Joyce's Diner Tagaytay

The front desk of the inn is situated beside the entrance of the restaurant. Before we proceeded to our room, the receptionist asked for our orders for tomorrow's breakfast. Later when we were settled inside the room already, we received a call from her asking if we'd prefer to have breakfast in our room. We opted to eat at the diner instead at 8am.

Our accommodation comes with two free breakfast.


First came the Pork Tocino, Scrambled Eggs with Garlic Rice for me.


Then Boneless Bangus, Sunny side-up Eggs with Garlic Rice for Hubby. I ordered plain rice for him though and didn't bother to have it changed when the food arrived.


Followed by two cups of brewed coffee.


We ordered Pancakes with Bacon for the little girl. In retrospect, Candy didn't ask me the drink for this set and none came that day.

Fruit of the day: Bananas.



I liked their version of tocino, the serving was more than enough for me, I had to share some with hubby :D The hearty breakfast rightly filled our tummies, perfect way to start the day.

Now here's the tricky part.



I decided to settle our bill immediately, so we won't encounter any hassle by checkout time. As I gave Candy my P500 bill, she in return gave me two pieces of P100 for change. I remembered because I gave her both bills, the P100 for her and the other P100 for housekeeping. Either the pancake costs P300 or the menu prices are outdated, even when I add tax and service charge, I'd still have P20 change. I didn't argue anymore, neither did I ask for receipt.

Joaquin's Bed and Breakfast, Tagaytay

Joaquin's Bed and Breakfast
Originally uploaded by kitakitts

Last Sept. 19, I saw their offer in Ensogo and called up the Inn's number to inquire for room availability. Candy, the front desk staff, confirmed that the purple room with mini-garden is still available. Sept. 22, I successfully purchased the voucher and called again, booked our room, gave her my voucher number and confirmed our check-in date.

Oct. 2, Sunday, despite the reservation hullabaloo, we ended up with the Purple Room.


Room view from the doorway. King-sized bed, Dani approved!


Bathroom, to the right. Towels, check. Hot water + great water pressure = Superb!

Toiletries were provided.

Opposite the bathroom: Closet, Complimentary Coffee, Tea, Water, Mini-Ref.


Room view from the garden door.


Room from the outside.


The four lower level rooms with mini garden. Our is the first one from the right.


Taal Lake View from the room.

Taal Lake View from the Garden



I loved the shiny wooden floors but dislike the uneven parts near the bed. I wonder if it was made with quick step flooring? We didn't have a hard time sleeping on the comfy bed and pillows. Sheets and covers are a little bit worn out but are soft and smells of clean laundry. The room was spacious enough, with coffee table and chairs. Cable reception and internet signal (Globe) is horrendous. But we didn't come here for that. If weather permits, your toddler can safely blow bubbles or roam and run around the garden.


It would be a challenge to climb and up the stairs though. If it's raining, expect to get wet on your way to the room. Although the steps are not that slippery, Hubby prefers to piggy-back the little girl to be faster and safer as it was drizzling most of the time. Since our room is situated at the lower ground, no street noise reached our room.

Breakfast was sufficiently filling, will do a separate detailed post. View from the restaurant deck and room garden is priceless.

Service:

I hope they improve on their reservation policies and booking procedures to avoid unnecessary "overlooking" of client's preference details. Had I been lenient with them, we could've ended up with the twin-sized bed room instead. What's the use of booking a room which at the time of reservation was available only to find out on the arrival date that the room is unavailable? Honestly?! I'd hate to think my discount voucher has reduced my consumer power that I was shoved aside for a much higher paying one.

So, will we come back? Maybe. There are lots of B&Bs in the area we have yet to try. However, for the discounted room price of P2,688, it was worth it.

Twelve years - First Part

G+D+K
Originally uploaded by kitakitts

Year 1999, I gave my heart to this man. Sealed and witnessed by Him and our loved ones seven years ago.

The least I could do is plan a simple celebration :D A week ago, I made reservations at Joaquin's Bed and Breakfast.

After Sunday mass, we head on straight to Bag of Beans for lunch. While waiting for my takeout dessert, I received a text message from Candy of Joaquin's B&B. Oh noes, she's telling me they overlooked the details of my reservation and cannot give me the Purple room. All the rooms with king sized bed are occupied. They however managed to secure me another one with two beds joined together to make one bed. It almost ruined everything for me really. Last message I sent her was, "Let's discuss later. We are on our way. Frankly, I don't like the way things are going." To which she replied, "We apologized for that."

By 2PM, we arrived at the inn. We left our stuffs in the car as I'm not sure how things will turn out. I'm already contemplating on spending the night at Summit Ridge instead. The front desk staff, Candy, told me that our originally reserved room is being prepared. She was able to convince the other customer to take the room she previously offered to me. Honestly?! Anyways, I filled up their form and gave her our Ensogo voucher. Half an hour later, we were ushered to our room and temporarily put the riff behind me.


Sat down to savor my Blueberry Cheesecake from Bag of Beans.


We let the little girl own the TV.


Taal Volcano playing Peek-a-boo


The sun has set, we left the room and went to the arcade.


We had dinner at Ted's. We loved the batchoy and my bangus was huge.


Dani made a new friend while hubby and I had coffee.


9:30PM, the parking lot was eerily empty with the fog rolling in.

I bought books for bedtime storytelling. Before long, we were all fast asleep.