Please excuse me as I chronicle some of our experiences in the Philippines where we stayed for roughly 3 weeks during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Until the last minute, we didn’t have a family getaway where we could unwind from the busyness of Manila. My bestfriend, Ice, recommended Pina Colina in Tagaytay. It was actually a bit difficult booking a place to stay as everybody else had the same thing in mind to either go to Tagaytay or Baguio City. Tagaytay fortunately was less jampacked compared to Baguio. There were stories of 11 hour rides to Baguio when you on a good day, you can get there in 4. I shudder.

Pina Colina is situated nearer to the Sta. Rosa side which was a blessing because the traffic was concentrated to the Batangas-bound side. It actually took us 2 hours from the Pink Sisters (a famous convent where nuns wear pink habits) to get to The Cliffhouse where we usually drive up to have lunch.

Pina Colina is hidden from traffic and is a quiet reprieve from the holiday Tagaytay ruckus. It wasn’t easy navigating to this place. And so I thank 3G and Google maps!  Oh and can you believe this place has a pool? During our stay, the temperature went as low as 24 degrees Celsius. I know it’s not cold cold but the whole place was windy all throughout. It was chilly!

Pina Colina has Casitas for big groups, log cabins, and junior suites. We were hoping to get a casita but it was pretty late in the holiday so we were just happy to be accommodated. We got 3 junior suites right next to each other with personal parking areas.

The whole place was well-maintained, clean, and have the basic amenities. It was just really far off the Tagaytay central area and there’s not a grocery in sight. They do have a mini-grocery where you can buy the basics.

Our junior suite was spacious and could easily fit 10. But the maximum is 5. The living room area can be closed and converted to a sleeping area.

The bedroom has a Queen-sized bed that fit our family of 4. right next to the mini-kitchen equipped with sink, microwave oven, and refrigerator. The only negative thing about the junior suite is that the WIFI is very weak here.

You cannot cook in the room but you can cook at the barbecue area.

There also is a playground where the kids can play and roam and is quite useful for team building.

Overall, we had a pleasant stay at Pina Colina.

Piña Colina Resort
Tolentino-Ulat Road, Brgy. Francisco, Tagaytay City
pinacolina09@gmail.com