Anniversary Get-away

On our first year anniversary, we planned to have our second honeymoon out of town, but since we had an early vacation in Baguio and Sagada last April, we decided to search for resorts near Manila instead. After a week of searching and inquiring, I found a blog and saw the nice garden of Cristina Villas in Antipolo City. Luckily, our friend is holding her wedding in that same Hotel Resort, so she gave us a location map and directions.

We went there last June 12, left the house at around 10:30 in the morning and we arrived at exactly 12 noon in the hotel. We checked-in and rested for a while, ate the mushroom sandwiches that I made then watched Bee Movie. :)

In the afternoon, we explored the place, brought some food with us and spent the next two hours appreciating the overlooking view of Metro Manila while sitting on the their nice swing.

We were not disappointed with what we've seen in the blog, though of course the pix there are nicer than ours. :)

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We went for a swim just before the dinner, enjoying the pool all by ourselves.







They have 2 big swimming pools and a kid's pool in separate locations. We had the chance to see the beautiful perfect orange sunset while we were on the pool, but were not able to capture it on camera.




The landscape is nice indeed, and my most favorite place was their Café Cristina.




I like the interior design and the open space and it was even more beautiful at night when we had our dinner.

















At nine, we went to their cafe in the middle of the resort with matured landscape and trees surrounding it. Alvan ordered their recommended chili beef with banana and I ordered the specialty of the house pork binagoongan...hhmmm...yummy for those who love salty food :). The usual entrees range from P130-150, very affordable and generous in serving. After dinner, we had our stroll to see the garden at night with its lights on. Afterwards, we went back to our room to watch two more movies we saved on the laptop.

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The following day, we went back to the cafe to have our complimentary breakfast. Of course the typical pinoy breakfast, silog!




I really enjoyed the love birds near our table and the occasional sound of the frog on top of the lotus leaf on a pond right in front our coffee table.

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Sadly, we were not able to avail a room overlooking Metro Manila because there was a convention ongoing at that time. Ours is in the first floor, still elevated and you can see the trees and the sky (since the hotel building itself is on a hill), but not the full view as compared to the rooms on the 3rd and 4th floors.

So if you are planning to stay in their hotel, make sure to reserve a room with balcony for a more romantic experience.

The hotel is not that new, and it is not a 4 or 5 star accommodation.







We love the resort better, they have open cottages that you can rent for an overnight, ranging from 1000-1,800 for max of 15 pax according to them. The cottages have an attic where you can sleep.
There were areas that are still under renovation, but generally, we like the ambiance and the landscape. The pool is well maintained too.

It was a nice experience to just be away from the city and be alone with my hubby...

I am now starting to think where would we spend our next anniversary get-away :) God willing...