If you want to have a quick relaxing trip outside of Metro Manila, there are loads of places to choose from: there’s the beaches of Laiya, or the hotspring resorts of Pansol and Los Baños, or the hotels with view of the Taal Lake in the ridges of Tagaytay. But there is also the mountain view of Tagaytay which is a wonder to behold, if you know where to look. We were lucky to find it at Crosswinds Resort Suites (Crosswinds Swiss Resort).
Booking a Room
For an overnight staycation, my husband and I opted to visit Tagaytay since it’s getting warmer nowadays, and the cool and crisp air in Tagaytay is sure to lift our spirits up. Baguio is our top option, but seeing as we only have a couple of days to spare, we can’t (you need to stay at least three days in Bagiuo, in my opinion). Being just an hour or two away from where we live, we’ve seen a lot of Tagaytay already. So we searched for something different. Luckily, we found the Crosswinds Resort Suites Tagaytay. The photos from their website plus reviews from Booking.com and Tripadvisor were enough to convince us.
We booked a week earlier by sending an email and calling their number (when no one responded to our email). Another quick way to book is by using Booking.com. Booking was fairly easy. We reserved a Studio Queen Room, which has a queen-sized bed, a kitchen and a balcony. We caught a great deal at ₱3,800 a night (discounted rate).
Click here to check rates at Crosswinds Resort Suites Tagaytay.
How to Get to Crosswinds Resort Suites
The place was pretty easy to find since we used Google Drive to guide us. If you’re coming from the Sta Rosa-Tagaytay Road, on the fork to Tagaytay Proper and Calamba-Tagaytay Road, take a left. Drive 10 kilometers until you reach your destination. Towards the left, you’ll have a view of the ridges, and soon you’ll see the Crosswinds name laid out like the Hollywood sign. Once you see this, you’re close.
Once you see the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, you have arrived at the Alpine Village. You can arrange for the hotel shuttle to pick you up from here if you don’t have a ride of your own. But if you do, the guards will point the directions towards the Grand Quartier, which is where the hotel is. Just like most hotels and points of interest in Tagaytay, expect the road to be steep. But oh the drive can be fun! Make sure to open the windows to let the scent of the fresh pines in. The road is lined up with pine trees from the gate to the hotel. In fact, the whole village is filled with pine trees all over! It’s like a mini-version of Camp John Hay of Baguio (which we so love).
Check In: Fairly Easy
It was a nice five minute drive to the Grand Quartier, where the reception is. Upon arrival, we parked on the side of the road since there is no designated parking area for hotel guests. This is fine by the way since there are hardly any vehicles passing except for hotel guests and residents of the quaint little village.
Everyone greeted us with a smile upon checking in. Since we have been booked and fully paid online, all we need to do was present our printed booking confirmation. We were immediately given the key-card and were told of our room number. We were also provided a piece of paper for breakfast choices. There wasn’t a lot of people at the time so our breakfast is plated and not buffet.
We went up to our Studio Queen Room. The room was spacious as expected, and has a balcony of its own. Unfortunately, it was facing the building across the hotel. Although this was fine since the houses and buildings all have that Swiss Chalet style, we still wanted the view of the hills with all the surrounding pines. I immediately called the reception to ask for a change in rooms. I was told that only Studio Double Rooms are available (those with two double beds), and I said that’s fine.
A few minutes later, a staff buzzed our room and told us that he’ll show us the Studio Double Room first. It was on the same floor. The room was as spacious as the other one. It had its own kitchen as well, though no private balcony. It was alright since we definitely loved the view of the hills filled with pine trees and a few Swiss Chalet houses here and there. The staff named Philip offered to place the two double beds together so we can have one big bed, which was fantastic.
Hotel Amenities: No Restaurant, Has In-Room Kitchen
The only drawback with this hotel is that there is no restaurant (it’s a big factor for me, since a hotel’s restaurants is one of the main attractions, like Harold’s Hotel in Cebu). The nearest one is located at the entrance of Alpine Village which is a long way away. If you want to eat and don’t have a car of your own, you can ask the reception for a shuttle service. However, no restaurant in the premises means no room service, which is a downside if you want to really relax. They offer a list of restaurants in the area that deliver to their hotel. They can assist you in calling whichever restaurant you want.
On the upside, they have a full-functioning kitchen which you can use for no additional fee. If you are into cooking and preparing food yourself, everything will work out well for you. They have a refrigerator, an oven, an electric stove, pots, pans, plates and more. Our room was lacking a knife, but upon calling reception, they immediately sent one up. For turning the electric stove on, you would need to call the concierge for help.
The room was very spacious that it can fit another bed. The bathroom amenities were good. There was an internet modem inside the room, but the connection was pretty slow. They had cable, but if you don’t want to get stressed, don’t watch TV. They use Cignal Cable and the signal gets lost every few seconds/minutes that you will surely get pissed off.
Food: Plated Breakfast
Although they don’t have a restaurant, breakfast is still included in the room. Since occupancy at that time was low, we were told that they will send the breakfast to our room at whatever time we prefer, from 6 am to 10 am. We opted for 8:30 am so we are well rested and we still have time to roam around the place after breakfast. The choices for breakfast were few but satisfactory. We chose Beef Tapa and Bacon & Eggs.
Our breakfast arrived 30 minutes early the following day. I asked why they delivered it at 8 am when we wanted it at 8:30 am. They said we were scheduled for 8 am. I was still half asleep so I did not argue and went promptly back to bed. This means when we got up at 8:30, our breakfast was already cold.
I was disappointed to see that the serving size was small. My husband and I are not heavy breakfast eaters but we still felt that the portions were not enough. How much more for those who opt for heavy breakfast meals? The food was delicious though (which made it even more unsatisfying that the amount was not enough!) There was also some fruit slices and 2 slices of bread, which still wasn’t enough for two people, in my opinion.
The Place: Fresh and Crisp Air!
The best thing about this place is that the air is cool and fresh. Although it’s not as cold as Baguio, the coolness of the air is enough to take your worries away! We wanted to check out the Christmas Village and pool area so we asked for our shuttle service (we asked to be scheduled for the shuttle service the moment we arrived). Upon arriving at the reception area, everyone was smiling and greeted us a good morning.
We waited a few minutes and the shuttle arrived. We were brought to the Christmas Village which is just a walking distance uphill. If we knew it was that close, we could’ve opted to walk there! The place was closed on weekdays though so we had to content ourselves to taking a few pictures outside Santa’s House.
After 10 minutes, the shuttle service promptly arrived to take us to the pool area. The receptionist promised us some towels but sadly, we received none. The day before, the staff told us that the pool is actually a heated one so we were excited to take a dip. To our dismay, it was not a heated pool. Since we had no towels and the water was too cold for our taste, we just stayed at one of the huts by the pool to chill.
Crosswinds Resort Suites Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars
Although not perfect, we did enjoy our stay. I give it a 4-star rating because of the small breakfast portions, intermittent cable signal and no pool towels. I can accept that the pool was not heated, but being promised pool towels and not receiving some is a big letdown. What if we decided to take a dip? We would then be shivering in the cold afterwards.
However, it is still a nice place to chill. You can take a walk in the morning, jog or cycle around the area. The hotel staff were courteous and accommodating. If you really want to take breather from the hustle and bustle of the city, the Crosswinds Resort Suites at the Alpine Village is a great choice.
