The Pugad Adarna or Executive House is one of Mt. Makiling's best-kept secrets. The fact that is…read morehidden and exclusive is part of its charm. Located atop the mountain, past the Philippine High School for the Arts and the National Arts Center Theater lies this cluster of cottages surrounding a simple garden and a small (but deep!) pool with scenic bird's eye view of Laguna and nearby areas. Bookable through the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Pugad Adarna can house up to 35 pax in its nine air-conditioned rooms, all with their own toilets and bath. The place also has its own living and dining areas, kitchen, and parking. Published rates are at Php 840/pax/day, for a minimum of 70 pax. This is best for overnight group trips. Bring everything you need as this is quite far from the Los Banos proper where you can get your supplies. Enjoy stargazing or jamming (there's a piano here) at night and swimming or just plain hanging out at daytime. The weather here is usually cool and the air is FRESH so it's a great place to just relax.

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!

Very beautiful tropical hotel in Lipa city. It's very tropical feel as well on the inside and out…read morebut the rooms need updating for this hotel to actually be considered a four star hotel to me (similar to Las Vegas hotels). I think they are a little stingy in their amenities. Here are my reasons why: Our families had a few Superior rooms and one Executive room. We had the superior room which was a standard deluxe room in the states. The rooms are set up nicely and roomy but the queen beds are thin and feels caved in. Moving on the bed makes the frame squeak all the time, making it noisy for my roommates. The sheets are pretty soft with a thin blanket BUT the some of the sheets were not cleaned. You can smell sweat and see dirt On some of the pillow cases. Good thing there are additional pillows. It was too late at night to have these serviced. AC works well. Wifi does not so I used my data and it worked well on the top floor. The furniture is nice and has lots of storage space everywhere. We actually came here for a wedding and there was no iron or board to use or hairdryer. We had to ask the front desk. I wonder if they think we will steal it so they limit per rooms? There is a small frig and electric water kettle to use but the snacks and drinks inside can only be consumed if it's paid for. The bathroom needs work or just needs to be cleaned thoroughly. There was lot of mildew on the shower tiles, lots of collected water calcium on the showerhead and sink. There was a little mold smell or smell of old wood in the rooms. Those are some of my pet peeves. My aunt had the executive suite which was a lot cleaner, bigger, roomier and had a small kitchen with microwave. It was located on the bottom floor. They also had direct access to the pool which is convenient. The pool use is great! Kids will love the waterfall coming out of the ground or the bubbles in the small pool. Even if it's raining while using the pool, Philippines is the best to swim at. There is a nice swing chairs hut for hanging out at by the pool. The garden was nice and loved the tropical big plants. I wish we could have these in the states! There is space for a wedding reception or business meeting by the front entrance; enough for 150 or more guests. I guess this hotel has been here for awhile but there are some things they need to take care of before calling it a full four star hotel; more three or three and a half stars instead to me. There is also free buffet breakfast for the first two guests. The room is for four so why not offer the other two. Additional breakfast is only 534php anyway. Breakfast buffet was good both days. As it stands, I will give the 3.5 stars but I hope that they would think about guests from overseas when staying in their hotel or work on what needs to be updated. Good enough I guess for me cuz of the price. I really needed that hairdryer! Hahaha [115/100]

I took a day trip to Sonya's garden, where I enjoyed the buffet and the beautiful garden. One thing…read morethat I will say is at the ambience of the location commands that you walk slow. So feel free to walk slowly and take the moment. Taking all of the beautiful flowers taken the beautiful stingless bees And just relax. I am so grateful that Sonya gave me a tour of her home. I'm very very grateful to have met her puppies. And I'm looking forward to another visit. I'm so grateful for the book as well. The service was amazing. Everyone was very friendly nice and warm.

Beautiful restaurant hidden in Tagaytay (secret nga eh!) and the food is a mix of fresh florals and…read morevegetables, fruit, with lutong bahay favorites and new classics. The herb roasted chicken is definitely my biggest recommendation here, as it's so delicious and smells amazing. Their binagoongan rice is also excellent, and goes well with your meals. Our party was mixed with both a la carte and their prix fixe classic menu that already had set courses, which ended up confusing our table a little bit (how to tell your lola they can't eat my bread...) so I recommend sticking to one type for all if possible. The servers kept it under control though and were friendly, had good rapport with our family, and kept everything refilled. We came on a weekday lunch and it was empty, and felt like we had the entire venue for a private lunch - highly recommend if you're able to come during the week!

My family and I stayed here during our first time In…read moreTagaytay for a friends wedding. I have to say, I was impressed with not only the customer service, the free breakfast in the morning, but the entire comfortable feeling I had being in Tagaytay for the first time. It is a bit far from the malls but it is only a jeepney ride away. Want to give special shout out to Rommel (I think one of the managers) who made sure our stay here was the best (which it was). All friends and family visiting from the states, I recommend this place (Penthouse). The only thing I recommend - for how often it rains, I would consider building a shelter for the pool. Outdoor pool seems impractical for the unpredictable rain, fog and cold breeze.

This is in addition to my previous review:…read more We used the pool area for a recreational swim. The water was cloudy and had an unpleasant smell. I smelled gross afterwards. On the day of checkout, I intended to borrow the luggage cart for easier transport of our family's luggage from the 3rd floor down to the lobby. The security guard informed me that the elevators were not working and I had to use the stairs so, I had to haul all of our luggage down. The resort has 3 in house restaurants. Food was good but portion size is small for what you pay for. There are lots of resort staff but productivity is poor. Please don't make the same mistake we did and book your hotel stay elsewhere.

What a beautiful getaway: a Swiss chalet surrounded by a forest of pine trees with only the sounds…read moreof the birds singing their sweet songs. At night, I looked up into the starry night and was serenaded by the chirping of the crickets. Wait a minute, we're not in Europe! We're in the Philippines!! Crosswinds has houses and condo units for sale and for rent. The condo we rented had a kitchen that was fully stocked with everything we needed to cook and eat a meal. Since we were on vacation, I refused to touch anything in the kitchen: no cooking nor dish washing for me! There was a fully stocked bathroom with hot water and decent water pressure. The bed and pillows were comfy, there was a strong aircon and the room was nicely decorated. There's also a gym, pool and jacuzzi. We arrived on a Thursday to avoid the weekend crowd. When we arrived, we were greeted by the owners of the condo then shown to our rooms. When we settled in and the day got cooler, hubby and I sat outside in the balcony and just watched the clouds roll by. We didn't see any other people there except my cousin's family, us and the staff; we had the run of the place! For our meals we dined out. There are many different restaurants and also the Serin Ayala Mall that's nearby. Lots of tourist spots to visit as well; but we were there to relax and take it easy. Oftentimes during vacations people try to cram in as much activity as possible with the time that they have. This leaves them exhausted and needing a vacation from their vacation. With the cool breezes, clean fresh air, and peace and quiet here: it was the most relaxing time I've had in a long while.

Went to Pico de Loro Batangas and stayed at a family friend's condominium on the resort. Residents…read moreand their guests are welcome to use the amenities provided by the country club such as the infinity outdoor pool, recreation areas, coffee shop and the entertainment area. The grounds were well-maintained by staff as well as the recreation areas. Guests can use partake in recreational activities such as badminton, basketball, ping pong, etc. There were also rooms available for karaoke as well as a separate section for billiards and darts. The coffee shop is located on the premises which is located on top of the restaurant and overlooks the outdoor infinity pool. The backdrop of the county club provides great sunset views. Pico Beach is a short distance away and easily accessible by foot. There is also bus transportation available that comes to each condo building to transport beach goers to the beachfront.

This place is a great getaway by the ocean. Shuttle service to get you to the water less than 2 min…read moreaway. Breakfast is top tier. Service is exceptional and will go above and beyond. Nice beds that were clean. Even had a bowling alley that the family loved. Super peaceful and would go again!

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.