It was dawn of Thursday when I found myself walking up towards the Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay. Around three hours ago, the ship I was on docked in Metro Manila and I quickly made my way to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange to travel to Tagaytay.
It was a cool morning when I arrived at the hotel. I took deep breaths, enjoying the fresh air of Tagaytay. It was peaceful morning with the chirping of birds and the rustling of the leaves.
I was greeted warmly by the staff as I entered the hotel. I appreciate how they knew that I was tired from the trip and checked me in as efficiently as they can. In less than five minutes, I was given my key card, and my luggage was brought up to my room.
It was around a five-minute walk from the front desk to my room.
THE ROOM
I was assigned a room at the Lake Wing of the hotel. Despite being drowsy, I was excited to see the room because it was not only at the Lake Wing, but I will be staying in a Premier Deluxe Room too. This is the room that has a view of Taal Volcano and Taal Lake.
The size of the room was what I first noticed when I entered. The room was spacious, and my photos won’t do justice with how large it was.
At the entry way was the closet and the door to the bathroom. The bathroom was also big and well-appointed with basic toiletries. I was also surprised to see a bathtub, which, sadly, I was not able to use.
A comfortable king-sized bed was waiting for me. Across it was the television and work desk while beside it is a sofa and coffee table.
The best part of the room was the view of Taal Volcano and Taal Lake. The view from the room was breathtaking.
THE PROPERTY
Taal Vista is a large hotel with lots of open spaces.
I love how there are a lot of places where you can sit and relax. The lakeside of the hotel gives you different vantage points to view the volcano and the lake. I think the best view is the one at the ALTA Ridge Bar.
The hotel also has a series of wall-mounted history of Taal and the hotel called History Walk. This is great way to know some of the information of the hotel and Tagaytay too.
If you want to have more relaxing stay, there is the Rain Spa.
For the foodies, the hotel has five outlets — Veranda (all-day dining and breakfast), TĀZA Fresh Table (Steaks and farm-to-table dishes), Lobby Lounge, Pasalubong (Pastries), and ALTA Ridge Bar (Grilled meats, surf and turf).
DINING AT TAAL VISTA
During my stay, I ate only at the Veranda, the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant. Dining here was one of the things I enjoyed here. I find the food to be simple but delicious.
Taal Vista’s breakfast was quite impressive. There were a lot of options to choose from — hot and cold, sweets, pastries, local and foreign options, a salad bar, and a cereal bar.
I loved the bacon and tocino here. The bacon was crispy and tasty, while the tocino was tender.
They also have a taho station, where I kept on coming back. I love that you can make taho to your liking like having more arnibal sauce and less sago.
The pastries were also good for a hotel breakfast buffet.
For lunch, I had it with our friends at Taal Vista. We were served Crispy Tawilis, Veranda Salad, Cream of pumpkin with cheese, Inihaw na Talakitok, and Pinakbet. My favorites were the Veranda Salad and Cream of pumpkin with cheese.
The Veranda Salad had romaine, lettuce, carrots, jicama, parmesan cheese, local ricotta, and was drizzled with a pineapple citrus vinaigrette. I love the freshness of the vegetables, and the vinaigrette was bright and sweet. The salad was light but filling.
The Cream of Pumpkin was phenomenal! It was a warm bowl of soup perfect for the cool weather of Tagaytay.
For our dessert we were served a Leche Flan topped with macapuno. The flan was made using carabao milk. I find this to be denser and creamier compared to the regular flan.
Meanwhile, we were served a Seafood Pasta, Shrimp gambas, and Truffle Cheese pizza for dinner. My favorite of the three was the pizza. I find that there was a good balance between the cheese and truffle, which are strong flavors.
The star of the dinner here was the Volcano Eruption, a dark chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, vanilla ice cream, and berry sauce. This was by far one of the best desserts I had this year. I love the contrast of hot and cold for a dessert. I love that the cake oozed with the chocolate filling once I sliced into it. It was a whimsical and delicious dessert.
THE EXPERIENCE
I enjoyed my short but sweet stay at Taal Vista.
The room was well-appointed and had a great view of the Taal Lake. The view is something I will never forget.
The food was great overall. The breakfast buffet was especially memorable for the spread and quality of the food.
The service was also generally good. The staff were accommodating and were friendly all throughout.
If you are looking to splurge for a vacation in Tagaytay, I would recommend spending the night at the Taal Vista Hotel.
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To know more about the hotel and to book a room, visit their website: Home – Taal Vista Hotel
I would like to thank Faith and Taal Vista Hotel for hosting my stay during this trip to Tagaytay.