Batad Transient House

Batad Transient House was clean, comfortable, and just as described. Irene was a wonderful host who made me feel welcome. You can tell this is a real local family business, with care put into everything. Her sister Jasmine was also a great guide, sharing interesting insights and showing us local life. Highly recommend it for a warm, authentic stay in Batad.

The peaceful village life and stunning views made this one of the most special places I’ve visited. It was fascinating to see how people live somewhere so remote. The family was helpful and hospitable, with kids and animals all around. You can also get a guide to explore the mountains. The rooms were impeccable, and the local food was really good, with plenty of choices. It can be hard to bring in things the village can’t produce, since people carry everything on their backs. Sometimes there’s no electricity. I don’t understand how anyone can complain about that. Thanks for the experience :)

Update: We resolved the issue. The money we paid by credit card was refunded, and at checkout we paid 500 php per person per night. That was still a lot more than the advertised rate, but I’m glad we found a resolution. My initial advice is not to book online and to pay Irene directly. I love this simple, unique place, and Irene was an amazing host. She made sure we had plenty to eat and knew where to go and what was happening. Food and Wi-Fi cost extra, which was fine with us. The problem was with Irene’s sister, who handles online listings through expedia, hotels.com, agoda, and other sites. We booked a hut advertised at 40/night and paid $176 for four nights plus taxes. There were no clear directions, and Google Maps couldn’t find the route until we moved the pin to the nearest road. The booking also didn’t mention the hike. Irene’s sister gave no assistance and didn’t answer our texts or calls. Because of this, we reached the place around 7pm. Clear directions would have made things much easier. By then it was dark, and Irene offered us a basic single or double room with electricity and a bathroom right beside it. The nipa hut we’d booked was a five-minute hike away and had no electricity, so we accepted the room change. We had not asked to switch. I knew the basic single room was $15/night, or $69 total after tax for four nights, over $100 less than we’d paid. Irene initially said the price was the same, but I disagreed. I later learned her sister handled the online bookings and that Irene hadn’t known she was charging more for the nipa huts. I contacted hotels.com about the issue, but Irene’s sister wouldn’t cooperate or answer their messages and emails, and didn’t want to return the money. I attached a screenshot of hotels.com’s reply. I felt bad for Irene, who works hard to keep the place running, because I thought her sister was undermining that. I planned to keep reporting her sister and dispute the charges with my credit card company. Based on my experience, booking directly with Irene would be better for her, since she’s the one working day and night.

We came for lunch hoping to find vegetarian dishes and fruit, since those were listed as available. When we got there, though, we were told the only option was adobo. We tried it, but it wasn’t really to our taste. The view was absolutely beautiful!