Narra Hill is one of my dream staycations. Yeah, I’m probably going to compile a list of my Airbnb bucket list and ticked items soon. This bed-and-breakfast is located at a lush mountainside in Tagaytay, with an overlooking view of Taal Lake. It was honestly a kilig moment when I finally booked a room here.
If you haven’t heard of this place yet, you’re in for a treat! This is one of the best bed-and-breakfasts you can book via Airbnb.
Staycation at Narra Hill, Tagaytay
So, here’s a little info about Narra Hill. It’s an events & wedding venue/boutique bed-and-breakfast property. It’s located at Laurel, Tagaytay, about 25-30 minutes away from the city proper.
There are only 6 rooms you can book, and you can choose among: kubo (cottage), balcony room or premiere suite. The kubos are beside the plunge pool area, while the rest are in a separate building with an infinity pool. Whichever room you book, you have access to both these amenities.
I booked a premiere room for an overnight stay and invited Jona of Jona Shares along (she’s been my staycation buddy from my previous stays in Ataalaya Farmhouse and Costales Nature Farms). I chose this room because it has a bath tub.
Our premiere suite has a modern, industrial look. It’s minimalist and chic, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls which makes it feel spacious and airy. There’s a small kitchen but no cooking utensils. Instead there’s dinnerware and utensils, coffee brewer, complimentary coffee and water.
There’s a bathroom with a bath tub, as well as hot-and-cold rainshower and bath items (body shower, shampoo, conditioner). I love that the shampoo and conditioner smells like herbs, like those used in spas. There are bathrobes and towels provided as well.
There’s also a balcony where we could chill and hang out.
This room is the perfect choice for a relaxing staycation — whether you’re with a friend, family or partner.
One thing to note though: there is no TV or WIFI and mobile signal is weak. I didn’t really mind it since we were only there for an overnight and I had ebooks on my phone to read. Besides, this is a good digital detox. I’m kidding — I checked my FB whenever I could.
Let’s explore the rest of the property.
Because Narra Hill is located on a mountainside, you need to use the stairs a lot to get to places. You’ll find a lot of zen decorations like tubs with fresh flower petals, a Buddha statue and more. There’s also a lot of potted plants on walkways and flower basins on corners. It all works to give that natural ambiance.
There’s an outdoor jacuzzi and sauna in an open area, but as far as I know, these aren’t open for use yet.
There are 2 pools you can swim in — an infinity pool and a small plunge pool.
The infinity pool is surrounded by a lush forest and, like the rest of the property, overlooks Taal Lake. If you’re a millennial like us, you’ll be spending most of your time here for aura shots. It’s amazingly beautiful and I liked that the water is lukewarm. It goes from 4 feet to a deeper end at the edge. I like pools where I can actually swim.
The pool is open until late night. We did night swim, but it was cold then and the surrounding area was nothing but darkness.
Meanwhile, the plunge pool is located in the kubo area. It’s small and just enough if you’re looking to cool yourself down, but we prefer to swim so we just spent a little time here and took pictures.
Narra Hill does not have a restaurant, but they do offer to prepare meals for you.
For dinner, we were asked if we wanted to eat out or order from one of their set menus. As Narra Hills is a bit far from the commercial area and we didn’t have a car, we chose to avail one of their 5-courses menu. The selection includes Filipino and other Asian dishes.
Our set consists of squash soup, breaded zucchini with parmesan (appetizer), vegetables and Thai shrimp curry (main entree), cassava cake and basil tea (dessert).
I like that the serving is generous. The set is good for 2, but it can easily be shared among 3 people. The Thai shrimp curry was delicious and mildly spicy, with generous pieces of shrimps. The homemade cassava cake is a must-try and the basil tea with a hint of calamansi is a perfect meal-ender.
Breakfast in Narra Hill is complimentary. I chose continental breakfast which includes bacon, egg and potatoes. Jona’s breakfast is tinapa with rice. We were also given a basket of bread with butter and mango chutney as well as a carafe of coffee.
The breakfast was okay but can still be improved. I find the continental plate ordinary, but the tinapa is good — it’s tasty but not too salty. The mango chutney has an unpleasant lingering taste of ginger. We couldn’t help but compare it to the feast we had at Ataalaya Farmhouse, a similar bed-and-breakfast in Batangas which also has a view of Taal Lake.
My general comment about the food in Narra Hill is that it’s good but, as above, can still be improved. I didn’t really have that “Hmm, this is good!” reaction except for the cassava cake.
Final thoughts about Narra Hill
Narra Hill is very beautiful and it’s definitely one of the best you can find in Airbnb. It’s a bit expensive (kubo starts at P5500), but if you have the budget to splurge, then go.
In particular, here are the things that I like:
- Breathtaking views and Instagram-worthy facilities (particularly the pool areas)
- High standard in terms of room amenities
- We can make brewed coffee at our convenience since there’s a coffee brewer in our room. Not 3-in-1 packets!
- The homemade cassava cake is a must-try.
Here are the things it could improve on:
- Better way of reaching the staff. There is no reception area or phone in the rooms, so it’s difficult to reach one of the staff if we needed to get something.
- Better airconditioning. When I’m on a staycation, I’m used to having the aircon on full-blast. In the premiere suite, it can get a little hot especially during day time even though we already had the airconditioning at 16 degrees.
- Early pool time. During our stay, the pools opened late at 9:30AM so we had little time for a swim in the morning before checking out.
Overall, Narra Hill is a great choice especially if you’re looking for a staycation near Manila or want to unwind and go on a digital detox.
Practical Info: Narra Hill, Tagaytay
How to get here
Narra Hill is located at Laurel, Tagaytay.
From Manila, take a bus to Tagaytay or Alfonso (Cavite). If you got off at Tagaytay, ride a jeep going to Alfonso (P15) and get off at the corner of Laurel St. (landmark is Alfonso welcome arc). From there, ride a habal-habal (P60) or tricycle (P120 per ride) to Narra Hill.
To get back to the main road, you can simply ask the staff at Narra Hill to call a tricycle for you (P150 per ride).
You can also bring a car. There are plenty of parking spaces available in Narra Hill. Take note though that the road going there is very steep.
Facilities
- Plunge pool and infinity pool
- Function hall for events
According to their page, the pools are open from 6AM to 10PM. However, during our stay, the infinity pool was open late in the morning, at 9:30AM.
Things to know before you go
- The property uses a lot of stairs so it’s not senior citizen friendly. If you’re bringing kids, watch them carefully.
- No outside food allowed, but bringing of water and snacks is okay. For meals, you can either eat out or ask them to prepare food for you. As Narra Hill is a bit far from the main road, the latter is the more recommended option especially if you didn’t bring a car. For dinner, there are set menus with 5 courses. Rate is P600-800 per person (min 2 persons).
- For alcohol, you can bring your own and pay corkage fee (P300) or buy from their stock of soda, juice, beer and wine.
- Breakfast is complimentary.
- No TV and WIFI.
- Signal is weak and intermittent especially for Globe users.
- As Narra Hill is located in a forested area, there is a lot of insects especially at night.
Book your stay at Narra Hill
Check in: 2PM / Check out: 12 noon
You can book via Airbnb. Choose among a kubo, balcony room or premiere room. Rates start at P5500 for the balcony room or kubo. Click here to see all the listings for Narra Hill.
If you still don’t have an account in Airbnb, you can sign up using this referral link and get P1600-P2200 initial credits!
Contact
For inquiries, you may contact Narra Hill via these pages:
Did you like our feature of Narra Hill, Tagaytay? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
1 Comment
I’m probably going to compile a list of my Airbnb bucket list and ticked items soon. —- I made a list before (but kasama sa nadelete nung nadelete blog ko hehe).
I remember including Narra Hill sa list! Huhu. Love your review by the way, as always.. Read it from start to finish.
Gala soon!