My Birthday Getaway (Part 3 of 3) – Overnight and Swimming at Sun City, Laguna

With a very enjoyable day at the scenic and misty Tagaytay we are obliged to give this getaway a perfect closing.

“A hot spring swim will be a soothing follow up from that Tagaytay rain” hubby said. “Wow brilliant idea” I said in silence while smiling in agreement with hubby.  We scouted several hot spring resorts in Pansol and Los Banos Laguna area where there are several choices but we can’t find an ideal one.  We’re a bit choosy because we have a tot in tow.  Some more scoutings and we chanced upon this resort – Sun City!

Photo is taken during dawn before we left the resort in the early morning of Tuesday

  

View of Mt. Makiling from Sun City Resort just before sunset

Out of the many hot springs that hubby and I have been into in the past, this is our first time in Sun City. The place looks peaceful and kid friendly - ideal for a family, couple and group getaway.  The entrance fee to the resort is affordable. Entrance for two people is free if you will pay an overnight stay in a couple’s room.

  

The kiddie pools with dragons and dungeons concept are just perfect for the little tot.

  

The room rates are affordable also.  We paid less than PhP 1,000.00 (US$25.00) only for a 12 hours stay.  We rented a couple room that is accessible from the pools.   It is an air conditioned room with television and a small dining/tea table set.  The room is very neat including the bath room. 

 

However, I noticed that the pools are not well maintained.  There are several chip tiles that I considered as not safe or may cause injury to the swimming kids.  I also think that it needs some polishing.

Good thing that there are some bunch of families who spend overnight swimming also.  It made the place not too deserted and and yet not too crowded.  Resort visitors can bring their own food and a grilling stove is provided you just need to bring your own charcoal.  They charged corkage fee for alcoholic beverages.  You can also order food from them.  We had our dinner along the highway so we ordered ready snacks, chips and beverages.  The price are also reasonable compared to other resorts.

Night swimming at Sun City’s adult pools

 

A communion with nature in the misty and scenic Tagaytay, a nice dinner in a “Binalot” restaurant along the highway, a night swimming and a peaceful overnight at Sun City Pansol Laguna with some beers and chips with hubby while the little tot enjoyed swimming plus a sound and peaceful sleep out of the city and far away from people and gadgets and  then a McDonalds breakfast on the way back home.   Aaaah what a getaway!  I feel super re-charged and ready to face my stressful real world again! Back to the jungle!

For the complete series of this post you may want to check :

• My Birthday Getaway (Part 1 of 3) - Escape from Reality
• My Birthday Getaway (Part 2 of 3) - Back Packing in Tagaytay 

 Disclaimer: This is not a paid post
Sun City Resort is located at National Highway, Pansol, 4027 Laguna Philippines. You can find all other information and resort rates from their Facebook page.

My Birthday Getaway (Part 2 of 3) - Back Packing in Tagaytay

Tagaytay  - one of my most favorite place.  I love the location, climate, misty scenery and best of all the serenity.
 

I had countless trips to Tagaytay. On different occasions and with different set of friends but this one is the most memorable.  It’s the perfect answer to the peacefulness that I was looking for during that time that I am so burnt out. The climate was perfect when we arrived at the most common destination in Tagaytay - the Picnic Grove.

Tagaytay The City of Tagaytay is a component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. It is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations because of outstanding scenery and cooler climate provided by its high altitude. It has a high standard of living. Tagaytay overlooks Taal Lake in Batangas and provides one of the iconic views of the Philippines, the view of Taal Volcano Island in the middle of the lake. It is relatively close to the capital city of Manila, only 55 km (34 mi) away via Aguinaldo Highway.  The southern and eastern portions of Tagaytay City are covered by hills and mountains which is generally forests and open grasslands.Tagaytay City's subtropical-like climate is characterized by relatively low temperature, low humidity and abundant rainfall. The City is endowed with a cool and invigorating climate with an average temperature of 22.7 °C (72.9 °F). With its high elevation, the city could be misty at times and is relatively cooler during the months of December, January and February. The Filipino word tagaytay means ridge, in this case volcanic ridge. (Source: Wikipedia)

We had no particular plan on we're going to do when we headed to Tagaytay. We just put on essential things on our back packs - overnight clothing, basic phones and no gadgets except for camera.  We have no plans as well of what we are going to do there.  So what we did was we strolled, communed with nature and enjoyed the beauty and serenity of the place. 
 

Food is not a problem because there are lots of food stall in Tagaytay.  We grabbed anything that we feel like eating and walked around and enjoy the nature again.  We settled to one of the cottages when we need to eat and went back strolling again.



Good thing that the little tot I was with is more excited than I am, exploring the place by foot unmindful of the muddy grounds that we were trekking.  She’s not  even complaining on the up and down hills that we were climbing.  Hmn… she definitely got my adventurous and spontaneous blood. 


It rained! Instead of feeling disappointed I smiled. Just the way I want it – a drizzle while communing with nature never fails to bring a smile on my face. You might think that I’m crazy but sometimes I love to taste the rain. I don’t do this in the city. But when the Guy up there sends me some drizzle while I’m on this kind of place, I look up, open my mouth and taste the rain.

The stairs/trek leading down to the lower part of the grove with a better view of the lake and volcano.

 

I wanted to do try zip line but my hubby is not keen on the idea – not on my birthday he said.  He also reasoned “What if something went wrong on the zip line?”  He said that it would be difficult to handle an accident with a tot tagging along with him.  Well that's some practical reasoning to consider so I cancelled the idea.



Since it is Monday the Picnic Grove is not too crowded.  There were some bunch of tourists who were exploring at the same time with us.  I can hear lots of “ohs” and “ahs” from the tourists while enjoying the views.

 Taal Volcano’s “Binintiang Malaki” cinder cone as seen from our location in the Picnic Grove.
  This photo is mine and I am fascinated to see a similar photo in Wikipedia where I got the information about the cinder.

Breathtaking view of Taal Lake and Volcano from Tagaytay’s Picnic Grove

  Enjoying the breath taking view from our location

The rain also caused us to cancel the plan for the little tot to do horse back riding. It doesn't matter though because we enjoyed just strolling and trekking down and up the grove.

The little tot enjoying the souvenir stalls.

We had a great and wonderful day in Tagaytay.  Now the question was where are we going to spend the night. I had a quick online check of Tagaytay hotels the night before the trip but I did not make any reservation because we can not decide where to stay.  Along the way we drove through some hotels that I saw online and was a bit shock with the overnight rates when we inquired at the front desk.  It was far more expensive that the publish rates.  Thinking again that getting accommodation during weekdays is easy so we decided to deal about it later.

We considered staying overnight on one of the cottages at the Picnic Grove but we changed our mind later   because we noticed that there were no other people staying there.  We left the picnic grove and drove out of Tagaytay still undecided where are we heading too.  But one thing is certain though – we wanted “Binalot” for dinner and we will definitely find one along the way.

***

For the complete series of this post you may want to check:

• My Birthday Getaway (Part 1 of 3) - Escape from Reality

• My Birthday Getaway (Part 3 of 3) - Overnight and Swimming