Chateau Beatrice Bed and Breakfast
There is a myriad of bed and breakfast, hotels, inns and backpacker resorts in Tagaytay. What makes Chateau Beatrice stand out is first and foremost, the customer feedback they have on Tripadvisor.
One Saturday afternoon, the 4 of us were food-crawling in Maginhawa strEAT, and the thought of spending a night at the beach came to mind. With an impending typhoon that threatened to drown the weekend, we were reduced to driving up to Tagaytay as an option. Long story short, as I was sleepy and hungry while booking for Sunday night’s escapade, the mobile app for some reasons booked us for that Saturday night and it was already 11pm (usual check in time is 2pm). We already paid for it and that’s when the nightmare ensued.
What’s good about it was the rep from hotels.com, along with Monique, the B&B’s manager, made it possible for us to change the date despite the site’s “NO CANCELLATION / REBOOKING” policy. We got rescheduled to a later date (which was still storming by the way).
It looked like an ancestral house, only housing 6 rooms (the website says 7). For a price of PhP 4250 for a night with breakfast for 4, it really wasn’t a bad deal. There were 4 complimentary bottles of water, bedroom slippers at request, cable TV, hot and cold shower, dresser and 2 double-sized beds. It was big enough for 4 friends who just wanted to escape the city and forget the concrete jungle’s many woes.
Breakfast is served from 6-10am and probably because we woke up late, they only had a few options left in the menu. My friends particularly loved their bangus, my adobo flakes was enough to feed my grumbling stomach.
Mary brought her current favorite tea and we instead indulged in it before hitting the showers.
They were pretty flexible even as we checked out at 1230pm.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Commute from Manila:
- Coming from the South, take a Tagaytay-bound bus at the Coastal Mall terminal. Fare: PhP 80-90
- Coming from Cubao, take a San Agustin Nasugbu-bound bus at the Ali Mall terminal. Fare: PhP 120-140
- Coming from Pasay, take a Nasugbu-bound bus at the Buendia terminal. Fare: Less than PhP 100
- Coming from Mandaluyong, take a van at the Starmall area. Fare: PhP 200
Driving:
Take SLEX and exit at Sta. Rosa, from there it’s about 20 minutes without traffic to get to the round-about. Toll: PhP 175 for light vehicles (Magallanes)
PAMANA RESTAURANT, TAGAYTAY
Pamana Tagaytay is a Filipino restaurant belonging to the Ongpauco (say: Heart Evangelista) Family that serves heirloom recipes from one generation to the other, for about 100 years now.
The interior is an art in itself. Right when you enter, you would see the walls plastered with what looks like a letter from the old days. I am not sure if it belonged to the family, or merely a design that sit really well with the restaurant’s concept.
The waiters are very polite, they smile when talking to their customers. There was a guest choir that sang and gave out some envelopes for donation a few minutes after we settled. They sang favorite OPM greats such as “kahit maputi na ang buhok ko” as we waited for our food.
Three-Way Adobo ni Lola PhP 295, 3/5
As we all know, there are a thousand ways to cook adobo. My benchmark for Adobo apart from my parents’ and Mary’s, will always be Café Juanita (Kapitolyo). Pamana’s 3-way (pork, chicken and flakes) has a sour taste to it (some adobo we know can be sweet, spicy, salty and everything in between). The meet was soft, ready to be devoured.
The Original Bulalo Steak Ala Pobre PhP 365, 4/5
We were unanimous with our decision about this being the best dish we ordered that day. It had the right “litid”, meat, and mushroom-garlicky sauce. Best with plain rice, of course!
Adobong Pusit PhP 285, 2.5/5
We thought that it was not evenly cooked, but tasted nice. We could have ordered something else, probably Leyte’s Humba?
Palitaw (good for 2 people), 3/5
Traditional “kakanin” for dessert
Pamana Choriburger Rice PhP 180, 2/5 (good for 2 people)
The presentation gave it away. And the taste nailed the verdict.
Plain Rice cooked in Bamboo with Pandan Flavor PhP 100, 4/5 (good for 2 people)
You can’t go wrong with plain rice! Infused with pandan leaves, which is the same for the service water as shown on the photo below.
The view could have been stunning had it not rained the entire night and drizzled that morning.
Overall, the food and price were just right. Other branches can be found in Quezon City, Boracay, Baguio.
Next time you head to Tagaytay for a night, give these two establishments a try!
