L'Astrolabe - Ocean View Tiny House

PROS: Very accommodating staff, quick communication & helpful. Easy to locate & there's parking by the road if you have a car. Majestic view & the atmosphere is relaxing day or night. Beach is walkable & semi-private. We even saw fireflies while out in the beach at night. Strong AC & WiFi. Affordable laundry services are available upon request.

CONS: A good hike up and down to the accommodation, can be exhausting if carrying a lot of heavy stuff. The ladder up the beds is not recommended for old people, kids & those who have trouble climbing up. Ants, ants everywhere, sucks unless you enjoy their company. Bed are too hard & flat for my soft American body.

It's a beautiful location. Having your own house is a huge bonus.

The downstairs area had not window coverings and the house has a lot of windows. Everyone coming onto the property had to walk past the house. We had workers walking past every morning and other guests walking past at varying times. Anyone could see inside the house and after a couple of days we ended up putting up towels or clothes over the windows so we could have privacy. Why there is no window coverings considering the passing foot traffic is confusing. We have a photo of a workers feet sitting on the railing outside our window! No hot water. For the price I expected hot water to be included. No refrigeration. We stayed for a week and having no way to keep anything cold was frustrating. It's over an hours drive to San Andreas to a supermarket and it's HOT in the house when the power is out. Ants. So many ants. I live in the Philippines so I understand there's a lot of insects but the ants were very friendly. We kept the rubbish bins outside otherwise they'd be overrun by the next morning. Something the owners have no control over is the power outages on the island. We had brown outs almost every day for long periods from 4 to 8 hours at varying times. That means no air conditioning and no internet There is also no phone reception at the house. We often spent long periods away from the house because there was no power or one night we spent in the car because it was way too hot in the house to be able to sleep with no A/C. The house really needs solar power and a battery backup at least to be able to run the internet and small fans.

The place was perfect for a getaway with friends, spacious, comfy, and full of little surprises. The loft opened up the whole room so the space below was just for feasting and lounging, which we definitely took advantage of. The staff were amazing: they helped with our luggage, aided to find services like manicure, and even lent us extra utensils when we needed more. The location was the real star, though. Perched on a hillside with a full view of the sea, it made every morning feel like a movie scene. With no one else around, it honestly felt like we owned the entire place, beach and all.

The only areas that could use a little improvement were the AC, the fridge, and the hot water. The AC struggled to keep up with the daytime heat, but then felt a bit too cold in the early mornings—something we kind of expected given the weather, but still worth fine-tuning. The fridge was also smaller than we hoped and couldn’t really hold all our food, so we ended up relying on our ice box more than planned. We also noticed a lack of hot water, which would have made showers much more comfortable. That said, these issues don’t take much away from how good the house itself is. It’s a wonderful place to stay as it is, and addressing these small things would easily elevate the experience from great to truly outstanding.

An amazing place to stay if you like nature, sea and mountain views, a tastefully decorated and comfortable tiny house that is not really tiny, an overwhelming starry sky, a bit of loneliness, and a nice short walk to a beautiful beach. In case do not like that you have to go somewhere else. One of the nicest places and most surprising places I have ever stayed. Will for sure come back. A short ride away away from Baras.

cliff view of the beach; tiny house with aircon and fast wifi; seamless check-in and check-out; the beach with rock formations; the small rice paddies with carabao and birds; pond with fish; security and safety guaranteed; food can be ordered in advance; friendly staff ;)

can't bring our furbabies :( but understandable.

Het prachtige uitzicht en de aardige mensen die je heel erg helpen bij alles wat je wil

Jammer dat er geen supermarkt in de buurt zit maar als je van te voren boodschappen doet is er geen probleem. je kan wel lekker uit eten bij Puraran beach.

Me and a friend stayed in the little house, which was really beautiful and set in a valley with access to a private beach. The hosts (and team maintaining the property) were super responsive, helping us to rent a moped for our visit and also arranging us a trike to the airport. All in all such a great stay – the place was extremely peaceful but still close enough to Puraran beach and the restaurants there (although I'd say it's definitely worth renting a moped to get around as the walk to Puraran is around 30 mins)! There was also great wifi!

Nothing – the stay was perfect! The only thing is that the drive/path is steep so may be hard to access if you have trouble walking.

The place is quiet and very relaxing. It is located up the hill so you get a very beautiful view of the surrounding nature. the place is well maintained as well and the surrounding garden is superb.

Would be great to get a daily supply of drinking water but apart from it everything else is excellent.

Place is peaceful and clean that we were able to enjoy our rest. Owner and caretakers are very accommodating. They made sure that all our needs are catered, they even contact us before days before our travel to ensure that we’re okay on the set up. There’s also free toiletries and kitchen has complete utensils.

Secret beach is 15-20 min walk down the hill but the owner informed us about it and it’s not a bug issue as we are all fit to endure it. I just wish they will have a tiny house near the beach as well. Although, there’s 2 modern nipa already but cannot accommodate 4 pax. This is just merely a suggestion.

It has a good view and no neighbours closeby.

Zero service. We ended up staying for 10 days, during the time sheets were not changed, we had to ask for towel change (once during our stay). The host was difficult to get a hold of and it seemed like the littlest thing was an imposition. We were told that they had caretakers living nearby but they were busy building a new house and didn't have the time for anything else. Location is great if you have transportation of your own, otherwise it is a terrible location. You are 20 minutes tricicycle ride from town and it is impossible to get one arranged. The house doesn't have aircon which is not the best in the afternoon, especially when there is the daily brownout and the fan shuts down. Although there isn't many neighbours nearby there were a lot of people constantly walking in front of or around the house. I was never sure of what they were doing as there were many different people coming and going.

Generous owner and accommodating staff

As a Catanduanes girl who didn't grow up on the island, I've always known that my people hold the award for the most hospitable, kind, and generous type. I only heard it in some travel documentaries until I experienced it myself. It's given when your relative extends hospitality but the feeling is divine to receive it from a total stranger. I felt like the whole island was after our safety (knowing we were all girls on this travel), got our back wherever we wanted to go, and even offered a free Binurong Point Tour because they thought we did not enjoy much of our time because it was raining most of the time. I like the house, the people, even the rain, and the food - oh so fresh.

Is there anything I didn't like? Maybe the fact that I cannot bring mami and dadi here because of the little hike needed to get up and down the actual accommodation. But I like that part, too, it gave me an everyday leg day routine haha who needs the gym at this point??