Good, affordable venue, but awful breakfast!
This is my second time staying at this hotel and I enjoyed it a lot. The receptionist/attendant was very gracious, friendly and helpful. The rooms are spacious - which is surprising. You won't expect that it would look that way at first impression.
Rooms are clean enough - it's what you'd expect for a 3-star/2-star hotel (Yahoo's rating of the hotel is incorrect. It's not a 1-star hotel!). The room walls are not that thick, so you might hear sounds from rooms of the other guests. However, if it's not a crying baby or a rowdy bunch, the sounds should not be a bother. The reason why my friends and I picked this place is that it's 5 minutes away from Sonya's Garden. So if you plan to visit Sonya's Garden, you might want to stay at this hotel. Great for barkada trips.
Room service was prompt, however the one thing that was a downer during the trip was the fact that their breakfast service at the lounge was terrible. There were only 2 waiters onsite and since the lounge was full, our orders were either incorrect or very late. I ordered for vinegar to go with my longganisa meal, which came 30 minutes later. Same thing happened when 2 of my friends ordered toast. I also was not satisfied with the taste, because it was bland and flavorless. Their "brewed" coffee tasted burnt so I opted for hot chocolate (milo + a packet of white sugar). Horrible breakfast. Since their free breakfast is just toast and coffee for 2 people per room, my advice is, if you want better breakfast - have it somewhere.
The highlight of our barkada trip and hotel stay in Tagaytay was the Il Gallo Nero restaurant. We were supposed to have dinner at Buon Giorno, but because of the heavy rains and fog, we decided to have dinner at the hotel - with their partner Italian restaurant. I say that this restaurant serves the best Italian cuisine I've ever sank my teeth into. My friends and I were so happy that we decided to eat in this restaurant. Lucky that we decided to have an early dinner at 6pm, because come 7pm, the place was packed with people.