldn’t resist this room with its doors opening to a balcony at the top of the property with this stunning view of the bay.

The sun rises in this direction too. I woke up early on the first morning to see the sun on the horizon and it was beautiful. I was too sleepy to get up to take a photo of it though, so you’ll have to take my word for it. Or, better yet, book your own stay there!

In addition to the 8 bedrooms, there were a couple of living areas, an outdoor dining area, pool table, outdoor swimming pool, gardens and so much more. If you think it might be there, it probably is. If you don’t think it’s there, it actually probably is.

Meals at the Airbnb

The Airbnb came with a private cook, but the cost of the meals themselves aren’t included – those are paid for separately with cash at the end of your stay. Michel told us to budget for 500 PHP (~$9) per person per meal. It was helpful knowing ahead of time how much to budget for as it meant we could withdraw enough cash before heading to Puerto Galera.  The way Michel calculates the cost is that he goes to the market to buy the food each day and adds a 30% service charge, so I guess strictly speaking the private chef isn’t “free”.

Breakfast and dinner can be provided, but not lunch. Given how much food is provided at both meals though, lunch might not be necessary. We always had quite a bit of food left over despite there being five of us.

He asked us ahead of time if we had any dietary requirements so they could avoid food stuffs that we might be allergic to or might dislike. While there, he also asked if we had any requests for dinner. On our final night Tim put in a request for pork adobo which they prepared and was delicious. The chicken curry was spot on too.

Potential issues

While we had a fantastic stay at Le Manoir des Bougainvilliers, there are a few things to be aware of before rushing to book your stay there.

For starters, I’d be wary of staying there if I had very young children due to all the stairs, hard surfaces they could fall on and easily accessible swimming pool that’s easily fall-inable for littl’uns. Along similar lines, someone with mobility issues would struggle here because none of the bedrooms are on the main floor – you have to either walk up stairs or down them to access bedrooms.

Another potential issue is bugs. With this being a primarily open air dwelling place in the tropics, there are some bugs around. I didn’t have any issues in my room other than noticing a couple of ants, but when we returned after snorkeling on our full day in Puerto Galera Greg and Carrie discovered a ton of bugs had taken refuge in their bathrooms.

Michel encourages guests to walk around barefoot (although you don’t have to) as the home’s surfaces are designed for that. However, that means floors aren’t spotless, with Greg noticing his room had remnants from some past guests too.

Despite those things, I’d have no qualms with staying there again. My wife and I have a couple of friends who we’ve traveled with overseas a few times before (this was our most recent trip with them). We’re due to go on another trip with them in 2025 to an as-yet undecided location. I’ve made a motion for us to visit Asia, with a stay at this Airbnb (and nearby activities) being a key part of that trip – that’s how much I enjoyed our time at the property and Puerto Galera as a whole.

Win a prize!

Just before we left, Michel kindly let Greg place a Party of 5 sticker somewhere on the property so that we could run a competition. The first reader who stays at this property, finds the sticker and takes a photo of it and tags us on Instagram with that photo will win a prize. (update 3/7/24 – the sticker has been found and the prize has been claimed!)

What’s the prize? You’ll have to wait to find out!

Watch a quick video to get an idea of the place here!

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