By: Pocholo Concepcion, Philippine Daily Inquirer
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PIANIST Florencio Fijer accompanies singing couple, Monticello chair Ambrosio Valdez and wife Nini, at the hotel’s Roma Piano Bar.
In a couple of months the hot season will set in, even as a cold spell is currently being felt in the metropolis and its environs—particularly in Cavite where the wind blows as cold as an air-conditioner.
And when the heat gets really oppressive in Metro Manila sometime in March, everyone wants to go to Baguio. But the thought of thousands of city folks swarming all over the country’s summer capital is discouraging, especially if you factor in the travel time.
There is, however, an alternative destination—Tagaytay, whose main attractions are its year-round cool weather and proximity.
Families wanting to stay overnight or for a few days in Tagaytay now have lots of options, as the number of new hotels and bed-and-breakfasts have risen.
‘Little mountain’
Hotel Monticello is among those offering a luxurious ambiance and first-class facilities at reasonable rates.
Formally opened only recently, Monticello—whose name, “little mountain” in Italian, was inspired by the owners’ travels abroad—is a boutique hotel with 41 rooms and 10 types of lodging. The biggest, Penthouse Firenze, measures 52 square meters with one master and two single beds, good for six adults and two children. The Superior Quad is 48 sq m with four single beds, good for five adults and two children.
But the De Luxe King, which goes for P4,000 a night, is quite spacious at 26 sq m with a king bed for a couple with one or two kids.
A fruit platter, which is brought by the hotel staff to your room upon checking in, boasts the sweetest pineapples in recent memory (most probably grown in nearby Silang, Cavite), never mind if the mangoes taste a bit sour.
The comfortable bed makes napping irresistible; after one or two hours you are refreshed and ready to take the family out to enjoy the nippy Tagaytay climate.
But first, dinner beckons at Monticello’s Café Mercedes—whose menu, though limited due to the observation that guests prefer to eat out, has a good enough entrée like Norwegian salmon.
Piano bar
After a few hours enjoying the rides in Sky Ranch beside Taal Vista, you must go back to catch the performer at Monticello’s Roma Piano Bar. Florencio Fijer, a seasoned pianist who has had stints in clubs and lounges in the city, particularly Manila Hotel, is playing on a baby grand, accompanying Monticello’s patriarch, lawyer Ambrosio Valdez, who is heartily singing Sinatra classics. His wife Nini sings beside him.
The Valdez clan is hosting friends and relatives, one of whom has come home from Italy with her husband. Monticello’s general manager, Dondi Valdez, sits at the bar, sipping red wine. For the next few hours he engages in animated conversation about two things: Why the family decided to build a hotel on a property owned by PATTS (Philippine Air Transport and Training Services) College of Aeronautics, which the Valdezes also operate; and the different kinds of Japanese whisky, which he dreams of making available at Monticello.
After a restful sleep, the most exciting thing to do after breakfast is go for a swim in the pool beside the hotel’s garden. Swimming in Monticello amid Tagaytay’s cool winds won’t give you the chills because both its adult and kiddie pools are temperature-controlled.
Back in your room, take the opportunity to laze around the balcony, which may not offer a good view of Taal Lake and Volcano, but is nonetheless a refreshing spot to clear your mind.
A day or two is enough to recharge body and soul without spending too much.
Hotel Monticello, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Highway (past km 60, a few meters off Taal Vista Hotel), Barangay Kaybagal South Tagaytay City, Cavite; tel. (046) 4131111.
IN MY OPINION