SUMMIT RIDGE HOTEL: A Relaxing Weekend in Our Hotel Home

May 1, 2013 by

Mother’s Day is still a couple of weeks away but I already feel like I was just given the best Mother’s Day gift ever! Oh what could the best gift be? I hear you ask. Could it be a delicious meal, wholesale cbd bath bombs to relax with, or a few months of a herbal tea subscription box? Perhaps you need to think outside of the box.

Just imagine, three days and two nights without having to cook, to wash dishes, and to clean the house. That alone would have been bliss; add to that overflowing sumptuous food, new experiences, spa treatment and wonderful company – that is the best Mother’s Day gift ever, it’s a real taste of heaven! And what better place to experience this tiny bit of heaven than in a deluxe hotel with a panoramic view of Taal Lake – the SUMMIT RIDGE HOTEL.

Summit Ridge has conveniently planned and arranged our entire weekend that all we really had to do was to be there to enjoy everything. From the accommodations, activities, and food – absolutely everything was laid out in a Health and Wellness package specially tailored for us. Also, finding out that some hotels have decided to step up their game by using hotel management software that helps enhance the guests’ experience, I hear they might even consider working with a hospitality remodeling company to refresh their already fantastic hotel, what more could I ask for?

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OUR HOME FOR THE WEEKEND

“Our hotel home” This was how our little Jakei referred to our deluxe room. Even with the King Bed and the single extra bed set up, there was still plenty of space for the kids to run around. Like all other rooms in Summit Ridge, ours had a balcony that provided us a spectacular view of Taal Volcano. There’s an LCD Cable TV so the kids didn’t miss their favorite cartoon shows. Free wi-fi meant that I could still work on my articles and meet deadlines. The connection was a bit slow though probably because the hotel was fully booked that weekend.

We weren’t there to work though. We were also there to relax and to rejuvenate so rooms must be conducive for relaxation. Summit Ridge didn’t disappoint us in this area. The beds and pillows were so comfortable that we all wanted to just sleep all day. Add to that the rainforest shower heads in the bathroom that made bath times fun even for the little boy who’s not fond of it.

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A WEEKEND OF MANY FIRSTS

Aside from this weekend probably being the longest time I’ve ever been chore-free, this was also my first time to try Yoga, Zumba, and watch a movie outdoors. Oh yeah, I’ve been hibernating in my cave of a home and have been missing out on a lot of things. I didn’t think I’d be able to do all the poses during our yoga session, but I thought I did pretty well for a first-timer. Now, Zumba’s an entirely different story! For someone who has two left feet, this was quite a challenge. Who’d have thought that I’d have the gall to do Zumba in public when I don’t even do it at home. But I did! And it was an exhilarating experience. After the first few minutes, you actually just don’t give a damn that people are watching you. Most probably because I was having such a hard time following the steps that I didn’t have time to worry about the crowd.

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Saturday night was capped by a screening of The Life of Pi in the hotel’s lawn. We enjoyed the movie with a delicious spread of sweets from C2. The weather was just perfect that night as it was neither too cold nor too warm. Unfortunately, my little Jade fell asleep before the movie was halfway thru so we didn’t get to finish the movie. The little boy and his Papa were able to stay longer though.

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Summit Ridge offers free yoga and zumba sessions every weekend. The Yoga Session is held at one of the function rooms and is open to all hotel guests. Zumba sessions are held at the Activity Center in the adjacent Promenade. Watching movies under the stars is also something guests can look forward to.

WEEKEND FARE OF HEALTHY DISHES

C2 Classic Cuisine, the hotel’s onsite dining facility operated by the Cravings Group, has designed a menu for those craving for healthy food. The Whole Food Power Menu perfectly complements the fitness activities Summit Ridge offers. For dinner, I chose the Roasted Pork Loin with Maple Gravy and my husband had the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken. Both dishes were served with whole wheat pasta and oven stewed ratatouille. We all loved the teriyaki and the pork loin but I found the pasta a bit too dry. Hubby liked it just the way it was but I really could have used more sauce in mine.

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From 10AM to 2PM, C2 offers UNLIMITED soup, salad, and pasta plus bottomless iced tea. This would be a perfect lunch for those who had Zumba or worked out in the gym in the morning.

C2 also offers UNLIMITED cake and coffee. These may not be that healthy for the body but a dose of sweetness once in a while does boost emotional health. So, the sweet toothed girl in me claims that this is also HEALTHY. 🙂

OUR VERDICT

Our little boy calls Summit Ridge “our hotel room” not just because we stayed there all relaxed and comfy for three days but also because of how we were welcomed and treated by the hotel management and staff. Every hotel personnel you meet has a ready smile for the guests. Even hotel manager Pops del Rosario, marketing manager Lisette Arenas, and C2 marketing manager Michelle Villaluna became “Tito Pops”, “Tita Lis” and “Tita Mich” to my two little kids. My husband even said that he felt that we were being hosted by friends and not by hotel managers.

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Would we go back there? Yes, definitely! Aside from having such a relaxing weekend, we weren’t able to swim in their pool which Jade describes as the “cute little pool with a big leaf in it.” We promised the kids we’d go swimming the next time we stay there.

Would we recommend it? Yes! The hotel does come with a steep rate but its deluxe accommodations and premium services are well worth the cost. Do take your family or your barkada there this summer. Summit Ridge has a lot in store for its guests this season that telling you about them necessitates another blog post. Read more about Summit Ridge’s summer offerings here.

Filed Under: Events, Explorations, Family Fun, for DAD & MOM, for the KIDS Tagged With: , ,

SUMMIT RIDGE HOTEL: Where Business and Leisure Mix Perfectly

May 1, 2013 by

Nestled on the highest point of Tagaytay, Summit Ridge Hotel has the best panoramic view of Taal and is also located conveniently near restaurants, supermarkets, and some of Tagaytay’s best attractions. Whether you are looking for a relaxing vacation with the family, a romantic vacation with your spouse, or a venue for a business conference, Summit Ridge Hotel has all the amenities you need.

ROOMS

Summit Ridge Hotel has 108 spacious guest rooms and suites with each room having its own balcony with a picturesque view of Taal Volcano. Each room has an air conditioning unit, an LCD cable TV, an in-room safe, a personal refrigerator, coffee and tea making facilities, and a router for faster connection through the free WiFi.

FACILITIES

Luxurious ballrooms, WiFi equipped function rooms, a well-manicured and landscaped events lawn, and a state-of-the-art Summit Learning Center make Summit Ridge a perfect choice for events, business meetings and conventions.
Those looking for a relaxing vacation can enjoy Summit Ridge’s infinity pool, fitness gym, indoor court for badminton and basketball, and tranquil spa. The spa is run by Seri Asia and provides massage therapies, facial treatments and spa treatments.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

During weekends, Summit Ridge Hotel offers free yoga and zumba sessions to their guests. Sessions are conducted by Paolo Sason of Gold’s Gym. Yoga sessions are held in one of the hotel’s function rooms and Zumba sessions are held at the Promenade. Those who have never tried either program need not fret as Paolo Sason tailorfits the workouts with beginners in mind.

So as not to waste a good workout in the morning, guests are encouraged to opt for soup, salad, and pasta which are offered unlimited at C2 from 10AM to 2PM. Aside from this, C2’s Executive Chef Yvette “Bee” Luciano has also designed the Whole Food Power Menu which perfectly complements the fitness programs the hotel offers.

For mid-morning snacks, you can binge on Vegetable Crudités with Mint Aioli Dip, Tomato-Mozzarella Quiche, and Citrus Vinaigrette Dressed Greens with Tropical Fruits and Nuts without worrying about extra calories.

For a filling but healthy lunch, one can choose from Seared Mahi-Mahi Fillet with Julienne of Bell Peppers and Pineapple Compote, Chicken Hainan with Ginger Cilantro Dip Chili-Garlic Oil and Oyster Sauce, Tuna Loin Yakitori, and Rosemary-Roasted Chicken. All these are served with Soup du Jour, Brown Rice in Chicken Au Jus and Fresh Steamed Vegetables.

Chicken liver pate on crostini with caramelized onion jam, mango and pomelo on lettuce melange with soy-calamanse vinaigrette, and Asian vegetable wrap with smoky peanut sauce make afternoon snacks a feast for the health conscious.

Dinner fare consists of Roasted Pork Loin with Maple Gravy, Grilled Teriyaki Chicken, Hawaiian Fish Stew, and Boeuf Bourguignon. These are served with whole wheat pasta and oven stewed ratatouille.

All of these amenities are in place to ensure that the customer is as comfortable as possible throughout their stay at the hotel. In this approach, business owners must ensure that they find a means to gain more loyal clients. Building their trust through iso accreditation & certification in australia, or anywhere else for that matter, is one way to accomplish it. Obtaining a certification could reassure a customer that your company is trustworthy.

SUMMER OFFERINGS

SUITE SUMMER PACKAGE

For all Saturdays of April and May, any group of four can enjoy a fun-filled weekend for only P4,250 per person. This rate already includes everything you need for a hassle-free vacation. By everything, I really mean EVERYTHING! Complimentary breakfast, lunch and dinner; unlimited coffee and cake; a summer survival kit from Nivea; yoga and zumba classes; and a copy of Women’s or Men’s Health Magazine. There’s also no need to hurry getting all your things packed after your weekend getaway, the hotel’s late check-out ensures you’re stress-free from the time you arrive until the time you leave.

You only have four more weekends left to avail of the Suite Summer Package so better book now!

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C2 SUMMER FIESTA

Every Sunday from April to July, join the festive atmosphere at C2 Classic Cuisine from 10AM to 4PM. Guests are treated to fiesta fare that includes palabok, sinugba, and lechon. Kids and the kids at heart can join the fun fiesta games and try their hand at “breaking the palayok”.

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MOTHER’S and FATHER’S DAY TREATS

C2 has prepared a Mother’s Day Asian Lunch Buffet on May 12 and a Father’s Day Beer & Spirits Flavor Lunch Buffet on June 16. This would be a perfect treat for our parents who have selflessly provided for all our needs.

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INCREDIBLE MOM CONTEST

Enjoy all these for free by joining Summit Ridge Hotel’s latest contest. Like their Facebook page to find out how you can give your mom a special treat on Mother’s Day. Oh, and do it now coz deadline of submitting pictures is on May 3.

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HOW TO GET THERE

Summit Ridge Hotel is located along Km 58 General Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City. For inquiries and reservations, visit their website at www.summitridgehotel.com, or call (632) 240-6888 or (0922) 852-6800.

Filed Under: Busy Bees, Explorations, Family Fun, for DAD & MOM, for the KIDS Tagged With: , ,

A Night at TAGAYTAY RESIDENCE INN

April 11, 2013 by

Before we took our mom to a pilgrimage of the churches in Tagaytay last December, I had already purchased two vouchers for an overnight stay at The Residence Inn.  I didn’t realize though that booking through the travel agency would take forever (oh, ok. just about half a dozen email exchanges) so we ended up staying at The Potters Ridge last December and having two rooms booked at The Residence Inn last March.

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Mom and my sister couldn’t join us for the March trip so we invited my friend and fellow blogger Arcee and her daughter. Check-in time was supposedly at 12noon but our rooms were already available when we arrived before 11am so we were able to settle in right then.   We were booked for two deluxe rooms for four people but were instead given the VIP suite with two connecting rooms.  Now, this may sound like a great deal but the rooms were not really that VIP-ish.  Two single beds were placed in what was supposed to be the receiving area of the suite.  So our room actually looked like a studio with an eight-seater dining table, a five-seater sofa set, two beds and a toilet & bath.  The other room had just a double bed and a toilet and bath.  The two rooms could be secured with locks and latches on both sides of the connecting door.  The last time I was at the Residence Inn was almost ten years ago and it seems that they’ve only started renovating rooms now.  The bathroom of the other room has new tiles and all but the cabinet isn’t done yet.  Ours looked like it had never been renovated.  Both rooms had televisions but there was no cable service.  We didn’t mind that much though as we were out most of the time.

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We didn’t want to go out into the stifling heat of the noon sun and opted to just have lunch served in our room.  This was when the huge dining table was much appreciated. Lunch consisted of crispy fried tawilis, inihaw na liempo, inihaw na pusit, sinigang na baboy, ensaladang mangga at kamatis,  and fish fillet with sautéed vegetables.  I found the sinigang na baboy a bit bland (I like mine really sour) but everything else was good.  Hubby was quite happy to have been able to eat  tawilis which he had been craving for.  I don’t remember the exact bill but I do know that it was less than 2K which was not bad at all.  We actually had plenty of leftovers which would have gone to waste had they not offered to store it in the refrigerator and heat it for us for breakfast the next day.

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After spending an afternoon exploring Paradizoo and taking a peek at the attractions in the newly opened Sky Fun, we had dinner at Memory Lane before going back to the Residence Inn.  Our bodies were tired and sore ( the grownups’ bodies that is) after a long afternoon and we were really yearning to have a massage. I was a bit disappointed when I found out that the hotel does not have any in-house masseuse to provide massage services.  Good thing that the hotel attendant we asked offered to contact a spa outside the hotel so we can get our much needed massage.  The kids were already fast asleep when the massage therapists arrived so hubby and I were able to enjoy our massages and with our muscles relaxed, we were all able to sleep soundly.

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Mornings in Tagaytay are definitely incomparable to the ones that welcome us in Manila.  There are no busy honking of horns or hot humid morning air.  It was the perfect sound of silence…well, until the kids woke up and the room was filled with their laughter – which was still a wonderful sound to wake up to!

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Breakfast consisted of tapa, tocino, danggit, longganisa all served with rice and egg.  We also asked for some of our leftovers to be reheated and served.  After a filling breakfast, we toured the mini-zoo before trying out the zipline which was undoubtedly the highlight of our stay at the Residence Inn.

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The zipline was amazing!  It was only about 500m long but we got to try it with our little kids.  Not only once, but twice!  There was something wrong with the cable car which was supposed to carry us back after we ziplined so they instead gave us a free ride on the zipline.  Of course, we had to walk back from the front of the hotel all the way to the back but we didn’t mind at all.  I’d rather have two rides on the zipline than take the cable car.

 

OUR VERDICT

Overall, our stay at Residence Inn was fine.  The rooms we stayed in need to be renovated which I think they’re scheduled to be or have started to be renovated already – must be the reason why there was no phone in our room.   I saw one room near the zoo’s entrance that’s almost fully renovated already.

Although the rooms have much to be improved on, the view of Taal Lake and Volcano was wonderful. The rooms were far from the main road also so we were all able to sleep peacefully without the sound of engines revving.  Another thing that makes staying at the Residence Inn is that you get to go around the zoo anytime – even past midnight.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to explore during the night  as both kids were sound asleep after a fun afternoon at Paradizoo. Families with bigger children or those spending the night with friends may find exploring the zoo at night a one-of-a-kind experience though.

All the staff were also nice and accommodating – everyone greeted you with a smile. Would we go back to the Residence Inn? Hmm…perhaps, after they’ve renovated all the rooms already.

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Filed Under: Explorations, Family Fun Tagged With: , , , ,

The Potter’s Ridge: A Tranquil Nest on the Picturesque Tagaytay Ridge

February 22, 2013 by

School’s almost over and many have started to plan for their summer getaways.  Among the most popular summer destinations in the country is Tagaytay mainly because of its cool climate and scenic destinations.  Add to that its proximity to the metro and the dozens of available lodgings in the area. Last December, we spent two full days in Tagaytay and stayed at The Potter’s Ridge for a night.

Schedule was tight so I only had two days to look for hotel accommodations and to plan our itinerary.  It was also peak season so hotel rooms were getting booked by the second.  Fortunately, I was able to book the last two rooms in The Potter’s Ridge that were available at Agoda.com.  I’ve read a couple of good reviews about the hotel which is why I chose to book our rooms there.

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We drove to Tagaytay on a rainy Thursday morning with cold mist surrounding most of the highlands.  My little Jakei kept raising his hand and saying, “I’m touching the clouds!”  Check-in was still at 12 noon so we spent the entire morning visiting churches in the area.  My mother is a devout Catholic and the trip was really to grant her wish of visiting churches in Tagaytay. After a disappointing lunch at Leslie’s, we went straight to Potter’s Ridge to rest for a while before we set off to visit more churches.

From the main highway, Potter’s Ridge is located on the left side of the highway going to Batangas.   Only the top two floors are seen from the road so it looks more like a small restaurant at first glance.  There’s definitely more to it though as the rest of the hotel is strategically built along the side of the ridge.

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Since the hotel is located right at the ridge, you get a spectacular view of the lake and Taal Volcano.  We were ushered to our room which had a very rustic appeal to it.   The canopied bed and wooden furnishings all give it a quaint air.   The room would be absolutely perfect for newlyweds or couples looking for a romantic weekend getaway.  What I loved the most about our room were the picture windows that provided a spectacular view of the lake and the lush greenery along the ridge.

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The weather – and the place – was so conducive for sleeping that we all ended up taking a very long nap the rest of the afternoon.  We wanted to try one of the local restos along the ridge but ended up hopping from one place to another in a futile search for crispy tawilis.  An obscure roadside diner was finally chosen where we food was relatively fine but horribly overpriced.  It was already 9pm when we went back to Potter’s Ridge.   Restaurant Zoe on the top floor closes at 10pm, so I had an hour to finish some writing assignments and share a cup of hot chocolate  and a slice of Baked Alaska with everyone.

Friday morning was a sight to behold!  We woke up with cold mist blowing into our open window that it felt like we were in the clouds. It was really hard getting up from bed when all I wanted to do was stay there all day. Kids had to be fed though and we did promise Mom we’d go to Calaruega, so with heavy feet, I trudged to the hotel’s cozy cafe.

Hubby and little Jak were already eating their breakfast when we arrived. Hubby ordered chicken adobo which looked really yummy while the little boy had pork schnitzel. My mother also ordered the chicken adobo which I wanted as well.  Unfortunately, the one for mom was already the last serving so I ended up ordering the longganisa instead.  It tasted just fine save for the measly serving.  Another piece of longganisa would have made it just the right serving.   Overall, our breakfast was nothing spectacular but was fairly satisfactory. It was enough to fuel our morning stroll in Calaruega.

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The Potter’s Ridge would be a welcome haven for those who are looking for a cozy and quiet place to stay.  Though the kids found the place wonderful, I think the hotel would be more perfect for couples looking for a quiet place to have some quality time together.  It would be wonderful if my husband and I could go back here for another honeymoon for our 5th anniversary.  😉

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Thank you to the very friendly and accommodating concierge, Clark, for making our stay pleasant and thank you to the hotel staff for accommodating all our requests.   We’ll do consider Potter’s Ridge when we want to spend the night in Tagaytay again.

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The Potter’s Ridge is located along the Tagaytay ridge on the main road of KM 67 Aguinaldo National Highway.   It’s about an hour or two’s drive from Manila and is also accessible via public transport.   Room rates range from Php 3,100 to Php 7,500/night.  For more information and inquiries, visit their website at http://pottersridge.net or call +63 (46)4130368 or +63 919.4629897.  You may also send an email to [email protected].

 

 



Filed Under: Explorations, Family Fun Tagged With: ,