T&J Travels #12 : Tagaytay 2018

After months of rendering OTs, I finally called it quits. Dealing with everyday stress feels too much and the knowledge of not travelling on my birthday this year makes me want to atleast take a mini break. At my planning stage bf wasn't going to join me, originally he was just going to visit me on a Saturday. Changes happened, he stayed for both my nights and unfortunately we hadn't utilized our stays too much.

+ Eco Cabin Hotel +

This was supposed to be a staycation for me on a commute and also my first solo travel which is kind of funny since I lived in Cavite most of my life. But nevermind that I still want to do this as easy as possible by booking a hotel easy to go to.

The location of Eco Cabins is really optimal. It's a few minutes from Rotunda, it's within walking distance of really good restaurants, it's in front of Ayala Serin (granted, you have to take the overpass to cross) and a Colette's is nearby as well. It's also easy to get back to Manila on commute because you can just take a bus right in front of the hotel too!

Tip: Bringing a car? Parking is a bit limited and you might have to position it well if you plan to, let's say go out early in the morning else you would be on the mercy of the double parked car behind you. 

On my arrival I found it funny that right at the door a white dog (named Blue) greeted me. I called him the guard / doorbell since sometimes you would know if there's a new visitor when you hear him bark.

The decor of the hotel is minimal / rustic. I find it welcoming without so much frills. I am not a tall person so the room feels quite enough to move around but maybe not for taller, bigger guests, more so if there are more people in the room. 

Free breakfasts are really good. I just hope they don't add their meals to their off breakfast menus because there are times we would like to eat there for dinner when we're too exhausted to go out and we're running out of choices. I can't possibly have the same meal 3x a day right?

Wish lists include: More hooks for clothes and maybe a proper dial for the heater. I never look forward to taking baths because of this. I wasn't able to perfect the experience. I would also appreciate an additional closeup mirror because I could barely see anything from their mirror having extremely poor eyesight. I had to tiptoe to their counter so I could see myself. 

Price: 3000++/night including taxes and fees. Prepare a security deposit of 1000, refundable upon checkout.

Before we slept we slightly planned to go to Taal but that didn't happen because we're not sure with the weather. In the morning over breakfast as we're watching over the tiny island at the rooftop there are heavy clouds looming that we forgo that plan and went to a museum instead.

+ Museo Orlina +

It's a few minutes away from Eco Cabin via tricycle (70 PHP one way). You could save money if you just take the jeep but trikes for me are much more convenient because we don't have to keep track on where to get off.

Bags are OK to bring in but they would suggest you leave them at the counter since majority of the exhibit are extremely fragile. 

There are no tour guides (caveat: we didn't ask, we weren't offered) so we are left with reading the accompaniment texts on each display. You also start on the 2nd floor and since there are no tour guides you could choose whether you start downstairs or at the rooftop. There's also an elevator for PWD, seniors and pregnant women. There was no AC when we're there.

Price: 100 / head


+ Tsokolateria +

This is one of the restaurants near our hotel that I find really interesting to try. It was small, barely enough for a huge group so the noise is minimal. They have a garden of sorts as well that doesn't look appealing when it's too hot outside. Maybe it would work on the evenings.

We were presented with two menus, one was of Tsokolateria and with another restaurant name I forgot what was called. We haven't ordered anything from there to try though. The menu for Tsokolateria was really enticing that I could not decide what to order. They have tons of options that sounds good on my head that I am very much interested in going back for more.

I appreciate everything that I had on my plate. The salads were fresh, the pastas were both properly seasoned. I also like the portion of their dessert, it was enough to cap a really good meal.

Overall our first attempt to staycation was really nice, it was a nice short getaway. While I have enjoyed my stay at Eco Cabin, I would like to try the rest of the hotels near the area, possibly where I am near a pokestop! I am currently playing pokemon go (again) and while the hotel had tons of pokemon spawns, there are no stops nearby that I ran out of balls and lost tons of ones I would like to catch. I am thinking of Days Hotel next! The view looks great from the highway as well.