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A Luxury Weekend at Discovery Country Suites
by Lia Martelino
Published by Travelife Magazine, Holiday 2009-2010
For a recent family weekend in Tagaytay, we booked rooms in Discovery Country Suites (DCS) at the suggestion of a friend who had stayed there and loved it. We arrived mid-afternoon and were welcomed warmly by resident manager JR Cacho. He looked very pleased to see us and he even knew the names of our children.
This intimate seven-suite bed-and-breakfast, perched on a ridge a few hundred meters from the Tagaytay rotonda, feels like a someone’s well-appointed country home—only it’s probably much better since it comes with a lovely view of Taal Lake, a full staff on hand, masseuses on call, and JR as the excellent majordomo who anticipates guests’ every need. In reality, this hotel was indeed once the second home of a Manila family before its reincarnation as a luxury hotel.
After watermelon welcome drinks, JR showed us to our rooms. My husband and I had the spacious Oxford Suite on the second floor. With its high vaulted ceiling and wood interiors, this room was obviously inspired by an English manor. However, it also reminded me of the beautiful lodges we had stayed in in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The room was done in dark woods and decorated with interesting antiques and curios. It’s reportedly very popular because of its oversized bathtub, which the staff adorn with rose petals and candles at sundown.
The piece de resistance for me, however, was the great working fireplace flanked by two comfortable daybeds done up in Laura Ashley-type fabrics and a huge coffeetable filled with magazines. After dinner, I had a Thai foot massage on one of these daybeds, while reading an issue of Travelife and with the fire roaring; and afterwards, I continued to lounge here sipping a cup of warm banana-flavored milk which the hotel had thoughtfully provided in a thermos, along with some chocolate chip cookies.
Meanwhile, we booked the Nantucket Family Suite for the children and yayas. The Americana-themed suite, which was just below our room, was spacious and brightly decorated in chintz and pastel shades of blue—making it very attractive for young visitors. It came with two large feather beds and a daybed next to the TV, although our youngest daughter—barely nine months old—slept soundly in a playpen set up by the hotel staff.
In the evening, while the children enjoyed watching DVDs, my husband and I partook of the complimentary wine and cheese buffet laid out in Restaurant Verbena (Restaurant Verbena is listed in the prestigious Miele Restaurant Guide. This guide is published in Singapore and lists the best restaurants in Asia). It was very relaxing to unwind and simply enjoy the atmosphere over a glass of red wine and brie. Breakfast too was a wonderful treat. We’ve stayed in bed and breakfast places all over the world and few have really diverted from standard breakfast fare such as toast, scrambled eggs and bacon. At DCS, however, we had a continental breakfast spread supplemented by an extensive a la carte menu of hot meals that included fruit waffles, adobo and garlic rice, huevos rancheros and breakfast steak with spicy sauce. My husband’s fruit waffles arrived perfectly crispy but light; while my breakfast steak was tender and juicy, and the Peruvian spicy sauce provided the perfect kick to jumpstart the morning.
It was a wonderful break; and the luxurious accommodations combined with the cool weather made us feel we had traveled somewhere else in the world when in fact we had journeyed only 90 minutes from Manila. Unfortunately, out stay at DCS was over way too soon. Before we knew it, it was time to go home.
“But we’ll definitely be back,” my husband said, as he reluctantly packed his bags. “As far as I’m concerned, this is now my second home.”
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