The Farm at San Benito – the No Bullshit Review

Backstory – My mom has been wanting to go for a few years now. We’ve both been curious and deterred by a busy schedule. I found a great deal online so I booked and finally made plans to go. Prior to going we received the following feedback about the Farm at San Benito:

• “Walang makain dun!” (There’s nothing to eat there.)
• “Puro dahon ang kakainin niyo dun!” (All they feed you is grass.)
• There’s nothing to do!!
• It’s so expensive!
• The food sucks!

If you’ve ever contemplated a visit to The Farm, you would have heard the above statements as well. I’m not gonna lie, these are all true or all false, depending on the type of experience you are expecting to have at The Farm. Allow me to explain and address each one by one as I tell you about our stay. Before anything else, I will say we enjoyed ourselves. You will too if you change your expectations. Keep them high but tweak them a bit. Take the Farm for what it is, not what you expect it to be.

In General – Note very closely the words used when describing The Farm. It is a sanctuary NOT a resort. It is a retreat/getaway NOT a vacation. Therefore, while the activities you can do there (swimming, eating and getting massages) may resemble an outing, it’s really different. Keep an open mind and read on.

FOOD – I will start with the most frequently complained aspect of any Farm visit.

• Words to describe food at the Farm: VEGETARIAN, VEGAN, ORGANIC and RAW. They probably say it outright in their literature somewhere but we tend to miss it because their website is so distractingly nice. But please be very aware of this fact before you go on your visit, especially if yourself or your companion are carnivores.
• All the food here is picked and made fresh daily.
• Extremely nutritious and healthy.
• They don’t use eggs, milk or any dairy. (Vegan) Heads up to the dessert lovers out there, it’s a very different sweet tooth experience. Coconut milk instead of real milk changes up taste and texture quite a bit. Go for the chocolate anything on their menu it’s delish.
• Taste & texture – expect this to be different from what you’re used to. You will try some dishes that are bursting with flavor while some dishes have very muted flavors. Most of the food was good though. We were satisfied.
• Nothing is cooked over 40 degrees Celsius. This means that nothing is fried. If you want a warm meal, the pasta is your best bet. A good number of their dishes are raw. They are big on the raw diet.
• The portions are also good for one because you aren’t meant to be extremely full. Many people who come to visit are on retreats (weight loss, meditation, getaways). This isn’t the type of vacation where you relax and eat your weight in food. The first part, true, the eating part, not so much.
• For food that is raw and portioned for one, yes it is expensive. It’s a 5-star sanctuary, what can you expect!

Here’s the lowdown on what we ate:

Afternoon Tea:

Assorted Cookies and Snacks – Coconut Crackers, Flax Seed Crackers, Salsa, Cheese Spread (not really cheese spread), macaroons, pie, etc.

Dinner: (at Alive! Restaurant)
MENU: ALA Carte (Standard) Appetizers and Salads Pasta & Desserts || Set Menu (Changes Daily)

Mom’s – Soba Noodle – My mom really liked this. I tasted one noodle and I thought it was good, flavor is asian, think pancit canton.

Mine – Puttanesca – LOVED this. I had this twice during our stay. First for dinner and then the next day for lunch. I dunno why, it’s tangy (not sweet like Filipinos are used to), tasty and the pasta is cooked perfectly. The texture is good, they put peanuts so it has a nice crunch. The olives, capers and tomato give it great flavor. It’s filling too which was perfect.

Mocha Chocolate Cream Pie (ordered off the Set Menu which they let you do) – This is pretty normal. When I say normal, I mean that it didn’t taste vegan, vegetarian, organic or raw. It was delicious! The chocolate was good, rich but not overly so. The cream on top is coconut which was a nice twist. Apparently, as per the waiter’s recommendation, when it comes to desserts at Alive! Restaurant, you can’t go wrong with anything chocolate on their dessert menu.

Mango Cheesecake – Don’t get this. The cheesecake part is not cheesecake at all. They need to rename this dish because it’s so far from cheesecake. No dairy so it’s made with coconut milk and some other stuff we couldn’t identify. It didn’t taste like anything and texture was weird.

Breakfast: Menu

It’s mostly fruit and you can’t go wrong with that. Stay away from the french toast. Please. It felt like I was eating cardboard. Choose the other dish, you’ll like it better because it’s actually good and the coconut bacon is interesting.

For lunch the next day, I had pasta again and had this Quinoa Salad. For those of you who aren’t familiar with quinoa, it’s a healthy grain that has this crunchy texture. Hard to explain but good. I had it first in New York and I enjoy it. It’s not too popular in the Philippines so when I saw it on their menu I ordered it. It’s not a standard on their menu though.

SPA: I got a Massage under the Stars. Obviously I did not take a photo because I was busy relaxing. Their therapist was quite skilled. For a Php3,800 massage, she ought to be. Under the stars was amazing though. The sky was clear and the moon was full. What a lovely massage. I’ve never had anything like it which is why I chose to have it. They have other massages but I felt like I could get those back in Manila so I chose the night massage instead. Ask for a blanket, otherwise you will be eaten alive by mosquitoes. Unfortunately for me, the mosquitoes are NOT vegetarian.

ROOM: We stayed in suite #8. It was nice. Perfect for me and mom. More than two people, crowded. Open showers = AWESOME. Take one of those as soon as you arrive. I swear it’s so cool. Also don’t forget to locate the coconut oil & lemongrass scrub they provide. It’s heavenly. Makes your skin feel amazing.

We came prepared, just in case the food was really bad. It wasn’t so we never got to eat the vienna sausages we snuck in.

The Drinking Water

SERVICE: Their service was IMPECCABLE. We were there only one night but everyone was greeting us by name. It was incredible. The staff was super accommodating, real friendly, really knowledgeable about our questions. I was really at ease. They made our stay so much better.

They print personalized daily newsletters and deliver them to your door.

ACTIVITIES: Sleeping, yoga, read the newspaper/magazine/book, Cooking demo, Flower arrangement, spa, walking/hiking, exercise classes, swimming, exploring. There is NO TV in the rooms and WIFI is only in the lobby common area. There is nothing to do after 10pm except sleep. Make sure your companion is someone you can enjoy silent moments or talk nonstop with. You’ll really bond. (or they’ll drive you crazy)

Here is mom and I hanging out at their lounge past 10pm. We were the only people there.

During Flower arranging classes you will learn to do these beautiful floating arrangements out of petals and leaves. Too bad we couldn’t wake up in time for the class which is early in the day.

THE PROPERTY: Sprawling, perfectly landscaped, gorgeous, serene, peaceful, calming, beautiful.

They have these footpaths where you can go jogging or walking on. In some areas it’s kinda scary. Those parts of the property are still being developed.

Waterfall Pool that they raved about. Didn’t think it was anything special.

They have this incredible Mango Tree that has to be hundreds of years old. There’s a lovely grotto sheltered by its leaves and branches.

CONCLUSION:

• Perfect for singles(solo soul searching retreats), couples (honeymooners), friends looking to catch up. Not good for budget travelers, families with young or teenage kids or a large barkada.
• Weight loss might come naturally since your food intake is less and the food itself is so nutritious and healthy. I know my digestive system was definitely thrown for a loop. In fairness, my system felt a lot cleaner.
• Depending on what kind of person you are, you might get restless after two days. 3D,2N might be too long.
• Prepare to be alone with your thoughts. It’s so quiet. I loved that I could actually hear myself think.
• Bask in the fresh air, the lush greenery and beautiful property. Watch out for peacocks. If you hear a strange eerie wailing, that’s the peacocks.
• Bring OFF! Mosquito repellant.
• If you’re really curious, then go. It’s definitely a unique and memorable experience. Mom and I had a great time! We marveled at the landscape, enjoyed the fresh air, laughed and frowned at the food, explored the property, took long showers, chatted with the staff, etc. We knew what we were getting into before we got there so nothing surprised us. We just took it for what it was and enjoyed each other’s company. 🙂

THE FARM at SAN BENITO
http://www.thefarm.com.ph/ – their website will tell you all you need to know.