Off the Map and Into Paradise: Exploring La Velleza’s Secret Haven

Two weeks more to go, and the classes for the school year 2025-2026 will start. Every day counts, and every day must be spent on something we and the kids would certainly love and treasure.

Hello @worldmappin, hello Hivers.

Here's another hidden gem in our place that I want to share with you, my friends and with the world. A place best for ordinary days and special occasions, and a place where you can spend a night with so much fun and food.

From the center of the municipality of Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur, a one-kilometer distance away from the public plaza, there's this hidden resort named La Velleza. La Velleza (Belleza) is a Spanish phrase which means "the beauty". We heard it from a friend, so we intentionally went there to see the place for ourselves.

Upon arrival, we saw these A-Houses and some bungalow-type houses, and we parked our car on the side of one of those pretty houses. Then there was a sign that said, "This way to the entrance." So we followed that brick trail, where on its side were small LED lamps that looked like orbs. The trail led us to a small, pretty hut and a gate with the sign "entrance" and the rates of the entrance fee.

We immediately paid the entrance fee and paid for a cottage where we could place our things. Surprisingly, the rates are very affordable.

A huge ground beautifully landscaped with Bermuda grasses and some sort of rare plants met our eyes, and the cottages were cute. The place was full of lights. It was 5 in the afternoon when we reached the place, and it was a bit gloomy, so the lights made the place more radiant and beautiful.

On one side was an overlooking view of Panguil Bay, but I wasn't able to capture the view when my kids were too excited to dive into the pool and started their five-hour swim. All I did was take pictures of anything that my eyes could see while watching the kids in the pool.

The place was huge enough to accommodate hundreds of people, yet at that time, there were only a few people in the place since it was gloomy and on weekdays. The kids became more excited when the pool lights started to glow and changed color every other second. And became more ecstatic when the rain started to fall.

An hour later, we felt hungry, so I hurriedly went to their kitchen and ordered some food. I was amazed by their fine dining place and their kitchen, where customers can order a variety of delicious food from their food menus. It was so cozy with an aesthetic and minimalist design. But I chose to let them serve our food in our cottage, the kids would only make their chairs and table wet, they are still enjoying their swimming kinds of stuff.

Thirty minutes later, they served our carbonara, prawn sinigang, pork sisig, garlic chicken, a platter of rice, and a pitcher of four seasons. To be honest, their garlic chicken is the best so far, and the rest of the food where delicious.

After we ate, I was able to stroll on the other side of the place, and I saw another set of pools for adults. A big hall where wedding receptions, birthdays, and debuts are held. The hall is spacious and cozy, and for sure it would be more beautiful with decorations if there were events in that hall.

I felt a bit disappointed of not take a photo of the overlooking view of Panguil Bay from that point of view when we arrived earlier, it was already dark then, and all I could see were small sparks of lights from afar, and I was pretty sure those were lights from the Panguil Bay bridge.

We inquired about the overnight stays in their A-Houses, and that was kinda affordable too. The cute A-House that is good for two people is 1,800php or around 35USD for a 24-hour stay, and the one good for 10 is 6,000php or around 110USD for a 24-hour stay. We will be having our overnight stay there pretty soon.

I could not put everything in words. Just look for the photos inserted here, or the best thing to do is visit, come and see for yourself the hidden beauty of La Velleza.

We left the place at 10 at night, hearts filled with happiness and gratefulness. Grateful for God providing us the means to explore these beautiful things around us.

Have a great day, Hivers, and God Bless Us All.

Note: All photo collages in this article are made with Canva.

With love,
@jeanieviv84