Shocked was the initial reaction because of its price. On their website, a room in this hotel is about 7 - 8 thousand pesos, very expensive for us. What made us decide to go for it was its location and also because we were given a good discount as well.
We arrived around lunch time. After eating at LZM Restaurant, we immediately checked-in so we could rest.
The place was really magnificent! Seeing the beauty of the place was enough to make us feel we made the right choice in staying here.
The room had two single beds, but the room also had a big couch, where my sister decided to sleep on. Things to know - the room had Cable TV, hot and cold shower (with the usual items - soap, shampoo, lotion, dental kit, etc), fridge, hair dryer, as well as flat iron (and ironing board). There were also a good amount of electric sockets for you to charge your gadgets.
But, the best thing about the room was this awesome view of Taal Lake.
That afternoon, we roamed to different nearby places, and because we ate early dinner and we got back at the hotel quite early at night, too, we decided to go to the garden / view deck to enjoy the chilly Tagaytay weather.
The next morning, nature had a wonderful "Good Morning" message for us.
Part of the accommodation was free buffet breakfast for two. Since we are three in the group, sister and I used the free breakfast ticket, while mom decided to pay for her own meal because she could use her Senior Citizen ID to avail the discount.
I wasn't able to take a lot of pictures because I don't know... the break I took from blogging somehow lost my "photography instincts." Anyway, some pictures I took:
The buffet had different stations -
- Pancake / Waffle - which also had a good selection of maple syrup, fruit jams, and other toppings.
- Salad - with different kinds of dressing; this is also where one could get different fruits for dessert.
- Egg - they do have ready made scrambled eggs, but should you want to have an omelet with your choice of ingredients, you could ask the cook to prepare it for you.
- Cereal - of different kinds and different other toppings.
- Meat - selection that day included Beef Tapa, Pork Sausage, Bacon, Chicken Tocino.
- Congee
- Bread - of different kinds (croissant, white sliced bread, whole wheat sliced bread) with packed butter, cheese slices, cream cheese balls, and packed jams. This is where you can get pastries (ensaymada, muffins, etc).
- Drinks - different kinds of fruit juices and water (regular and infused)
Upon choosing our table, we were immediately asked our choice of drink. I went for coffee, while my sister and mom went for hot chocolate.
My choice of breakfast was all-protein. I personally loved their Pork Sausage and I was glad they offered two kinds of bacon (soft and crispy). Of course, I went for the soft bacon. Unfortunately, I didn't eat all of the Beef Tapa because I just ate beef yesterday. My mom ate the rest of my Tapa. The egg... I am glad the cook took my instruction for cooking the yolk well. Aside from this plate of food, I also ate two kinds of pastries and a small plate of fruits.
Their breakfast buffet was (I think) at 800+ pesos, so it was a good decision that mom paid for one meal using her SC card. Though expensive, we figured the whole stay at Taal Vista Hotel was fairly priced. A little computation - 5,500 for the stay (with discount), 800 x 2 for the breakfast... that would be 5,500 - 1,600 = 3,900 for the actual stay in the hotel.
We were very happy with our stay at Taal Vista Hotel. Too bad we didn't bring any swimsuit, but we did decide that the next time we travel to Tagaytay, we will stay here again.
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my