About

About Haven in Lipa

Haven in Lipa is a small, family-run short-term rental operation in Lipa City, Batangas — owned by Melody, a Batangas-raised nurse based in Chicago, and managed on the ground by her property manager Wilma. Two private homes in quiet, gated villages, and a host who answers her own messages.

Meet your host

Hi, I’m Melody. I’m a nurse — currently a Memory Care Director — and I split my life between Chicago, Illinois, where I work and raise my two daughters, and Lumang Lipa, Mataas na Kahoy in Batangas, where I grew up, went to school, and forged the friendships that still shape me. Haven in Lipa is how I keep that second home alive.

On the Airbnb side, I’m a three-year Superhost. On the personal side, I’ll admit I spend too much time worrying about my guests. I think both of those facts are connected. The hospitality eye comes from the nursing job; you stop being able to ignore details once you’ve been responsible for the kind of details that matter on a hospital floor.

Languages I work in: English and Tagalog. Either is fine for booking, check-in, and any midnight messages.

Wilma keeps things running on the ground

I host the message side from Chicago — bookings, questions, recommendations, the personal touch. Wilma, our property manager in Lipa, handles the day-to-day at the units: turnover cleaning, key handoffs, supply restocks, and being two minutes away if anything comes up during your stay. Between the two of us, the goal is that nothing about being far from a corporate front desk ever feels like a downgrade.

Why Lipa, why these two homes

Lipa is one hour from Manila via SLEX/STAR Tollway, sits at about 300 meters of elevation, and runs cooler than the city. It’s a short drive to Tagaytay, Mt. Maculot, and Taal Heritage Town. For me it’s also home — the kind of place I want my own family to stay in when we’re back, which is exactly the standard I hold the units to. “New, modern, and always improving” is how I’d describe them, and the “always improving” part is on purpose: when guests tell us something would help, we add it.

Our two properties

  • Spacious 2BR Getaway — sleeps 9, full kitchen, Netflix, fast WiFi, parking inside the village. Built for families and barkadas.
  • Cozy 1BR Haven — sleeps 5, full kitchen, 400 Mbps fiber WiFi, Netflix Premium, solar power backup. Built for couples and remote workers.
  • Both take GCash, BPI InstaPay (no fees), and credit card via Stripe (6% processing fee). Booking direct here saves you the 14–20% Airbnb service fee.

Where to read more

How to reach us

I’m on Chicago time, so most messages get a reply within an hour during my day. Wilma is on the ground in Lipa for anything urgent at the units.