Out of Cebu: My #SuperStay at Summit Hotels and Resorts

Several weeks ago, I got a fam tour invite from Summit Hotels and Resorts. For those of you who are not very familiar, fam tour basically just means familiarization tour. During a fam tour, the invited guests are given a chance to experience the product, concept, or even a locality that is being promoted. And as an added bonus, the host would usually throw in a couple of other treats along the way like visits to nearby spots or a preview of soon-to-be-launched features.

If you guys remember (especially those who are ‘old’ enough to know the history of this blog,) my very first fam tour was back in 2014 when I got invited by Cebu Pacific and the Department of Tourism to tour the whole CARAGA region (A Journey of Firsts) and cover (and be on) the maiden flight of the then new Tandag-Cebu route.

This invite from Summit Hotels and Resorts came as a bit of a surprise. I was actually just reading about Tagaytay and other nearby places of interest a week before I got the invite. You see, Summit Hotels and Resorts wanted to gather members of the VisMin media to spend one day and one night at two of their most priced properties. And yes, I was lucky enough to be included.

Naturally, despite my busy schedule at work, I said yes to this great learning opportunity. Not everyone is given this amazing chance, you know. So, to show just how grateful I was, I said Yes right away.




On the day of our departure, I was able to check in for my flight using the official Cebu Pacific app. In less than a minute, I was checked in and I didn’t have to worry about long queues and long waiting time. Download the app too (Android and IOS) for hassle-free check-ins and bookings!

Obviously, the trip was off to a good start.

Just before noon, me and the rest of the invited guests from Cebu arrived at the Summit Magnolia Hotel in Quezon City. The hotel in Quezon is only a short distance from the NAIA is Pasay City.

At the hotel’s beautiful and luxurious lobby, we met for the very first time the rest of the fam tour participants. After the very quick introductions, we were immediately assigned rooms, given a few minutes to freshen up, and then asked to be ready for lunch.

The elegant lobby at Summit Hotel Magnolia in Quezon City.

Our beautiful room at Summit Magnolia Hotel features posh beds and bedding, elegant artworks, a 42-inch LED TV, a stylish working table, and a very well-stocked bathroom. Overall, it was a gorgeous room!

The whole group then headed to the mall next door (the hotel is actually within the Robinsons Magnolia Mall complex) for our lunch at Master Cheffy restaurant.

While waiting for our food, Summit Hotels and Resorts’ Senior Marketing Manager Ms. Lisette Arena welcomed all guests and informed everyone about the schedule in the next 2 days.

Several minutes later, food was served. Uncle Cheffy offered us huge servings of their best sellers. My favorite would have to be the platter which contains a gigantic serving of some of their most popular items on the menu.

Afterwards, when we were all so full we could barely move, we were given a chance to experience Breakout Manila. Breakout Manila is a real-life escape challenge that would test not only your mental skills but also your physical and analytical skills. The concept is pretty simple: You and your whole team would be locked up in a room. Your task is to get out of the room using only the clues (and a little imagination) that you find within the room. Sounds exciting, right?

#TeamCebu posing after our failed session at Breakout Manila. #TeamCebu is composed of Doyzkie of iluvcebu.com, Cassandra of SunStar, and Kristine of TheFreeman. Of course, I was there representing thecebuano.com and mycebuphotoblog.com 🙂

By dinner time, we were all back at the mall for a bit of window shopping and exploring. The mall was gorgeous, by the way. It looked very similar to Robinsons Galleria Cebu. If you love Robinsons Galleria, you too will definitely love Robinsons Magnolia.

#TeamCebu excited for dinner.

We all had dinner at MESA. MESA serves amazing-tasting dishes like Pato Tim, Laing, Tilapia, Tinolang Manok sa Buko, Lumpiang Toge, and many more. Mesa is located on the second floor of Robinsons Galleria.

To end the very long and tiring day, we all dropped by one of Summit Magnolia Hotel’s suites. The one we visited was the Nostalgic Suite which features key elements from the area’s colorful past.

DID YOU KNOW: The Robinsons Magnolia complex (where Summit Magnolia Hotel is also located) sits on the exact same spot where Magnolia Ice Cream’s plant used to be?

The next day, we woke up pretty early (and in great mood) for breakfast. We’d have to leave immediately after breakfast for Tagaytay so we don’t miss any of the scheduled activities for that day.

Summit Magnolia Hotel’s The Clubhouse.

For breakfast, I had sausages, an egg, and two pieces of bread. They served an additional two pieces of bread, a bit of jam, a cup of coffee, and some fruits in season. How cool! By the way, breakfast is already included in the hotel fee. So if you stay at Summit Magnolia Hotel, you can have this delicious treat without spending another dime.

After breakfast, it was time to check out and prepare to travel to Tagaytay. But first, a group photo!

And this shot that I can’t fully comprehend. Haha!

Halfway through our journey to Tagaytay, we made a sudden stop in Parañaque. We visited a restaurant named Tito Chef Restaurant and Everything Culinary which was run by Chef Menoy Gimenez. Chef Menoy will be joining the Summit Hotels and Resorts family as he will be heading Summit Ridge Tagaytay’s restaurant.

At the restaurant, he gave us a sneak peek at some of the wonderful dishes that he will be serving. And we were all amazed. These had to be some of the best-tasting dishes I’ve had in my whole life!

We also toured his nice-looking restaurant which had so many Instagrammable little nooks.

Finally, around one hour later, we arrived at Summit Ridge Tagaytay in Tagaytay City!

We were immediately taken to our gorgeous rooms.

The very first thing that we did was check out the balcony.

Just look at that view!

View of Summit Ridge Tagaytay and the Summit Ridge Promenade right next to it.

And of course, the gorgeous Taal Volcano and the surrounding Taal Lake. All, and I mean ALL of the hotel’s 108 rooms have this amazing view of the lake.

After unpacking, it was time to tour the whole hotel. Our first stop was one of the suites. Summit Ridge Tagaytay’s suites have spacious living areas, two bedrooms, a huge bathroom, and a fully-furnished kitchen.

The hotel also has a leaf-shaped infinity pool for guests who want to go swimming even though it’s relatively very cold in Tagaytay.

The hotel has a spacious MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and events) venue which also offers an amazing view of the Taal Lake.

The hotel also has a full-service and very well-maintained gym.

Our last stop was the Ridge SPA.

The full-service spa offers in-house and home service massages as well as spa services like body scrub, foot scrub, and more.

After the hotel tour, we visited the nearby Nurture Wellness Village. The Nurture Wellness Village has vast vegetable and fruit fields. It also has a huge collection of medicinal plants.

The Nature Wellness Village also has rooms and accommodations for all types of travelers.

The next day, we got up early because it was finally time to return to Manila.

When we were ready, we dropped by Bag of Beans – one of Tagaytay’s most popular local restaurants and bought a couple of pasalubong!

Bag of Beans has amazing interiors and almost all parts of the restaurant are photo-ready.

Check these photos out!

The food that they served us was amazing. And mind you; it was just breakfast. I had a full plate filled with bacon, sausages, eggs, pancakes, ham, and hash browns!

After eating, it was time to finally leave Tagaytay for Manila (where we would get on a plane to Cebu.)

Waiting for us at the airport when we arrived just before lunch were some friends from Cebu Pacific. They’d waited for at least an hour for all of us. And they’d prepared a lot of food for us at Ka Tunying’s Cafe.

My ultimate favorite was the embutido because it was a solid 5 in my book.  It was to die for!

Group photo with our friends from Summit Hotels and Resorts and Cebu Pacific right before our flight back to Cebu.

Once again, I would like to thank Cebu Pacific, Summit Hotels and Resorts, Sir Charles and his team, and everyone who made this long trip possible for such an amazing experience. I would never be able to visit these beautiful destinations without their help. You guys are all sorts of awesome!




Read my other article here: #SuperStay at Summit Hotels and Resorts: A Peek of What’s To Come about this trip on TheCebuano.

Stay tuned for more updates in the coming days! 🙂

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