When in Tagaytay….

About three weeks ago, Sunshine Television held its Caltex 2013 STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge (ARCC) in Tagaytay City. Every year, the choice of a venue for the ARCC is always a paramount consideration for the organizers. In the past, we’ve held it in Subic and in Clark, so Tagaytay seemed the most logical choice for this year.

And we couldn’t have made a better choice!

The city officials hosted the large group of 60 vehicles (one of the largest starting grids ever in the sport’s history in the Philippines! The record was 63 also with the ARCC), and the organizers and participants were assured of a safe and successful event. With the kind support of the youthful mayor of Tagaytay City, the Honorable Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, younger brother of MMDA chairman Francis, and assisted by the city administrator, Engineer Gregorio Monreal, the organizers’ logistical problems were ably addressed, and everyone agreed that the Caltex 2013 ARCC went on smoothly, from traffic management to emergency contingency plans.  

A major factor too was the support of Winds Residences. The huge property of SMDC became one big parking lot where all the vehicles congregated, were flagged off, and flagged in again after the rally. With tents put up by major sponsor Caltex and colorful buntings all around, the Winds property became one big festive lot.

Thanks to the city officials of Tagaytay, to Winds Residences and to Caltex for another roaring success.

I brought my family along for the event, and we checked in at the Pina Colina, which was only about 10 minutes away from the flag-off venue, together with Georges Ramirez (our rally director) and wife Caroline and three of their marshals plus the whole STV staff.

Pina Colina was another pleasant surprise!.

Several big (and expensive!) hotels and inns have sprouted like mushrooms in Tagaytay in recent years because tourism in this city has been boosted tremendously. Even with several new establishments, accommodations can still be tight during weekends, most especially on long holidays. So it is always a good idea to check out the less fancy, least trumpeted but otherwise excellent accommodations in this cool city. Those smaller, less-traveled roads can lead to pleasant surprises, like what we found with Pina Colina.

The entire property was actually pretty big, and I understand the owners developed them by phases so that there were enclaves of townhouses in different pockets of the sprawling property. There were comfortable villas with pools even, and one had to hike around the huge property to discover this.

What is so charming about Pina Colina is it is actually family-run, so everything was sort of warm and personal, very homey and efficiently run. One had a sense of security, yet the ambience was informal, the trained staff unobtrusive but always respectful and always ready to be of service.

Our room was bigger than your usual twin-sharing which I understand is their standard size for such rooms. In summer, even Tagaytay can get warm in the afternoon, but the aircons worked perfectly. There was nothing fancy about the rooms—just efficient, comfortable and cozy, which is what we had in mind when we set out to shop for accommodations. The fancier they get, the costlier they come, and when you have a pretty big group settling in for the weekend,  resting your tired limbs on a nice, comfortable bed, in a big room with a television set and clean, fresh-smelling linens, knowing it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg makes you sleep even sounder.

Some units are more spacious, with their own small kitchen, dining room and living room as well. Water pressure is strong, and all rooms have hot/cold water. Parking is not a problem because they still have a lot of open grounds.

That night, the big group gathered around in the nearby pavilion where guests can have a barbecue party. Food was plentiful, and these we laid out on the long tables in the pavilion which was open on all sides, allowing Tagaytay’s famed cool breeze to fan us while we enjoyed the adobo, chicken curry and picadillo that we brought in big cauldrons all the way from Manila. Georges enjoyed the double-cooked adobo that was drenched in garlic and fortified himself for the early morning ARCC run.

The next morning, it was a big breakfast for the STV staff, and the pavilion was again where the action was. The management was always ready to accommodate, and the staff was certainly helpful.

Though we stayed at Pina Colina only for one night, we had a sense of home and delighted in the simplicity and efficiency of its accommodations. The young man whose family owns Pina Colina , James Mahusay, runs the place and is certainly hands-on, efficiently overseeing everything, from the front desk to the kitchen and wherever his eye for service spots a need. 

Yes, Pina Colina has a full F&B service, though for our big group we opted to bring our own food. Next time perhaps. We may even try the charming villa that we espied with its own pool, fenced for privacy with a nice patch of landscaping.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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