Crosswinds Tagaytay | A Family Getaway at the Switzerland of PH

The scorching summer heat combined with extreme boredom have been causing us to crave for a cool escape. A Tagaytay staycation easily popped into mind when discussing about the escape plan since Tagaytay is just about a 4-hr drive from Bulacan (or 2-3hrs from Manila), and it’s been 2 years already since Jeric and I visited the place when we hiked Taal Volcano. Moreover, it was 5 years ago when we explored the city with the family!

 

 

Pre-travel Preparations

I was browsing through Airbnb listings when I spotted an entire townhouse available for rent at Crosswinds Tagaytay. The house is a Swiss Quadrille unit that can sleep up to 12 people which means it’s big enough for any family staycation. Our target dates were May 23-24, in time to celebrate my brother’s 29th birthday! So I booked it right away before anyone else gets it on those dates. Here’s the link to the property.

Tip: You can also find more available units in Crosswinds here.

Also, we bought food supplies the day before we travel. The house is equipped with complete kitchen necessities  so it was a great opportunity to cut expenses on food.

The car was also checked by the mechanic beforehand to prevent any road mishaps. The camera batteries were all fully charged, and the memory cards were backed up. The ootd’s were ready, along with other personal stuff. What else?

Everything’s good except for one thing: sleep. Because we’re all too excited!

 

Crosswinds Tagaytay — Our Swiss Escape

Imagine yourself being surrounded by thousands of evergreen pine trees while traversing the roads that follow the natural slope of the hills with views of Swiss-inspired houses along the way. What’s more, you also get to stay in one of those attractive houses that’s being clothed with relaxing atmosphere. Are you convinced? That’s actually an understatement of how we joyfully experienced Crosswinds.

The whole place is huge. It’s hard to contain its beauty in one frame, just as how hard it is to explain how blissful the place is. This explains why Crosswinds is not just for family getaways but also perfect for romantic staycation for couples.

 

 

Do note that there’s no public transportation inside Crosswinds. You need a private vehicle to get around. There’s a restaurant (Cafe Voila) and coffee shop (Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf) at the Entrance Gate.

Swimming pools are accessible to 6 guests for free per booking (people in excess of 6 should pay 100 php per person). So in our case, we paid 300 php because we’re 9. The adult pool is 5-ft deep.

I opted not to swim because the wind was cool and I can imagine the chills upon getting out of the water!

 

 

By the way, the Deux Pointe is where we can find the most picturesque houses in Crosswinds. With all those Swiss architecture and towering pine trees, you will not feel like you’re actually in the Philippines. It’s like you’ve been out of the country without a plane ride and visa.

Just near the Deux Pointe are the places called Santa’s House and The Yule Shop. Crosswinds has that theme called “365 days of Christmas” in case you wonder (though I don’t see Santa’s relation to Christmas in any way). Even the house where we stayed has Christmas lights installed!

 

 

Where We Stayed

We stayed in a Swiss Quadrille house which I booked via Airbnb. It’s a 3-storey townhouse with 2 bedrooms, 3 comfort rooms, a kitchen, dining area and an entertainment space. The whole property is air-conditioned, even in the dining and entertainment area. Each floor has a balcony with relaxing views. There’s a parking space available for 2 cars. The whole place is clean.

 

 

Ground Floor: Master’s Bedroom with 1 queen size bed, own CR (with hot shower), walk-in closet, and own balcony. Guest Room with 1 queen size bed and walk-in closet. Another CR (with hot shower) outside the room.

2nd Floor: Kitchen, dining area with balcony, another CR (but no shower heater), maids room, and a sofa

Top Floor: Entertainment area with TV, DVD player with surround speakers, TV Plus, sofa bed, 2 huge couches, and a balcony.

Note: The entrance door of the house is on the top floor where the entertainment area is.

 

 

The Master’s Bedroom sleeps up to 4 persons (2 on the bed and 2 on the floor mattress), while the Guest Room is good for 2 persons. The entertainment space on the top floor can sleep up to 6 persons on the sofa bed, couches, and floor mattresses. Making it a total of 12 persons capacity. Extra pillows, mattresses, comforters, and blankets are stored at the maids room on the second floor.

The house is priced at 8,580 php per night for 12 pax (cleaning and service fee included). But since we’re only 9, we got it for 7,734 php per night.

 

 

The kitchen is complete with cooking basics such as pots & pans, rice cooker, microwave, stove, knife, chopping board, sandok, sansi, etc. Plates, silverwares, glasses & mugs, refrigerator, tissue papers, dish-washing liquid are also provided.

What I liked the most about this house is that it has three comfort rooms. It’s convenient and saves a lot of time! I also loved that it has balcony on all levels so you’d get to see a relaxing view where ever you are in the house. Additionally, the whole property is air-conditioned (a total of four AC’s) so you’d get a sound sleep anywhere!

Check-in is 10am and check-out is 10am the next day.

If you want to book the same house where we stayed, you can find it here.

Tip: You can also book your stay at Crosswinds with discounted rates via Klook or Agoda!

 

Itinerary

Day 1 (May 23, 2019)
05:00 am Leave home; buy fresh pork meat and other necessities we forgot to buy
06:00 am Leave Bulacan
11:00 am Arrive at Crosswinds Tagaytay (we underestimated the traffic); Quick rest; Cook rice
12:00 nn Lunch time (we bought Baliwag Lechon Manok along the way)
01:00 pm Explore Crosswinds:
Deux Pointe | Grand Quartier | Santa’s House & Yule Shop
02:30 pm Make fresh fruit salad; Merienda
03:30 pm Swimming time!
05:00 pm Shower; Prepare for dinner (tita & mom cooked Pork Sinigang)
06:00 pm Dinner time
08:00 pm Bought more snacks at the sari-sari stores near Crosswinds along the highway (because Clark ate our snacks!)
09:00 pm Movie time! (John Wick)
12:00 mn Lights off

Day 2 (May 24, 2019)
06:00 am Prepare breakfast (eggs, rice, hotdog, coffee, bread, fruit salad)
07:00 am Breakfast; Chillax and kulitan until check-out
09:30 am Prepare for check-out
10:00 pm Check-out; Explore Crosswinds:
Trone Giant Chair | Crosswinds Express | Santa’s Treasures | Windmill
12:00 nn Leave Crosswinds
12:30 pm Arrive at Dreamland Arts & Cafe; Photo-ops while waiting for food
01:30 pm Lunch at Dreamland Arts & Crafts Cafe (which I discussed on a separate post)
03:00 pm Leave for Sonia’s Garden just to buy that freaking delicious SPANISH BREAD!!!
03:30 pm Arrive at Sonia’s Garden; Quick explore
04:00 pm Leave Tagaytay
10:00 pm Home sweet home. It was Friday Night so we expected the unending traffic!

 

Budget Breakdown

Airbnb = 7,734
Gas & toll= 1,500 (back&forth)
Lunch-Day1 = 500 (Baliwag Lechon Manok)
Dinner-Day1 and Breakfast-Day2 = 1,500 worth of grocery (bought beforehand)
Fruits for salad (fresh pineapples, watermelon, mangoes) = 370
Snacks (additional) = 375
Lunch at Dreamland Cafe = 1,695
Spanish Bread = 200 (10pcs)
Dinner at Jollibee = 700
TOTAL = 14,574 (or 1,620 per person)

 

More photos!

 

Are you in Pinterest? Pin it for later!

 

See more available rooms in Crosswinds at discounted price via Agoda!

You can also book your transportation to Tagaytay via 12Go Asia.