Garden of Luisa: A Botanical Hideaway

Situated in La Castellana, Negros Occidental– Garden of Luisa was awaiting us for a weekend we would never forget. With its magical and relaxing vibes, this 3-bedroom bedroom vacation home overlooks the famous Mt. Kanlaon and is tucked away in lush rice fields and coconut trees.

After driving for an hour, we finally reach the Garden of Luisa, and were welcomed by Danika, the daughter of the owner. She is a landscape designer and also a travel junkie.

The Join the Journey Team were then welcomed with iced lemonade, picturesque views, and sprawling plant life; We couldn’t wait to explore every beautiful nook and cranny.

We were given a tour of the place and it boasted of agave gardens, plant nurseries,a swimming pool with floaties and a view, a diving board and lounge chairs. Sounds like the recipe for a perfect weekend, right?

I mean, I couldn’t figure out if I should jump in the pool first, or take pictures, or explore some more as I was just overwhelmed with sheer excitement!

I was then made aware that this place is good for up to 10 people, and can be booked for team buildings, wedding photoshoots and family reunions.

We then finally spent the afternoon taking photos since there were so many picture-perfect corners and backdrops here: it’s  an instagram haven– I’ve listed 10 enjoyable things you can do during your stay here, so keep that mouse scrolling…

1.) Get amazing profile pictures.

2.) Have a picnic, add a mojito on the side, and strike a pose for that perfect weekend vibe! 

The owners here plan to have a food menu available soon by the way, but for now you can also bring your own. The staff are the friendliest too. They will help you prepare the meals and I suggest you try their home made vinegar— perfect for your barbeques! 

3.) Take wonderful flatlays of your food and their unique interior design.

4.) Yes, it’s also drone-worthy. Who wouldn’t love this place when it looks this lush and an active volcano is showing off its beauty right beside it?

5.) Take outfit shots that give out that Joshua Tree National Park Vibe, with the amazing greens and cacti.

 6.) I think I had the most wonderful time after we ate dinner since they turned on the fairy lights, and it was there that we began to take pictures of the lighted trees and of the milky way, (yes the milky way sighting is real).

7.)  Swim and take breathtaking pictures by the pool while enjoying their floaties and refreshing drinks.

8.) If you have a vintage feed, you can take all kinds of pictures at one of our favourite spots here in the house.It’s like they already read your mind with the light pink walls and the contrasting cacti.

9.) Savor the view while relaxing, editing a picture, browsing through a blog post or while watching videos here. But then again,why go online when all this beauty is around you?

10.) Boomerang it, take a 30-seconder video, or simply snapchat this place and add it to your insta-stories. I think we were blasting out Moana’s soundtrack the whole time we were here, so here’s the result of a short clip we did for during our stay here.

(btw, yes we woke up at dusk and recorded the clip ’til dawn, which for me was such a beautiful thing to have witnessed, so click on that link!)