Nature Retreat: Mountain Lake Resort in Cavinti Laguna

Early this month, I was invited to stay for 2 nights at Mountain Lake Resort in Cavinti, Laguna. Mountain Lake Resort is one of the best resorts in Cavinti, popular for its outdoor and team-building activities. You can tell everything you need to know with its tagline: “Nature meets adventure.” It is located within The Hamptons in Caliraya Lake, with wide outdoors and a view of Mount Banahaw.

My stay was in line with the Takbo Cavinturismo 2023 fun run, which I covered along with other bloggers and influencers.

Here’s my review of Mountain Lake Resort in Cavinti, Laguna!

Our Accommodation

For the first night of our stay, we stayed at one of the glamping tents in the marina. Then we transferred to a cabin in the team-building area.

The glamping tents were pitched just beside the dock, facing the lake. They were large and spacious, with separate sections for three beds. There were also free towels and toiletries.

I particularly liked its easy access to the watersports activities in the lake and the lake view of course. But I’m going to be honest with you — as much as I liked staying here, I think it is more appropriate to call it camping instead of glamping. I have limited experience when it comes to glamping, but I expected that there would at least be a fan — if not an aircon.

It was hot inside the date particularly during the day. We were lucky because it rained that night, so at least there was a brief respite from the heat.

Other than that, it was a fantastic camping experience. It was easy for us to jump into the kayak and explore the lake, and it’s also walking distance to the pavilion and pool area, where the meals are typicall served.

The next night, we transferred to one of the cabins. I actually prefer this one because our room is larger and better ventilated. There is also a common bathroom area with multiple shower and toilet stalls, so there was no need to get in line with other guests at the resort. I noted that the bathroom stalls was regularly kept clean too.

In general, the accommodations at Mountain Lake Resort are what you would expect for a camping site. The tents are suitable for those who like sleeping outdoors, while the cabins are better suited for those who like modern comforts like electric fans.

Activities

The top reason you should book at Mountain Lake Resort is the outdoor activities they offer. They offer various watersports, obstacle course for team-building, an 80-meter zipline, and a swimming pool if you just want to relax and chill.

We had our first activity at the Clubhouse: golf cart riding! It was so much fun. A resort staff drove us around the golf course (which is called the Caliraya Springs 18 Hole Arnold Palmer Championship Golf Course), showed us picturesque spots with lake view, and drove us up and down the slopes.

Of course, we had to try the water activities in the marina. I really enjoyed the lake cruise, that I went on it twice. The cruise will tour you around the Caliraya Lake. Our second ride was much longer than the first since my companions wanted to see other establishments in the lake area, including the beautiful Caliraya Lake Front Resort we’d stayed at before.

I also tried kayaking for a bit. I wanted to try the swan boat as well but there wasn’t enough time that day. My companions did and it seemed they had a great time.

Interestingly, it is not allowed to swim in the lake unlike in the nearby Lumot Lake, even though both are man-made. The staff said it’s because of the soft and silty soil underneath, which can be dangerous even for experienced swimmers.

The next activity we tried is the zipline, which is located in the obstacle course area beside the pavilion. It is fun but short and lasts just a few seconds. There were jokes about how you couldn’t complete a scream with how short it was, but personally I find it okay. Once you try the zipline, you need to get back via a hanging bridge, which was also fun.

I believe there are more activities at the resort, but we stayed during a holiday long weekend so there were booked guests especially at the obstacle course. Also we were already tried from the fun run event we’d joined on our second day.

Aside from these, we also did fishing and dragon fruit farm tour. The staff taught us how to throw the line of the fishing gear and one of my companions immediately caught a large fish. Then we headed to the dragon fruit farm to see if we could pick ripe fruits, but sadly there were none.

The kitchen still had frozen fruits from the previous harvest, so we requested to have dragon fruit juice for dinner, along with the freshly grilled fishes we’ve caught.

Overall, the activities at Mountain Lake Resort were really fun. These are already included in the rate you’re paying for if you book an overnight accommodation (except for the fishing and dragon fruit farm tour). Otherwise, you can buy a day tour access for a reasonable fee.

The Food

Food at the resort is served at the La Cucina de Caliraya Springs at the Clubhouse, which you can visit by a free shuttle ride from the resort proper. The open-air restaurant has a nice view of the open golf course. Alternatively, you can also ask the staff to serve your food at the pavilion, but this takes longer since they have to shuttle the food and drinks.

The food at Mountain Lake Resort is surprisingly good and the portions are big. I think they can do with more vegetable side dishes and drink options (there was coffee but no hot chocolate, which is usually a staple in most resorts), but overall it was fantastic.

Final Thoughts

I had a really enjoyable stay at Mountain Lake Resort. It’s a great option especially for large team-building events and even day trips for those who want a nature/adventure experience.

Their outdoor facilities are great, and the service is excellent — it was easy to ask assistance from the staff and do requests (like having our breakfast served at the poolside cottage). There were minor issues that I think can easily be improved in the future, like improved amenities for the glamping tents.

Oh and here’s a photo from the Cavinti fun that we attended:

Book your stay at Mountain Lake Resort

Mountain Lake Resort is located at The Hamptons in Cavinti, Laguna. It is about 3 hours away from Manila.

How to get here

Here are the commute directions on how to get to Mountain Lake Resort:

• From Manila, ride a bus bound for Sta. Cruz, Laguna. Get off at the terminal in Pagsawitan.
• Then, ride a jeepney with a “Lumot” signboard and get off at Lake Caliraya.

Due to the distance from Manila, I recommend going here by a private car. Commuting usually takes longer especially because the jeepneys wait for full passengers before leaving.

Accommodations

Accommodations are provided either at The Residence Hotel in the Clubhouse or the Marina, which is where the activities are.

The Residence Hotel rooms include:

• Standard Room
• Superior Room
• Deluxe Room
• Family Room

The Marina rooms include:

• Glamping tents
• Lake cabins
• Boat houses
• Lake Pod Villa (with private pool)

You can contact Mountain Lake Resort via Facebook.

Disclaimer: Our stay was provided for free. As always, thoughts and opinions are my own.

That concludes my review for Mountain Lake Resort in Cavinti, Laguna! If you have questions or comments, let us know in the comment section below.

What to read next:

Heading to Cavinti, Laguna? Check out these related posts!

• Cavinti Tourist Spots and Things to Do
• Cavinti Falls (aka Pagsanjan Falls)
• Shooting the Rapids to Pagsanjan Falls
• Balon-Balon Falls: Tri-Falls of Barangay Tibatib
• Cavinti Cave

Where to stay:

• Caliraya Lake Front Resort
• Sofia’s Lake Resort
• Julian’s Island Lodge
• The Cliff at Naculo Falls
• Mountain Lake Resort
• Best Cavinti Resorts, Glamping Sites, and Camp Sites