The Farm at San Benito
THE PHILIPPINES
THE PERSONALITIES
Wellness seekers. Nature healers. Intentional travelers.
MOMENTS
Morning mist lifting from the gardens. Barefoot walks through dew-soaked grass. Silence between bamboo and birdsong. Warm herbal compresses on tired skin. Peacocks as your neighbours. Sitting under the old, colossal mango trees. Evenings lit by fireflies and candlelight. Coconut shell as your Do Not Disturb Sign. Feeling alive and recharged.
BEST VISITING MONTHS
The Farm at San Benito sits in the tropical lowlands of Batangas, where warmth and greenery define the year. The most comfortable months are from November to April, when days are dry, bright, and slightly cooler, ideal for outdoor movement, detox programs, and time in nature. May to October brings lush growth and afternoon rains, deepening the landscape’s vitality and offering a quieter, more introspective atmosphere well suited to longer wellness stays and restorative retreat.
COST
WHY STAY
Set at the foothills of Mount Malarayat, just south of Manila, The Farm at San Benito is a premier holistic wellness destination that unfolds across coconut groves, medicinal gardens, and dense tropical foliage. Despite its proximity to the city, the estate feels cocooned by nature, with birds, insects, and layered greenery creating a constant sense of immersion. The land itself is part of the therapy, humid air, living soil, and abundant plant life shaping a slower, more attentive rhythm of being.
Accommodations range from elegant spa villas and garden suites to private pool villas designed for extended stays and deep retreat. Architecture is low and organic, using natural materials, open-air corridors, and generous shade to encourage airflow and calm. Interiors are understated and serene, allowing the surrounding landscape to remain the visual and sensory focus, while privacy and quiet support both solitude and healing.
Wellness is the core language here. Programs blend Eastern and Western practices, medical diagnostics, holistic therapies, and mindful movement, supported by a team of integrative doctors and healers. Treatments draw on plant-based medicine, energy work, hydrotherapy, and therapeutic touch, offering not indulgence but restoration. Founded by Dr. Vicki Belo, the vision was to create a place where preventive care, nature, and consciousness meet, redefining luxury as long-term wellbeing.
WHY WANDER
Within the estate, days can unfold without agenda. Guests move between yoga pavilions, meditation spaces, thermal pools, and shaded garden paths, with time carved out for breathwork, reflection, and rest. The surrounding landscape invites slow walking, forest-like bathing, and moments of stillness that allow the nervous system to recalibrate naturally.
Beyond the property, Batangas offers gentle exploration rather than spectacle. Nearby coffee farms, rural villages, and quiet countryside roads reveal a slower, agricultural Philippines, shaped by volcanic soil and seasonal rhythms. Short excursions can be arranged to Lake Taal viewpoints, where water, crater, and sky create a powerful sense of scale and geological presence.
For those seeking cultural connection, the region’s churches, markets, and local communities offer insight into daily Filipino life. Encounters are unhurried and grounded, complementing the retreat’s philosophy of simplicity, humility, and presence.
INDULGE IN
Cuisine at The Farm at San Benito is plant-based, seasonal, and deeply nourishing. Ingredients are harvested from the estate’s own gardens and nearby farms, prepared to support detox, healing, and sustained energy. Meals are intentional rather than restrictive, vibrant in colour, texture, and flavour, reflecting the belief that food is both medicine and pleasure.
GETTING THERE
The Farm at San Benito is approximately 90 minutes south of Manila. Guests typically fly into Ninoy Aquino International Airport, then transfer by private car through Batangas’ rural landscapes to the estate’s gated entrance.
Wild Initiatives
Sustainability at The Farm is woven into daily operations. Organic farming, waste reduction, water conservation, and plant-based living form the backbone of the estate’s environmental approach. Medicinal gardens preserve traditional knowledge while supporting biodiversity, and wellness education encourages guests to carry regenerative practices beyond their stay.
Through its holistic model, The Farm at San Benito demonstrates how personal healing and ecological responsibility are deeply interconnected, each reinforcing the other in quiet, lasting ways.
*Images property of The Farm at San Benito