After hearing about Canyon Cove, I joined several friends in visiting the place, where we enjoyed ourselves. Not only were the facilities nice, sharing it with a few of the funniest and nuttiest friends made it very memorable.
When it was time to leave, I hoped to be able to bring my family over. I felt that not only would the adults have a good time; the kids would enjoy it even more.
So when Canyon Cove ran another promotion on the internet, we snapped up enough vouchers for two rooms.
We planned to go during the summer but that didn’t pan out because I had to work during weekends. Work was so heavy that we had to reschedule our trip several times until the vouchers were about to expire. Not having much of a choice, I finally took a weekend off, packed the luggage in the trunk, and squeezed the family in the car for an overnight trip.
I hoped that the weather would cooperate by holding back the rain. Clouds were okay since it wouldn’t be too hot, but a drenching thunderstorm would keep everyone indoors and miserable.
Table of Contents
Staff
Lobby
There seemed to be a big change in the staff as the person attending to at the front desk was very efficient and snappy. However, it felt kind of robotic and lacked a bit of warmth. Perhaps the person was tired of dealing with all the people that kept coming and going for the day. It was, after all, a busy weekend.
As we made our way to our rooms, there seemed to be more of the staff compared to our last visit. And from the looks of it they were trained to be less shy by being more courteous and smiling more.
Rooms
On our last visit, we had a room on the fourth floor at the South Wing. The most unique feature of this room was the window bed, which is built right beside a large window. Anyone who slept here had an unobstructed view of the swimming pool and the ocean.
Room
This time around we were assigned a room on the fifth floor on the North Wing. And while there was still a window bed, it did not have an open view of the ocean. Instead of that, it had a terrace.
If you wanted to sleep outdoors and enjoy the sound of the ocean, you could lay out a sleeping on the terrace. The floor space was enough for two people to lie in, and still have some space to set aside a book or some snacks. Or if you prefer to sit during the day, it can hold three chairs and a small table comfortably.
In addition to the window bed, our room had a queen-sized bed in front of the flat screen television. The cable television provided several channels, which were listed in the leatherette case of the remote control.
Room
Instead of curtains, our room had dark wooden shutters that could be adjusted to block out most of the light. Even the glass sliding door had a dark wooden sliding door to block out the light. Those with allergies will prefer this over curtains as they are easier to keep clean.
The room occupied by my relatives had the same design for the windows, as well as the window bed. The only difference was that instead of a single queen sized bed, they had two single beds. This is actually ideal for bigger families as kids will have their own beds to sleep in.
One of the handles of our cabinet doors was missing and the automatic light didn’t work. But that wasn’t much of a problem since there was enough illumination in the room.
Room
Counting all of them, one light was above the door, one over the queen-sized bed, and one over the window bed. There were lights on the two side tables of the queen-sized bed. And then there was a light on the table near the sliding door. With all the lights switched on, the room was well illuminated. And if you just kept the table lights on, the room took on a softer, more relaxing feel.
As far as security is concerned, both rooms made use of card keys. And in addition to the bolt, there was a door chain. There was also a peep hole on the door so you could have a look at the person ringing the doorbell before letting him in.
Bathroom
In first trip to Canyon Cove, we had a shower and a separate bathtub in the bathroom. This time around, we just had a shower area that was enclosed in a glass partition.
The mirror was still huge and there was a smaller one at the end of a jointed arm. If you needed a closer look at yourself, all you needed to do was flip the mirror around to get a magnified view of your face.
Bathroom
The hot water was plentiful until the time we had to check out. I guess everybody was using the shower before checking out. Thankfully the water was still strong and not anywhere close to freezing so bathing wasn’t an excruciating exercise.
During showers, I did notice water run down the door and dripped out into the main bathroom despite the door being closed. It looked like the tiles under the glass door were angled out instead of in. No problem though as a foot towel solved this.
The toilet looked like one of those low designer ones that gave meaning to the word “Throne.” We did encounter an initial problem as it did not fill up with water. Since there was no tabo, or dipper, it was a major issue if we couldn’t flush the toilet by hand.
After a call and two follow ups to the front desk, one of the housekeeping staff came to make a few adjustments and we could finally flush the toilet without any worries.
The air conditioner seemed to be a bit on the warm side as I was perspiring when dawn came. I initially thought that I felt warm because I took a hot shower, but then I noticed my family also had their blankets off. Since requesting for a new room at the crack of dawn would just deprive everyone else of sleep, I peeled off my blanket and eventually went back to sleep.
Swimming Pool
Swimming Pool
One of the things I liked about Canyon Cove was its huge swimming pool. Divided in to three sections, the biggest part was for adults since it was deeper. Other than the size, the distinctive feature of this section is a Coconut tree surrounded by a circular bench right in the middle of the pool.
The two kiddie pools are attached to the main one and divided from the main pool by a barrier that sits just below the water line. The barrier is low enough that if you look at the pool from the water line, you’d swear it was one big pool instead of three.
Swimming Pool
To say the kiddie pools were small is a gross understatement. They may look small when compared to the main pool, but each one is bigger than the average sized whirlpool found in backyards.
In addition to the pool being well-maintained, it felt like the water was heated this time around. With the cool temperature of the weekend, I expected the water to be freezing. But when I jumped in, I didn’t release a blood curdling scream. Instead of that, I gave out a satisfying sigh and allowed the water to envelope me as I peacefully sank to the bottom.
Beach
On the first day, the beach was packed with people. And since the water was calm, I could see my feet even if the water was up to my neck.
Beach
The sand on the shore wasn’t very fine and a few meters into the water, it was rocky. This meant that Aqua Shoes are highly recommended.
There wasn’t any sea grass around the area and I didn’t see any marine life either. While this is a departure from the other beaches I have visited, it means that the water wasn’t itchy. To top it all off, the water wasn’t as too salty, making it feel like a light salt bath instead of the sea.
Footprints in the Sand
The second day had less people on the beach, but the waves were a bit stronger. Though it wasn’t strong enough to surf in, swimmers lying on the shore were tossed around, making it a struggle to stay upright.
After a while, most swimmers just gave up and moved to the swimming pool, making it a little more crowded than usual.
Food
With the lunch buffet PhP 600 and breakfast buffet at PhP 350, we found eating in the restaurant to be a tad bit expensive. Thankfully there was a small kiosk with a grill and refrigerator was set up outside the restaurant to cater to the more budget minded among us.
Barbecue Grill
If you approach the friendly people behind the booth, they will offer you a choice of fish, chicken, pork, and squid that are all grilled and served with plain rice in an environmentally friendly cardboard box.
Prices ranged between PhP 320 to PhP 450 per pack. And while it was still a bit on the high side, the servings were big enough to satisfy the hungriest among us.
And while I understand that the food in the restaurant may be on the bland side, the grilled food we had was tasty and tender, making it the perfect ending to a whole day of non-stop swimming.
Final Thoughts
I’m glad I finally made it back to Canyon Cove with my family. I’m also very happy to see that the important things, like the swimming pool and beach have stayed the same.
Outdoor Shower
More than that, I was pleasantly surprised to see that an alternative to the restaurant was available. There’s something about eating grilled seafood after a day of swimming that makes going to the beach special.
On our way home, several members of my family said that two days and a night were just not enough so I guess we’ll end up going back for a longer stay. Hopefully this time I we can go back in the summer instead of during the rainy season.
Swimming Pool at Night
Well, that’s it for me.
If you’d like to head out to Canyon Cove, I suggest waiting for their promos. Ours cost PhP 2,800 per room without the free breakfast. Additional adults are charged PhP 800 and get breakfast for free. No problem if you have kids as they get to stay for free. However, they don’t get the free breakfast either.
If you prefer to relax and enjoy a free breakfast buffet for two, the cost rises to PhP 3,500; still not bad if you are a few people out to enjoy yourselves.
Rooms at Night
In our case, we skipped eating breakfast at the Canyon Cove restaurant. But we more than made up for it by having lunch at Hawaiian Bar-B-Que on our way back through Tagaytay. But then that’s another story.
Till the next time, keep your camera batteries fully charged and your memory free because you may need them for the next place you visit!
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