Category: Philippines

Crosswinds Tagaytay is a luxurious resort suites located in Brgy. Iruhin, Central Calamba Road in Tagaytay. It is commonly known to be the only Swiss-themed property in Tagaytay.

For those interested in checking in, Crosswinds Resort has 24 rooms available for touring guests, check out rates here: Crosswinds Tagaytay

For guests looking for a cheaper way to experience this luxury, there are some unit owners who let their units be rented by public via Airbnb.

On the other hand, the resort can still be visited even without checking in. Its entrance is big enough for families to experience the place and give them a little bit of its luxury. Yeah, just like what we did.

 

Touring around the entrance of Crosswinds…

Just a quick visit in here will make your getaway worthy. Oh by the way, there’s no entrance fee here. You can stay and take photos around all you want. When you get tired, there’s Coffee Bean, Cafe Voila and Sil Cor Cafe Restaurant around.

Nowadays, museums are less likely appreciated. But not for us. Let us share this art museum in Antipolo to you guys, in our way, in our point of views.

This Pinto Art Museum contains galleries in mission-style buildings amid lush gardens, exhibiting contemporary & native art.

Address: 1 Sierra Madre St, Subdivision, Antipolo, 1870 Rizal

Opening Hours: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, closed on Mondays

Entrance Fee: ₱ 200 for the whole day tour. There’s a special rate available for senior citizens and students with valid school ID.

Email: pintoartmuseum@yahoo.com

By the way, they have a cafe inside so no need to worry about getting hungry. Though it’s strongly advisable to bring bottled water. You’ll definitely get thirsty touring around.

 

Art Galleries

So let’s start sharing their art gallery photos.

 

Designs

Interior and exterior house designs are also exhibited in here.

 

Gardens

Now their gardens set up will surely calm your minds down.

Indeed a very good place to appreciate art! Let’s revive the art trend!

NOTE: Details on this blog is accurate as of November 2016

 

 

Antipolo, as we all know, is now the most common destination in Rizal to those looking for just a quick day trip. Most probably because of its relaxing mountain ambiance.

If you’re looking for a family-friendly destination here, we might have a recommendation for you. The Cristina Villas Mountain Resort, just located along the Taktak Road in Antipolo.

Address: Taktak Road, Antipolo City

Tel. No.: (02) 697 – 4521 to 22

Email: cristinavillashotel@gmail.com

They have a hotel which is the one behind us at the above photo. Its hotel reception also serves as the resort’s reception. Check their hotel room rates here: Cristina Villas Hotel

But don’t worry for those who just wanted a short day trip as they also cater this type of visit. And it’s cheaper than to check in anyway.

This entrance fee already has the access to all its swimming pools inside the resort. Just avail a cottage fitting to your group size.

There’s only 1 store inside, so you might want to bring your own food.

They also cater events such as weddings and debuts. They also have function rooms for smaller and other events. Check their event rates here: Cristina Villas Events

 

Resort Grounds

By the way, while rooming around, we found this point. It seems like they cater team building services as well, though it’s not really listed on their profile (well not at the time of our visit).

 

Swimming Pools

They really have a lot of swimming pools inside. So no need to worry to be crowded, even in summer, you can still come here. These pools are kid-friendly, there are slides and cute designs which children might enjoy.

They have a gym and spa inside, however only hotel guests have access to this.

Another nice thing in this resort is that they have this very cute and solemn basilica inside. We’re just not sure when this is accessible, as it was closed the whole period of our stay.

NOTE: Details on this blog is accurate as of May 2017

There you go! You may contact them directly for availability, bookings and updated rates. Just check out on their website here: Cristina Villas Resort

 

Address: South Palms Resort Panglao, Brgy. Bolod, Panglao Island, Bohol 6340 Philippines

Contact Number: +63 38 502-8288 / +63 917-716-609

Email: info@southpalmsresort.com

Lowest rate/night: 5,000 ++

Check their rooms, rates and availability here: South Palms Resort Accommodation

Let’s talk about this resort one by one as we can. We wanted to share its amazingness to everyone.

 

Reception

One of the most important part of a resort is its reception. We may not be so aware that its the one who establishes guests’ connection with the resort, and most of the time, first impression lasts.

And indeed, South Palms has it! Its reception welcomes each and every guest so perfectly awesome! They are very accommodating and so much friendly. It’s like your family is welcoming you from a vacation you went months ago. Job well done in here!

 

Swimming Pool

South Palms actually has two swimming pools. One of them is this famous infinity pool overlooking to its beautiful beach. This is located in front of the restaurant, while the other one is just few steps away. Both are open 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily.

Their pools are only like 4-5ft deep, very friendly to most of the guests. Pool water’s warm so no need to worry swimming at night. Just worry about its opening time. Hehe

Unfortunately, we were not able to try the other swimming pool, but if you need pictures, you may try here: South Palms Resort Panglao

 

Beach

Though this isn’t as fine as in Boracay, this is as clean as its sea water. Very well-maintained. Clap clap for the resort, another job well done here!

 

Restaurant

 

Resort Grounds

The sad part of our stay was that we had a short time. We had a short time exploring and enjoying this amazing resort. We only had 2 activities done (anyway they are free). But that’s okay as we were able to explore the Panglao Island instead. Read our Panglao Island blog here: Panglao Island, Bohol

Surprisingly, biking in here was so much beyond cool! You might wanna try this as well, rooming around with a bike. And trust me, you’ll love it at night!

 

Resort at Night

And this was the most romantic date night we had ever since. The resort’s ambiance did the whole thing, making the night very memorable for us.

We just hope we’ll be able to come back in here.

NOTE: Details on this blog is accurate as of September 2017

#BeholdBohol💚

 

Panglao has been one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been to (well here in the Philippines), particularly its Virgin Island and Balicasag Island.

Now, how do we get here? Fly from Manila to Tagbilaran, and rent a tricycle to Panglao (for your convenience) hehe, I’m not really familiar with other means of transportation going here.

From your resort, you can hire a boat to take you to an island hopping to these two points. Again, for your convenience, it’s better you book an accommodation at the Alona Beach as most boat services can be found in there.

Boat Rental

We rented a boat before even flying to Bohol to avoid hassle and inconveniences should there be unavailability of boats (well since we weren’t at the Alona Beach).

Boat rental fee c/o Naldix is at ₱ 1,600 per boat. Our boat is super big for 2 persons, I think it can accommodate 10-13 persons more. You may try to contact him thru his mobile number 0917-324-1511.

The boat rental fee includes just the island hopping transport from our resort to Balicasag Island, then to the Virgin Island, and back to the resort.

There are fixed environmental fee and required guide fee to visit the two islands:

Environmental fee – ₱ 100/head

Guide fee – ₱ 150/head

These are for the two islands already.

Balicasag Island

The island is best known for underwater activities, specifically snorkeling.

Each activity has a corresponding rate, but you can also avail packages to pay cheaper. We opted to choose the package of turtle watching and snorkeling.

TURTLE WATCHING

SNORKELING

There are available snorkeling gears in the island for rent. But for us, we brought our own. There’s also an eatery, and a store for all of your island necessities.

 

Virgin Island

It’s true there’s already a lot of “virgin islands” in the Philippines currently on the spotlight, but I assure you, this one should be included on your travel list.

Though during our visit, we were not lucky enough to fully experience its sandbar because of the high tide, but still you can definitely see how beautiful this island was. Its sand was pure as white, and its water was as clear as crystal! Definitely one of a travel destination goals!

There’s already some stalls set up in there for the vendors of food, some snacks and drinks.

NOTE: Details on this blog is accurate as of September 2017

#BeholdBohol💚