Great place to stay. Staff terrific and everything from start to finish. Have been here a few times.read more

Of all the days to pick, we went to Tagaytay on a weekend the TAAL volcano was emitting ash. Left…read moreManila on a Friday early morning and the drive was smooth. We were a party of four with friends vacationing from the US. We booked in advance at booking.com.... the hotel was delightful. Clean and spacious. The lobby and the rooms we chose were overlooking the volcano. Of course, when we got there, the steam/ash from the volcano was covering the view. Nevertheless, the hotel has much to offer. We checked in at 2pm. The guests were few as we were allowed to check-in early. Normally, it's a 4pm check-in with a 2pm check-out. After relaxing at our rooms for a couple of hours, we decided to do the SPA. Best decsion we did that day. By the way they have an ice cream 'caritela' at the lobby . You must try the chocnut flavored ice-cream... the avocado too! All four of us truly enjoyed The VEDERA SPA. We did the 60 minute body scrub and 60 minute massage for 2800 pesos each. That was rejuvenating and relaxing. Our skin felt smooth and soft after the scrub and the massage, solid excellence - you can tell the staff are well trained therapist. Not just fly-by-day masseuse. After the massage, we had dinner indoors due to the ash fall. There was simple entertainment with a female singer accompanied by male guitarist. Pleasant tones I say. Even sang our requested songs. Come morning, the buffet was scrumptious. Tiny fried fishes were a favorite at our table. 'Tawilis' I believe. So many food options and they had TAHO!!! My childhood breakfast food...how wonderful was that! The buffet had all-american and filipino dishes. Oh and the steam/ash died down in the morning. Giving us a great view for breakfast. The concierge, counter staff, servers as well as the spa staff were great. Real assets of this hotel. Everyone was in smiles and ready to help at all times. Our young server even took amazing pictures of us. BRAVO ESCALA, keep up the good work.

Zoetry Hot Spring Resort in my opinion is the cleanest, newest, overall best value hot spring…read moreresort in Pansol. There are many other resorts in the area, some of which we have been to in the past which have proved to be a huge disappointment. This trip I decided to go a few days ahead and take a look before booking, I've booked sight unseen in the past and that, did not work well at all. There are probably a couple resorts in the area better than Zoetry, however at a much higher rate, Zoetry was just the right size considering our party was around 20 or so people. We managed to talk to the caretaker who was very nice, who connected us with the owner so we could make a deal. Overall I would say we were very happy with the price and accommodations for our overnight stay. If you're looking for the best value for your buck and comfortable accommodations this is the place!

We love CasaBlanca, we had our family reunion there! They had great amenities, in was centrally…read morelocated and reasonably priced! The view is amazing! I definitely will come back!!

Perhaps because I'd come from a very, very nice and modern hotel across town, or perhaps because I…read morehave very high expectations, I didn't find myself impressed with Lee at all. My room, an Executive on the ground floor, was dark and heavily perfumed. Large mosquitoes lurked on the patio and the screen door was ripped. The laboriously slow wifi speed made it nearly impossible to do the work I needed to get done. Staff were friendly however, and the room was spacious. The bed was comfortable, there was enough hot water, and breakfast was fine - if not gourmet. But the room needed lamps for localized lighting to make it feel homey, and some TLC to clean the walls, remove cobwebs on the patio, fix the dangling curtain corners, replace the tattered bedding, and make the room more inviting. It had a major ant problem (I saw many in the bathroom and while I showered I put an empanada in a bag inside another bag on the bedroom counter by the coffee. By the time I came out of the shower, it has been completely invaded by ants.) The shower soap dispenser was cracked and empty, and the ceiling above the bath had ugly discolored water damaged spots. If I had paid the list price or 16,500 PHP instead of the internet hotel booking site's deeply discounted rate, I would have been livid. My advice? Stay elsewhere. If you stay here, do not pay full price.

We had our second honeymoon at the Lee Boutique Hotel in Tagaytay. It was a fairly new hotel back…read morethen and they were having a promo which we eagerly took advantage of. The Lee Boutique Hotel is a dainty Euro-Asian fusion hotel located near the Tagaytay Circle. They offer accommodation packages which are friendly to every budget. We booked the Superior Room and was expecting a queen size bed but found two single beds inside. My husband and I laughed and joked that it's the perfect setup for newlyweds like us! It was December and the hotel was fully booked so we just took the room. The room is very cozy and clean. I love the complimentary treats from the mini-bar. The bathroom is a bit small but I'm happy that it has a bathtub. It's a bit strange, though, that the walls of the room are not sound-proof. We could hear the mumblings of guests from the adjacent room. I hope that the hotel can do something about it. Our package comes with a free breakfast at their Oui Drink Tea Eat Rice Restaurant. I enjoyed my rice meal and fruit platter. I hope that we could come back soon and take our son with us. When we do, I'll take him upstairs where the viewing deck is so he could have a glimpse of the Taal Volcano.

My family and I had a lovely time here at the Villa Escudero Plantation and Museum during a recent…read morevisit. My parents used to take me here on trips to the Philippines when I was a kid. Revisiting as an adult felt familiar and although there were significant upgrades to the property since my last visit, it still gives off that warm welcome home vibe. For newbies Villa Escudero is the Disney World equivalent for immersion into the Filipino culture. We started off at the Visitor's center where we purchased our day trip tickets. I believe the tickets are about $2000.00 PHP = $35 USD. The ticket cost includes 90% of what is offered in the plantation which includes the museum, Carabao (Water Buffalo) cart rides, E-jeepneys, swimming in their pools, bamboo raft rides, buffet lunch and cultural show. Alcoholic drinks, some non-alcoholic specialty drinks and on-site accommodations are not included in the cost of the day trip tickets. These are considered separate fees. We were a party of 7 with 2 sets of elderly parents with mobility issues. Thankfully the staff at Villa Escudero were well equipped to handle transporting our parents from one part of the facility to another via E-jeepney (electric jeepney). The E-jeepney was a newly added service allowing one to travel comfortably enough to visit most of the sites without much effort. Our parents were able to visit the pink museum on the 1st floor holding mostly religious statues. The statues are realistic to the point of near creepy. The museum has no elevator access to the 2nd floor where the more interesting artifacts are. Unfortunately, the lack of an elevator limited our parents to the 1st floor. My cousin, husband and I opted to take the stairs to the 2nd floor to explore some more while leaving the parents in the waiting area on the 1st floor. The 2nd floor is an impressive collection curated by the Escudero family with period pieces from all over the globe. I won't go into too much detail for spoiler reasons but we found the 2nd floor fascinating from the first. Please keep in mind photography and video is restricted only in the museum portion. Post museum we were E-jeeped back to the visitor's center to hop on their Carabao carts taking us to their grand Main Pavilion for their lunch and cultural show. The Carabao Cart ride was one of the most enjoyable parts of our visit making it memorable for all. The short 12-minute ride transported us through the palm tree lined, lush plantation grounds. The ride included an onboard serenade with a singer and a guitarist playing folkloric tunes. The scene, with sunny picture-perfect weather to boot, was heartening and provides you with a taste of traditional Filipino culture. It definitely brought a smile to my mom and dad's face. In that fleeting moment, I felt as if they were truly happy at home. As all this is happening, seeing them light up in awe as we were passing through the grounds via Carabao cart was priceless. Once at the covered pavilion, you can pick any available table to sit in and have a set buffet lunch served to you. The buffet was ample and tasty complete with typical Filipino dishes such as Pancit, Chicken, Beef Caldereta, Fried Fish, a number of stir-fried vegetable dishes with a Banana-Q dessert finisher to round out the meal. After lunch, the cultural show starts roughly at 3pm and goes till about 5. The show was amazing and included traditional music and dance from regions all over the Philippines. At the end of the performance, my husband and I were gifted a small palm frond keepsake shaped in the likeness of a bird. It was a simple yet sweet parting gift by the performers of the show. The property also has a separate venue for private events and if you are seeking a unique wedding venue, they have a simple chapel and reception space available. Whether tourist or a local, Villa Escudero is a lovely place to visit. They offer on-site hotel accommodations if you're looking to extend your time with family and friends. The hotels are private villas overlooking the river. The average nightly stay is about 14000.00 PHP which is about $240 USD/night typically accommodating anywhere from 2-6 guests depending on room size. The accommodations are rustic and in line with the plantation theme. We enjoyed our time at Villa Escudero. We've always had fond memories visiting the plantation. If you've never been to the Philippines before, this would be the perfect place to start outside of Metro Manila. If you can reciprocate kindness and respect, the people here are super friendly and will go out of their way to make your stay at Villa Escudero a pleasant one. Foreigner friendly, most staff are English speaking and can help you navigate through the property. Enjoy your time in the Philippines and make Villa Escudero part of your visitor itinerary to immerse yourself in the warm Filipino culture. Safe travels and Mabuhay Pilipinas!

Youtube Video on my experience: https://youtu.be/ntKNPeL4ULY…read more WOW. I am truly blown away at this place. I have been wanting to come here for years and years since I had seen a photo of the waterfalls restaurant. I thought that the restaurant was a separate entity and not part of an entire plantation that was turned into a resort for Filipino culture and heritage. I am so surprised at the tiny sign to enter Villa Escudero as well, is that the original sign? I feel like it has to be. The is a long stretch of dirt road leading into Villa Escudero, but it is cool to see all the coconut trees and other fruit/vegetables growing along the road with the carabao just hanging out. After checking in, the experience just to get to the lobby for room reception (if you are staying overnight) is fun because you can ride a carabao (or electric cart if you prefer). You also get sang to on the carabao. I would have put 4 stars for our room stay because our longhouse room didn't have the mixer of cold and hot water working properly, but after my auntie's upgrade to a riverside cottage with a/c, I was amazed at how beautiful and relaxing it was. We also were surprised with a harana one night and they sang a few songs to us, it was very beautiful. Somebody please tell those guys who harana at Villa Escudero that it was such an amazing experience for me and I'm glad I was able to dance with my son while listening. It was extremely beautiful. The waterfalls restaurant at Labasin was very cool, but because I had my little one we were careful and sat on the dry side right by the waterfall. Maybe next time when he's old we can eat in the water! The food was pretty good as well, I enjoyed the okra! My favorite was the breakfast buffet that they offered and the people working there were SO helpful and kind. The museums are crazy!!! The museum holding all the religious artifacts and museum of animals is so incredibly interesting. The house museum is also very cool to walk around and look at. Each location has a docent to explain the museum if you would like a tour as well. From beginning to end, I had a wonderful time and it was a surreal experience for me. As a Filipino-American, I have felt disconnected from my heritage growing up in the U.S. so I feel like staying here was very important. Thank you Villa Escudero, I hope to come back again!

Best customer service Best food service and quality…read more Cleanliness of the facility Feel secure and safe

I'm giving Malarayat a 5 because it is definitely a good place to go to if you want to unwind and…read morebe away from the hustles of the city. Malarayat is first and foremost a golf club so if you like that, you'd find this venue perfect. It's also very quiet making it a great place to consider for a solo or family retreat. Rooms at Malarayat are spacious. It's complete with wall-mounted TV, a desk, a closet, and in the room I booked, a bath tub! Toiletries are already included in the package so you don't have to worry about that. They also have clean-smelling towels and a bathrobe. Within the venue, you'll have access to two swimming pools. You can also go fishing in the man-made lake if that's up your alley. The food they serve are rather fancy but not that great-tasting. You can always go check out restaurants outside Malarayat but you'll have to take a trike. Room rates are kinda pricey (around php3000-4500) per night but it's worth it especially if you'd like to have some alone, quiet time by yourself. I'd definitely recommend it. It's just a few hours away from Metro Manila. Best to bring a car so you can check out the area without worrying about going back to your hotel room after.

This family-owned resort is the perfect place for a weekend getaway with family and friends. It's…read morejust a short 1.5hr-2hrs drive away from Manila, making it very easy to get to. Awilihan can be rented for the entire day or for overnight stays. The place can comfortably accommodate 30 people (max). The rental fee is already inclusive of the use of the house (airconditioned rooms with beds, pillows and showers), the pool, sports facilities (badminton, basketball and billiards) and the use of their pool. You can opt to bring your own food or order food from them for a reasonable fee. The entire place overlooks the Taal Lake and there's always a nice cool breeze, making it the perfect relaxation spot. I have taken my family and friends here and all of them love the place so much. Once you enter, you immediately feel comfortable. The atmosphere is very relaxing and homey and it just makes you want to lounge around. Although there's no beach to swim in, their swimming pool is enticing enough to make you want to jump in one you see it. I love how the whole place is secluded... away from the traffic and the noise of the city. I always recommend this place to my friends and family because you really can't go wrong with Awilihan! It really is paradise!

My first time staying at Taal Vista Hotel. My dad booked us for a 3 day stay as my parents frequent…read moreTaal Vista Hotel and wanted us to experience Tagaytay the way they do. Customer service is excellent. All the staff we came across with was great. Andrei at the front desk was welcoming however there was a snafu with breakfast buffet with the lady at breakfast check in. The lady had us down for 3 adults and 1 child when Andrei charged us additional 2,000 pesos per day for our child and was counted as adult due to our child's age. Anything above 12 is considered an adult. They didn't inform us that during booking. With the additional charge, we were told the price was inclusive of the breakfast buffet for the days we are here. The housekeeping staff was excellent and amazing. They came by several times to bring us towels, slippers and toiletries. There was also a water refill station outside our hotel room. Our room had an excellent view of the Taal Volcano. Our room also had a pretty balcony with table and chairs. Breakfast buffet was delicious and replenished throughout the time we were having breakfast. There are plenty of variety and food options for buffet from fresh fruits to waffles, pancakes and the traditional Filipino breakfast. There's too many to mention. They served classic Filipino traditional breakfast along with American, Chinese, Korean and Mexican style breakfast. They also offered a variety of freshly squeezed juices and breads. Along with freshly brewed coffee, hot chocolate and tea. Oh the icing on the cake were 3 men serenading you with live performance and instruments on hand. Will share our experience at Taal Vista Hotel with all our friends and family when we go back home.

During Easter Sunday, my husband and I wanted to find someplace special to spend the afternoon, so…read morewe decided to drive up to Tagaytay -- one of the Philippines' most beloved resort and tourist destinations. Tagaytay sits high in the mountains overlooking Taal Volcano and Taal Lake, offering some of the most breathtaking scenery in the country. The elevation gives the city a much cooler climate than Metro Manila, which honestly is part of the appeal. After the heat and traffic of the lowlands, arriving in Tagaytay almost feels like stepping into another world entirely. The views overlooking the volcano are absolutely spectacular. Taal itself is fascinating because it is one of the world's smallest active volcanoes, sitting within a lake, which itself sits inside a larger volcanic caldera. The entire landscape has this dramatic beauty to it when viewed from the ridge roads and hotels perched high above the lake. For our Easter brunch, we chose the famous Taal Vista Hotel, which has one of the prime viewing locations in the area. The buffet itself was wonderful. There were many distinctive offerings ranging from Filipino dishes to international selections, along with a large assortment of desserts and breads. Everything felt fresh, plentiful, and beautifully presented. The service throughout brunch was also excellent -- attentive, warm, and polished in that distinctly Filipino way that always makes guests feel genuinely welcomed. But honestly, one of the most memorable parts of the experience was the entertainment. Throughout brunch, there were traditional Filipino folk dancers and performers moving through the dining area performing cultural dances in vibrant historical costumes. The music, movement, and dramatic presentation added so much atmosphere to the meal. It transformed brunch from simply eating into something celebratory and immersive. After we finished eating, my husband and I wandered outside to stroll along the viewing areas overlooking the volcano and lake below. The weather was absolutely beautiful -- cool breezes, soft clouds drifting over the mountains, and that peaceful Tagaytay atmosphere that always makes you want to linger a little longer than you planned. It turned into a truly lovely Easter Sunday together.