I was invited to stay overnight at Taal Vista Hotel a couple of weeks ago when we had the foodie meetup at Taza Fresh Table. You can read my review of our dinner at Taza Fresh Table here.
TAAL VISTA HOTEL
Taal Vista Hotel is an English Tudor style hotel along Aguinaldo Highway in Tagaytay. It is a Tagaytay landmark, and was the place to be whenever we went up to Tagaytay decades ago. It has the best view of Taal Lake!
I have actually not visited Taal Vista Hotel in a long, long time, and when this opportunity came up, I felt nostalgic to see the hotel again.
I heard that it was acquired by SM Hotels and Conventions (I also kept seeing promos for Taal Vista when I get SM Advantage flyers and such, and that’s also how I knew 
), and when I saw the renovated Taal Vista Hotel, I was glad that they kept the style of the place when they modernized.
As with almost all establishments outside Metro Manila, parking is free.
THE ROOM
I was given this beautiful room. I believe this is a Premier Lake room. It has a King-sized bed, a sofa that could double as another bed, a sala table, a desk, a flat-screen TV, a mini refrigerator, a coffee & tea set, complimentary bottled water (2), toiletries, hair dryer, safe, robes, ironing board, etc…
I felt so welcome when I saw these: A welcome letter and some fruits – is it just me that being given these apples makes me feel like Snow White? 
and cookies!
The room also has a balcony with a beautiful view of Taal Lake and Volcano:
My view from the balcony that morning:
I’m also loving the spacious bathroom!
Bath tub!
I apologize for showing a picture of the toilet, but this is the only pic that will give you a good idea of the size of this bathroom. I like big bathrooms, don’t you? With the current trend of closet-sized bathrooms, it is always nice to see some hotels still having spacious bathrooms.
WIFI
Wifi is available throughout the hotel and was quite good. They gave me the login details when I checked in.
I was so frustrated with myself when I realized that I forgot to bring my adapter for my laptop plug (it has the extra round ground pin). I called Housekeeping to ask if I could borrow an adapter, and they told me that the room has a universal socket!
Silly me, I didn’t see it right away because I was looking at where the TV / lamps, etc…were plugged. Thank goodness they had the foresight to install these universal sockets and I was able to plug in my laptop!
It’s the little touches like this that really make a hotel stand out.
BUFFET BREAKFAST
We had our buffet breakfast at Taza Fresh Table. I think the regular breakfast buffet is at the hotel’s main restaurant, but you can opt for having breakfast at Taza for an additional P300 per person. I’m not sure, but I think the Taza breakfast buffet is only on weekends (Sat/Sun, 7:30am – 11:00am).
It has this buffet spread:
It has the usual breads, jams, cereals, salads, fruit juices, cold cuts, bacon, rice, pasta, etc…
However, what makes breakfast at Taza worth the extra P300 are the dishes that you can order a la carte:
You can order as much as you want, as long as you can eat them all!
Of course, being a buffet breakfast, the food can’t compare to dinner last night, but it’s still good, and the food were all prepared well.
Homemade Smoked Bacon:
Buttermilk Fried Chicken:
I really liked the hot chocolate – they use local chocolate from Alfonso, Cavite.
I also liked the Eggs Benedict, but I prefer the ham to be a bit more bacon-y, just because I am used to having Canadian bacon with Eggs Benedict.
Their French Toast – yes! – is soaked through with the egg/milk mixture. French toast is invariably one of the most disappointing dishes to order in many breakfast places in Manila because most places don’t thoroughly soak their bread in the egg/milk mixture. When I slice open their french toasts, I’m like, blech, it’s dry and tastes just like pan-fried bread. However, Taza’s french toast is soaked through with the egg/milk mixture. So five thumbs up for Taza! 
Check out their soaked french toast:
SUMMARY
Overall, I was very happy with my stay at Taal Vista Hotel and look forward to going back again. There have been some changes, but it’s still the classic, classy hotel we grew up with, with a few modern touches. I really appreciate how they paid attention to the little things that made my stay feel special and hassle-free.
Check out their website for promos that will give you a better deal on your stay.
Taal Vista Hotel
Along Kilometer 60, Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City
Contact #: +63 (2) 917-8225, +63 (46) 413-100 or +63 917 809-1254
Website: www.taalvistahotel.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taalvistahotel
Twitter: @taalvistahotel
One response to “Taal Vista Hotel Staycation Review”
Hi, did you know that we missed each other by 16 days in Taal Vista? We were in the Lake Wing, but you had a great room =) Sana lang may bidet sa watercloset nila… what I liked the most was the fog in the morning sa may view deck; the breakfast buffet was also very filling, I just love their croissant =) They also had mass sa ballroom on Christmas Day =) Things that could improve would be their gym (where is the equipment?) , gameroom and the children’s play area; the Christmas eve dinner offerings should also improve…but if you do encounter the fog in the morning, that alone was worth the trip =)