Last May 2008, H & I went for a one-night stay at The Boutique – Bed & Breakfast in Tagaytay. We badly needed some R&R, and The Boutique was said to be a wonderful escape for twosomes. We decided to indulge that summer and check out the hotel for ourselves.
The hotel gets filled up quickly, so do make your reservation several weeks ahead. A deposit of P2,500 is required to confirm your reservation. It’s easy. Place a call to The Boutique. I gave my room preference (we’ll get to rooms later) and contact number. The friendly receptionist then shared the hotel’s fax number and Metrobank account details. After my Metrobank transaction, I faxed the deposit slip to The Boutique. Once they received my fax, I got a confirmation SMS.
Once the big day comes, head on over to Tagaytay! You won’t miss the place. It’s a white building with ample parking space in front. Climb the steps and check-in!
The lobby is quiet and inviting. That’s a good sign of things to come for your getaway. The receptionists are very friendly and accommodating. After we checked in, we were led to this quaint little area.
Oh, the scents and aromas! We were asked to choose a scent for our room, soaps, conditioners and moisturizers for ourselves. I won’t tell you what the scent choices are! I’ll leave it up to you to discover them for yourself. There are also board games you can borrow, just in case you need some added entertainment for your stay!
Rooming in and not wanting to get out anymore. We specifically chose a room on the second floor. While the ground floor rooms are just as gorgeous, they’re situated right beside the restaurant and the kitchen. Some online reviews have shared that guests have accidentally stepped into the ground floor bedrooms, the noise level of the restaurant and kitchen was bothersome, the rooms’ veranda opens up to the al fresco part of the restaurant which defeats privacy, etc. So second floor room it was.
What emotion drives your lovers’ getaway? Each room is named after an emotion: “I lust,” “I dare,” “I dream,” “I surrender,” “I love,” “I escape,” and our room, “I desire.”
Welcome to our room! The deep dark chocolate walls were lovely. Every room has a king-sized bed, a DVD player, 24-hour Wi-Fi connection, iPod ready speakers and docks, and an LCD TV.
Doesn’t the bed look so comfy? And there were so many pillows! Pillow fight, anyone?
But here’s where complaint number one begins: The sheets and pillows were scratchy! I don’t have sensitive skin but the bedsheets and pillows made me itch all over. So sadly, the bed wasn’t as comfortable as it looked.
Fruits to refresh you and your Pamper Me basket. We got two welcome drinks and this little fruit bowl in our room. And remember those scents we picked out? They’re in this little basket along with some slippers and other personal bathroom must-haves.
Peek-a-boo shower! I loved the bathroom, and cracked up when I saw the open window by the shower area. For shy types likes us, we can cover the window with a sheet. I would have wanted to leave the sheet down, but the window overlooks the al fresco part of the restaurant. While a hot shower can steam up the window, I didn’t want to accidentally give the diners a show and make them lose their appetites. Hahaha.
Terrace for two. Our room opened up to this little terrace. You could opt to have your meals here or head on down to the restaurant. Truth is we didn’t get to enjoy this terrace much. We wanted to eat here BUT there were so many bugs flying around. While eating al fresco does make you feel closer to nature, I didn’t want any bugs flying into my mouth. I didn’t want to be that close to nature now.
Facial Ice Massage for Two! After we got settled, H & I got our facial detox. It felt so good! This massage was part of the package. In case you’d want to avail of other massages, there’s an array of services to choose from too. But that’s not part of the package anymore.
Merienda time! H and I got hungry, and so we headed downstairs to the hotel’s Hawaiian Bar-B-Que restaurant. H got a really delicious cheeseburger. I got Spam and ketchup fries, which was okay. And while the cold afternoon breeze was already chilling us, we got some ice cream for dessert anyway!
Are you in or out? You can choose to eat indoors or al fresco. It had just drizzled when we went for merienda, so we ate indoors. But for dinner, we went al fresco!
Dinner time! The building looks so pretty at night, doesn’t it? You can opt to have your meals outside the bed and breakfast, as only breakfast is part of the package. But since H & I wanted to enjoy our Boutique experience as much as possible, we decided to eat in.
Dinner munchies. The Baby Back Ribs is the restaurant’s specialty. It was glazed with something like pineapple syrup, but I’m not sure. I was happy that the meat was just the right level of savory and sweet. Yum! And since we were in Tagaytay, I just had to get my dose of tawilis! And what’s a meal without fruits and ice cream?
Our tummies full and happy, we retreated to our room for the night. But wait, come bedtime, churros and hot chocolate are served right in your bedroom. Since we were still super full from dinner, we requested having the bedtime snacks served a couple of hours later. The staff agreed and so we had these as our midnight snack. Good night, good night.
Oh wait, before you sleep, don’t forget to fill up the breakfast menu form! Choose from American, Continental, Filipino and Hawaiian breakfasts. Hang the menu on your doorknob and come the morning, you’ll be served breakfast in bed.
Did I sleep well? Yes and no. The no part was because of the bugs in our room! Flying critters here and there. H and I spent some of our time swatting them. Not exactly romantic!
Good morning! Oh yum, yum. What a delicious meal to wake up to. I had chosen the Adobo Flakes breakfast, and H chose the Bulalong Corned Beef breakfast. I liked his breakfast more! It was scrumptious. 😀 While we enjoyed our morning meal, we watched some of the DVDs we brought with us. We were prolonging our lazy morning moments because check-out was by lunch time.
Thanks for a good stay, The Boutique! The staff was really friendly and they gave us some chocolates upon check-out. They also listened to some constructive feedback we shared.
My three concerns were:
1. Scratchy sheets
2. Bugs in the room — we suggested that a screen door be considered for the terrace doors, so we could enjoy the chilly fresh air without the bug problems
3. Value for money — one really does pay a premium for such an indulgent getaway. But for what we paid for, I wish there were a couple more benefits.
Will we go back? Perhaps. We’ll see. There are other good bed and breakfasts in Tagaytay, and I think we’ll be trying them out as well before enjoying another Boutique experience.
The Boutique – Bed & Breakfast is located at 45 Aguinaldo Hiway, Silang Crossing East, Tagaytay City. Contact numbers are 046-4131885 or +639273632660. For more information about the location, rates and packages, check out their website: http://www.theboutiquebnb.com/index.html.
Rico
February 16, 2009 at 12:22 pm (15 years ago)We’ve eaten at their Hawaiian Bar-b-Que several times (last time was two weeks ago). The Mango Chicken and the Baby Back Ribs were very good. In fact, we come back just for that. I wish there was more tawilis though. Unfortunately, we didn’t like the rooms. ;( Too cramped. There’s just not enough space to move around. Better value for money at Discovery Country Suites. My wife loves the toiletries (L’occitane), and the rooms are huge. There’s wine and cheese in the afternoon, warm milk and cookies at night, and excellent breakfast choices. Try it next time!
Ricos last blog post..organic soaps and shampoos
pat
February 16, 2009 at 12:23 pm (15 years ago)we went there last dec and stayed in the same room. while i thoroughly enjoyed our stay there, i wish there were more add ons for the price we paid. and by the way, there were screen doors already when we went there. 😀
pats last blog post..Help Me Exercise!
notsquare
February 16, 2009 at 12:46 pm (15 years ago)mark and i had a very very bad experience with them – from booking, to checking in and staying… twas really not worth the Php we paid for our room. and sadly, were not courageous enough to give the place another chance.
some examples:
1. we were told check in is 12nn. but when we got there, its 2pm pala. the receptionist who made a mistake didn’t apologize, she just giggled.
2. we had to wait for 2hrs. they gave us drinks – but we had to pay for them pa!
3. water supply was bad (low pressure or it totally disappears)
4. too many insects in the room. not nice at all.
and you are right, there are about 10 other places is Tagaytay that charge half and even less than half of what the boutique charges, and yet they have better service and amenities. maybe that’s also why we didn’t bother to go back anymore.
i think they are overpriced and over hyped…
i can give you a list that i came up with if you want
notsquares last blog post..:p
Daphne
February 16, 2009 at 6:04 pm (15 years ago)Well hopefully they read your post and corrected some of your concerns. I
I remember visiting the place for an ocular and noticed that the rooms were pretty tiny and cramped. But they were full of amenities like a jacuzzi in the bathroom. Yes I also noticed some bugs buzzing away.
As Rico suggested I do recommend the Discovery Country Suites. Their facilities was top notch, friendly staff and their restaurant serves really delicious fare. And no I wasn’t paid to endorse them 😉 hehehe
aloi
February 16, 2009 at 7:01 pm (15 years ago)scratchy sheets. uh-oh.
Mimi
February 16, 2009 at 9:25 pm (15 years ago)WOW! That is quite different from most B&B’s here. Seems nice. I could see how it would seem like you did not get enough “bang for your buck” however.
Mimis last blog post..Water for the World
Manila Boy
February 17, 2009 at 12:22 pm (15 years ago)belated happy V day to you and H, mommy toni!!!
how was the view here?
kita ba ang ridge?
Frances
February 17, 2009 at 7:16 pm (15 years ago)Wow, your overnight stay seemed really wonderful. Too bad for the scratchy sheets.
Kay
February 18, 2009 at 3:48 am (15 years ago)Pretty interesting save for the fact that I hate bugs and scratchy beds … bedsheets are very important to me coz when I cuddle with my babe, I need to be really comfy. I have a hard time falling asleep so I need comfy bedsheets.
Aside from that, it seems okay naman. I do want to know how much it cost kasi baka magfaint naman ako sa prize. Lol.
Kays last blog post..reasons to not be eaten by the green eyed monster
Toni
February 18, 2009 at 5:29 am (15 years ago)this was a nice post, i liked looking at the pictures and reading your story, i would have love to smell that room with different scents! sorry about the bad sheets but i read the comments of your readers and some had really bad service considering the price (yup checked the rates). nevertheless, it really is nice to have a nice weekend once in a while out of town.
Tonis last blog post..Valentine’s Day Celebration
Via
February 18, 2009 at 10:50 am (15 years ago)Naku. Doesn’t sound nice at all. For the prices they charge, sheets should be 300 threadcount at least!
Vias last blog post..San Valentino Treats
Rach (Heart of Rachel)
February 19, 2009 at 10:47 pm (15 years ago)I’ve always been curious of that place. Thank you for this informative and honest review.
kai
June 15, 2009 at 12:55 pm (15 years ago)omygod! i was planning to get the boutique for me and my boyfriend’s first anniversary, i even had him choose from the seven rooms, when i checked the rates, i thought is was ok since the place looked good and the services were fantastic. i guess i have to change plans now. does anyone know a nice place in tagaytay? thank you!