Our Stay at Summit Ridge Hotel

The staycation our family had at Taal Vista Hotel was so much fun that my family and I decided to have another one over the summer holiday. This time we went to Summit Ridge in Tagaytay.

View from our room

Why Summit Ridge? I had the chance to stay at the hotel for a convention a few years ago and I thought that the hotel was pretty good. I had several other hotel options in Tagaytay but ultimately decided that it was better to go to a hotel that I had experience staying in than a new hotel that would give us some surprises that may or may not be pleasant. 

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by our stay at Summit Ridge. I don’t know what it was, but I suppose having been at Taal Vista just a month before was a factor. We had such a good experience with that stay that it made us aware of what kind of service these hotels should give their guests so when we did not find that in Summit Ridge, we were greatly disappointed.

The first issue we had: the pool. When we arrived, we had some pool toys with us. The woman at the reception area told us that the pool was drained just that day and would not be available for use during our stay. It was a shocker because when I booked the hotel online, there was no indication of that happening. There was a note that the restaurant was being renovated but that was it. Considering that I had several kids with me who wanted to go for a swim I was annoyed that I had booked there when they did not have a pool. According to my sister when she was in the lobby other guests were equally disappointed that there was no pool. I have no problem with them wanting to clean/renovate the pool. But the least they could have done was inform potential guests before they booked a room (or in our case, a suite). We ended up staying most of the day in our suite, which was a two-bedroom with a living room/dining area similar to the one we stayed at in Taal Vista (but smaller).

Second problem: poor customer service. When we checked in we were earlier than our check-in time by an hour. The reception staff said that meant that we had to check out an hour earlier as well. I had to ask for a later checkout time, so we could leave at the actual time that we booked. 

After we checked in, my sister and I went to the nearby Robinson’s Supermarket to buy food and drinks, since our suite had a refrigerator and a mini kitchen. We were carrying so much stuff, but no one helped us carry them to our room (something that was done for us at Taal Vista). The security just looked at us and the reception staff didn’t even pay attention to us as we walked by. Later we even walked past the reception area to go to Robinson’s via a door at the side of the hotel, which I knew to use from my previous stay there. It was a long walk…then we discovered the side door was locked. No one even bothered to tell us when we walked by!

The mini kitchen

Third issue: their spa. I asked to get my mother booked for a massage, but we were told that they were fully booked, which was weird since when we got there the place seemed empty. We were advised that we should have booked it in advance, which was weird since we only booked my mother’s spa appointment at Taal Vista upon our check-in and we had no issues with it. It was annoying that the receptionist at the spa wasn’t helpful at all. She didn’t even look at her appointment schedule to show that they couldn’t squeeze my mom in. I think it wasn’t so much the lack of available service that I was upset with. It was more the approach when it came to turning us down more than anything.

Last: the bathroom. While it was nice that there was a separate area for the bath and the toilet. My entire family agreed that it was inconvenient that they didn’t have a bidet. That is such a deal-breaker for us. I hope next time they can include that in their rooms.

No bidet!!!

While we had issues with the breakfast buffet being at the ballroom of the hotel, we felt that it was understandable considering that we knew of the renovations being done at their restaurant. However, at one point we noticed one of those rolling layered tray things at the side of the ballroom where the waiters (who seemed like students for some reason) were dumping leftovers. We literally had a full view of layered trays of leftovers. No plates or anything of the sort. Just the food itself. Not exactly an appetizing thing to see for breakfast. They should have at least kept it hidden if they needed it to be nearby.

Disappointment is an understatement right now about our stay at Summit Ridge. I had a far better experience years ago. I don’t understand what went wrong.

I don’t know if we would consider going back to Summit Ridge. Their only selling point is being near a supermarket, Starbucks, and Bag of Beans but that’s about it. I do hope that their hotel can be improved further over time. Till then, I think we’ll pass and try something new.