The Foodinista: Tagaytay

Piña Colina Resort, Tagaytay

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Piña Colina Resort

“Piña Colina” is a Spanish phrase that translates to "Pineapple Hill". As the name implies, this new Tagaytay hideaway is located atop a hill largely surrounded by pineapple plantations. Apart from the lush greens, Pina Colina also features a panoramic view of Tagaytay's landscape and its neighbouring mountains.

Piña Colina offers quality yet reasonably-priced accommodation ideal for family vacations, barkada gatherings and company outings. Their goal is to offer our guests excellent service at a very affordable price. They have units of varying sizes to suit your needs. Each unit is furnished with comfortable beds, clean bathrooms with hot and cold shower, a kitchen equipped with a gas stove, plates and cooking utensils, dining table and a television set.

Pool Area

Casita

Villa

Kitchen

Dining Room

ROOMS

STANDARD ROOM

Well equiped unit, a perfect place for large group getaways.
Good for 2 persons.

DELUXE ROOM

Spacious & comfortable that everything needed for a relaxing stay.
Good for 2 persons.

PREMIERE STUDIO

Ideal for work or pleasure, and the perfect settings for any couple.
Good for 2 persons.

TWO BEDROOM DELUXE

Enjoyable package great for families or groups traveling together.
Good for 2-4 persons.

CASITA

Great value w/ facilities, a popular for overnight or extended stays.
Good for 6 persons.

LOG CABINS, JUNIOR SUITES

We stayed in a Log Cabin since we're more than 20 people when we stayed here. I love how cozy this place is for families. We played games all nights, ate chips, had a few drinks, what a perfect time to catch up with the family. There's also a kitchen so it's ideal to cook and even has a dining are where everyone can join during meals.

Bedroom

Basketball Court

Playground

Villa at Night

Amenities at the Resort

Adult & Kiddie Pools

Use of the pools at Piña Colina is free for stay-in guests. The pools are open to the public, so you can use them for a fee if you aren’t sleeping over at the resort.

The adult pool is 4 to 5.5 feet deep, while The kiddie pool is 2 to 3 feet deep. Kids using the pool must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Non-stay in guests may use the pool at ₱200 per person good for 5 hours only (additional charges for succeeding hours may apply).

Elevated Jacuzzi

The resort has an elevated jacuzzi that gives you a beautiful view of Tagaytay. It can accommodate up to ten people. It may be availed for ₱1,200 per hour and it can accommodate up to ten people. ₱800 for each additional hour.

The Function Hall

Perfect for weddings and parties, Piña Colina has a function hall with glass sliding doors and large glass windows featuring a 180 degree view of the Tagaytay skyline. The venue can accommodate up to 200 persons, and is suitable as well for seminars, team building sessions, and retreats. There are also a number of smaller function rooms available for meetings and private parties, so ask the team for more information on those.

Other Amenities

Piña Colina is currently beefing up its other on-ground facilites, including a game room with a billiard table, pingpong table, and video games, an obstacle course for team-building sessions, inflatables, a trampoline, as well as areas for basketball and volleyball.

PROS

I really love how large the resort is which is ideal for people coming in big groups or families, if not a perfect place for retreats! There are a lot of activities that can be done and it's quite affordable if you'll be coming in 20 pax or so. The place is peaceful at night and is a really good venue to unwind, relax and reunite.

CONS

The food in their restaurant isn't so delicious. The resort is also quite far from the main Tagaytay City which isn't ideal if you will just be commuting going to the resort. There aren't many restaurants and eateries nearby the resort.

HOW TO GET THERE

Public Transit

Via SLEX
1. From SLEX, take the Sta. Rosa exit. Turn right after the toll booths going to Tagaytay.
2. After 20 - 25 minutes, along Sta. Rosa - Tagaytay Highway, slow down after you pass by Ming's Garden on the right side of the road. Drive for about 350 meters more.
3. When you see the big, green Tagaytay Haven Hotel signage, turn right on the road just before the signage. There is a blue & yellow waiting shed on the corner.
4. After turning right on this road (Ulat road), go straight until you hit a road on the left. Turn left on this road. It's an uphill climb going to Piña Colina resort which is on the left side.

Buffalo Milk

Buffy's Buffalo Milk, Tagaytay

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Buffy's Buffalo Milk

Buffy's Buffalo Milk is definitely one cannot miss when in Tagaytay. They offer a wide range of dairy products such as ice cream, yogurt, cheese and pastillas, all made from fresh and creamy carabao’s milk, sans preservatives.

100% BUFFALO MILK
ALL FRESH, ALL NATURAL
NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED

The design of the place is very shabby chic which reminds me of cow farms and the rural life.

HOW THEY STARTED

After thorough studies from market positioning, branding, distribution etc.. BUFFY'S came into life last February 8,2014. Celebrating its first month with spectacular sales returns a lot have expressed interest to franchise but were not ready for that yet its just too early. I would say Buffy's may dominate the dairy products along Tagaytay road pretty soon. So if you need a novelty pasalubong, try Buffy's dairy products.. its rich, creamy and natural with no preservatives added and of course 100% buffalo milk makes the big difference. Check out this store, its right beside "THE ORIGINAL BUKO PIE" in Caltex Compound facing VERONA Subdivision along Sta. Rosa going to Tagaytay. You won't miss this awesome cool place for Buff Yuppies, if you want to be go see us.

Buffy's Store

Milk Benefits

Benefits of milk include calcium, for healthy bones, phosphorous, magnesium, protein, vitamin B12, vitamin A, zinc, riboflavin, folate, vitamin C, and most widely known, vitamin D.

Second Floor

They also have a second floor and accepts dine-ins.

These are Pinoy inspired goodie bags which you can purchase as pasalubong when you buy from Buffy's. Love the Ethnic vibe!

Inside The Bag

* Original Pastillas 4/5

* Buffy's Fresh Milk 5/5

* Tried their Original Ice Cream (Not in the Photo) 5/5

* Kesong Puti 4/5

Fell in love with their Fresh Milk. It's so creamy and a little heavy but tastes so natural. The consistency of Carabao's milk are a little different as compared to those of the cows. I liked these ones better but they're a little pricey if consumed on a normal basis and it's not easy to find. I will definitely keep coming back for this whenever I'll go to Tagaytay! This is the best pasalubong you can give to your family!

Buffy Goodies

Cavite

Hacienda Isabella: Indang, Cavite

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Hacienda Isabella

When I first set my foot on this place, I just thought wow it is really beautiful. It's the perfect place to celebrate special events like debuts and weddings. I was in awe and I instantly wanted to get married here! Haha!

Hacienda Isabela is owned by Kuh Ledesma who is a popular singer but also a frustrated Architect so this place was actually built for the purpose of her designing it. It is famous as an event place and team buildings, even retreats. It's not your ordinary event place because of the historical vibe it acquires. It resembles to Pinto Art Museum's vibe because of the art work installations, huge paintings, vintage decors and white walls.. The place is bombarded with antiques and her collections of old cameras, furniture and suitcases which she got from flea markets.

I wasn't really able to sleep here overnight since I was just a videographer here for a wedding but I was able to roam around the area and take few snaps.

Hacienda Isabella

This is the first floor. Theres a big lounging area and a large dining area. They even have this table which looks like the one on the show Game of Thrones. They have long tables which I believe is for other guests who visits for their dining experience. This makes it a good prep venue for weddings too since all your entourage can hangout in the area without having to bother about the space. Their wooden chairs and tables added to the rustic vibe of the place.

Hacienda Isabella

The place has a high ceiling mala-Hacienda talaga ang vibe. I love how they have white screens on their windows to prevent mosquitos and flies from coming in. It also gives this soft lighting that brightens up the place.

Hacienda Isabella

On the second floor, they have 3 bedrooms. I was only able to enter the masters bedroom though. The bed has this see through cloth covering it from the top - Maria Clara feels! The windows were made of wood which seemed like if you opened it, Jose Rizal can serenade you. Haha! For the bathroom, I just have to mention that it's freakin' beautiful. It's even larger than my bedroom haha! There's a bathtub and decorated tiles which made it feel luxurious. The second floor was also used by the make up artist as an area to do the brides maid's make up area. It is really spacious so madaming pwedeng gawin. By the way, there's no electric fan on this place and they depend on the wind outside for ventilation that's why most of the windows are open. I wonder if presko parin during summer?

Bathroom

The only not so good side of this place is the awful smell. It has this stinky poo smell coming from its neighboring farms. Spending the whole day here made my stomach hurt a little. The staff told us that there's a pig farm a few kilometers away that's why whenever the wind breezes you'll just have this feeling that you have to cover your nose.

I was actually wondering how the guests will react to this situation given that the reception will be in the garden and in the open space. I can't imagine seeing them eating with that awful smell, nakakawalang-gana. I think they have to address this problem and do something about it.

Anyway, this venue also accepts reservation for scheduled dinners which costs around P1300 per pax. I wish someday i'll be able to fully tour around the Hacienda! I found out that there's a pool behind it with real sands surrounding it and they have other villas which they recommend for retreats and bigger gatherings. This will definitely be part of my wish list venues in the future for my wedding!