Shanti Wellness Sanctuary in Lemery, Batangas was our Valentine’s getaway destination this year after my husband and I decided to go on a much-needed wellness trip. It’s been quite stressful since 2023 rolled around, plus we also wanted to try glamping here in the Philippines. Shanti fits the bill.
When we arrived at Shanti, there was a buggy waiting in the parking lot to transport us from the reception area to our campsite.
During the very brief ride, the scent of guavas wafted in the air. I’m hardly a guava fan, but the sweet and fruity scent felt right and relaxed me immediately.
Why Shanti?
Instagram served up an ad for Shanti, so I clicked on it, liked what I saw, and sent the link to my husband. The glamping dome tents caught my eye, which caught my husband’s attention too. It was time to go on a wellness vacation where we can set our own timetable.
How we got there
It was an almost three-hour drive without stops from Quezon City to Shanti Wellness Sanctuary. We drove on SLEX and STAR Tollway, then used the Tanauan exit.
Space Age Dome Tent
Our Prana campsite came with a white dome tent. In front of the tent, there is a 3.2 ft./1 m. pool. There is no lifeguard, so kids under 12 require adult supervision.
Inside the tent, there were two queen beds, a nightstand, a smart TV, and a small wooden table for two.
The tent is connected to a semi-open-air bathroom in the back with both a tub and a shower.
There is also a kitchenette in the back area of the campsite with a refrigerator, microwave, gas stovetop, water dispenser, rice cooker, and bread toaster, plus the usual plates, bowls, utensils, glasses, and mugs – a reminder that that’s all you need in a kitchen.
There is a garden fountain, a hammock, an outdoor grill, faux rattan seating for two, and a stone round table with six stools.
What we ate
Shanti doesn’t have an on-site restaurant, so you need to pre-order and pre-pay for food. The dishes are home-cooked, nothing fancy or extraordinary. It’s like something we can whip up at home, but it’s definitely good food that filled us up nicely during our stay.
During our first evening there, hubby booked their Bohemian Dinner, an alfresco dining setup outside our dome tent, but it rained before dinner so it was moved indoors. No complaints though. 
Anyway, here are the dishes we ate during our stay.
* Beef Sinigang
* Pancit Canton-Bihon
* Longsilog
* Omelet
* Chicken Soup
* Ensaladang Mangga
* Inihaw na Tilapia
* Mango Crepe
* Chicken Inasal
* Garlic Kangkong
* Pancakes
You can also prepare and cook your own food in the kitchenette, of course.
What we did
My husband booked four activities in advance – the Forest Bath, the Kawa Bath, the Sound Bath, and a massage session, plus the Bohemian Dinner.
The Forest Bath took 30 minutes on the day we arrived at Shanti. Our guide Pierre led us on the forest trail where we sat still and listened to Mother Nature.
We even had tea to drink at the end of the trail.
We offered a cup of tea to and thanked Mother Nature for her blessings.
Afterward, we went to the Wellness Village to see what was there. We saw this sign on the tree, so I gave the tree a hug.
Later on, we saw this double rainbow. Too bad my picture doesn’t give justice to how lovely it was.
The next day was a cold and windy morning, so our 45-minute Kawa Bath at sunrise was moved to slightly later in the morning during the sunny and windy part of the day. For the curious, a kawa is like a super-sized wok or a huge cauldron big enough to fit a person.
Yes, that’s hubby and me.
We did the Sound Bath in the afternoon led again by our Forest Bath guide Pierre. Hubby and I laid down on yoga mats.
We listened to cymbals, hand gongs, metal and quartz singing bowls, a steel tongue drum, tingsha bells, a tuning fork, wind chimes, and the like for 30 minutes.
Before dinner, we headed to the Spa Village for the couple’s massage.
We brought our furbabies with us and they stayed inside their stroller. During our massage session, the wind kept howling and blowing the curtains helter-skelter, which made the massage experience pretty unusual.
In between and after the day’s activities, we did balance and stone walks.
Balance walking was easy, but the Reflexology Path felt like hell on my feet (that’s probably just me).
Rock balancing was a bit challenging, but we managed to balance the rocks, so yay!
We spent a good chunk of time sitting outside, breathing the fresh air, listening to the wind in the trees, the leaves rustling, the birds tweeting, and the crickets chirping. The wind was, at times, whispering, sighing, murmuring, howling, and roaring. We watched as the clouds moved alternately slowly and then quickly, as the leaves fell on the ground, and as the sun moved across the sky.
At night, we sat outside despite the 68°F temperature we weren’t ready for. It was strange that we (who are used to winter temperatures in Northeast USA) were caught unprepared with our flimsy hoodies and unaware that it was possible to feel cold in this tropical country. 68°F isn’t even an autumn temperature level, yet we both felt chilly. How surprising!
Verdict:
We will go back to Shanti Wellness Sanctuary for sure.
FYI: it wasn’t a wellness retreat we went to, but a wellness resort.
While it was very windy during our 3-day/2-night stay last month, we still very much enjoyed our stay – it was a lovely respite. My husband and I (even our furbabies) seemed to have the same idea – it was a good place for relaxation and silence. Shanti reminded me that even in silence, it’s not really silent because it’s only in silence that you can actually hear. We’ve been feeling like there’s so much chaos, chatter, and noise from city life, so it was a great place to hear our thoughts away from all of that.
Admittedly, I uploaded our photos on social media once a day, but it was only to lessen what I’d upload when we went back to our city lives.
Anyway, it seemed like we had the place to ourselves because the tents were properly distanced from each other. There were two other occupied tents, but we didn’t even run into the occupants. I also liked that they had solar lights at different locations. We saw various trees like bignay, rambutan, ayangaw/akleng-parang, fire tree, traveller’s palm, papaya, banana, mahogany, and bael.
Is Shanti Wellness Sanctuary a peaceful place? Well, only if that’s what you seek. Then again, you pretty much bring there what you already have. If you’re in a state of discontent, then maybe you’ll find some peace and quiet, maybe not. It’s really up to you. You get from it what you can.
Address:
Shanti Wellness Sanctuary
Brgy. Talaga, Lemery, Batangas
(10 mins away from Tagaytay – Nasugbu Hwy)
4209 Lemery, Philippines