Taal Vista Hotel

I’ve been reading lots of good feedback about Taal Vista Hotel, so to celebrate AJ’s birthday last week, I booked us a weekend stay here.

Thankfully, traffic was not so bad that Saturday morning.  We left Makati at 11 (without any breakfast!) and was at the hotel at exactly 1:30 p.m.  We were supposed to have lunch first at Josephine’s before checking in at Taal Vista but their waiting line was insane!  Eh mainit na rin sa labas so instead of looking at other places to eat, we checked in at the hotel na and had our lunch instead at Cafe Veranda – Taal Vista Hotel’s main restaurant.

Their weekend buffet lunch (priced at P1,212 per head) was a mix of Filipino and International cuisine. I especially enjoyed the fresh lumpia, chicken inasal, the tenderest roast beef pochero and paella rice!  I forgot to take pictures, though.  Famished na kse kaya deretso kain na hehe!

When we checked into our room, AJ was surprised to find this, hihi!

I availed of their Superior Room Package (Mountain View), priced at P8,500.00 and already includes buffet breakfast for 2.

The Superior Room (King).

The hallway.  Big windows, lots of natural light.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and strolling around the Ridge, which is popular for its “most perfect” view of Taal Volcano.

If you want a better view of the Taal Lake, the Lake View building of the hotel can afford you that.  The rooms there are pricier, though.

By late afternoon, the Ridge was teeming with guests and visitors of the hotel enjoying the cold wind chills that begin to set in.

Another equally attractive spot is the Magnolia Pavillion, also overlooking the Taal Lake and designed in Tudor-style architecture.  Much of the hotel (then called Taal Vista Lodge) was reconstructed in 2002, after it was acquired by SM Investments Corporation.  However, its original style was retained, thus preserving Taal Lodge Hotel’s glorious and historical past.

The gable with framed woods design is the architectural element that defines Taal Vista Lodge, now Taal Vista Hotel.

Notice the white projector screen outside the pavilion?  Every weekend starting this month until May 31, outdoor movies will be shown in tandem with the barbecue dinner buffet set being offered by Taal Vista Hotel.  They showed “Maleficent” on the night we were there.

At first I thought the dome-shaped “clay pot” in the middle of the pretty bougainvillea pocket flowers was too big, until the night sets in and it lit up – revealing a big lamp with warm, soft glow.  There are several of these lined up in the Ridge.

The sight at night was magical and romantic.

Dinner was at Taza Fresh Table, a newly-opened restaurant just beside Magnolia Pavilion. It was inspired by the “farm-to-table” restaurant concept.  Locally grown and organic products were sourced for the menu, so the food tastes fresher and more delicious!

Since hindi pa k’me fully recovered from our buffet lunch (that ended at 3 p.m.) AJ and I decided on a “light” dinner and shared on the following:

Spinach with Bacon Jam, served with Flat Breads (Php 200.00).  Anybody here knows where can I buy a bacon jam (or how to make one)?  Ang sarap eh!

Four Cheese Pizza (Php 395.00).  The combination of locally-produced cheeses like Laguna kesong puti, Pato quezo de bola, Laguna mozarella and homemade ricotta in a pizza is like having an all-star cast in a movie.  It was so good, and so worth the price.  I usually sprinkle some chili flakes over a four cheese pizza, but for this one, I skipped the chili flakes because I wanted to savor each of the cheese kind in my pizza.

We chose a pasta dish to go with the pizza and decided on this Mushroom and Spinach Matagliati (Php 390.00).  The main ingredients are the wonderful trio of Tagaytay mushrooms: oyster, shiitake and button mushrooms. The fact that it was cooked in truffle oil made it a winning choice for us.  Like the other dishes we had, we found this superb.  Oh, mukhang maliit sya in picture but it’s good for sharing.

The restaurant’s Manager (a nice lady whose name I failed to write down) suggested that we try their Bignay Fizz (Php 395.00 per glass), a champagne fizz infused with dried bignay tree bark –  said to have potent health benefits.  It tastes good but too pricey for me.  You can already order an additional pasta or pizza with its price.

After-dinner tea was at the Lobby Lounge.  They serve TWG teas.

There was a high school prom going on that night so naging entertainment ko ang mag-rate ng gowns nila.

Taal Vista Hotel’s breakfast buffet, as expected, was a hit among the guests.  Cafe Veranda was still full at 9:00 a.m. but the hotel staff were ever efficient and courteous, we didn’t mind waiting (and we waited only a little) for available seats.

Weekend naman eh, so I rewarded myself with bacon hehe!

After breakfast, AJ and I checked out more of Taal Vista Hotel’s surroundings and found that there’s so much to see there pala.

There’s a swimming pool just outside the Mountain View (where we stayed).

A cake shop inside the hotel, near the main lobby.

There’s a Kultura shop too, also inside the hotel.

More souvenirs and local produce for sale at these kiosks along the Ridge (leftmost side from the Magnolia Pavillion).  Not sure though if they are a permanent feature there, or just a weekend market.

AJ and I are used to exploring different places in Tagaytay whenever we are there (check out the travel stories from our last trip), but the charm of Taal Vista Hotel won us, and we didn’t want to leave.  We knew that our travel plans that weekend have changed after stepping into the hotel’s lobby and enjoying our welcome drinks.  It was a true staycation bliss, enjoyed right in the heart of Tagaytay.

http://www.taalvistahotel.com/

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