Casa de Carlo in Tagaytay: A Review

My sister availed of a voucher from Ensogo giving a huge discount for an overnight stay in Casa de Carlo.  Located inside Las Brisas Subdivision, near crossing Mendez, Casa de Carlo boasts of an authentic Spanish feel when one walks inside the place.  Owned by Carlo Callejo, Casa de Carlo is a bed and breakfast refuge in Tagaytay.

The grounds.- We had breakfast here.

Antique belfry- It's like walking the streets of Spain.

One is greeted through the main gate with wall murals depicting Spanish lifestyle.  At the guest's lounge/bar/dining area, various thing-a-ma-jigs are displayed like crossbows, copper pans, bows and arrows, knife collection, deer head, animal horns and a lot more.  This impressive collection, mostly of antiques, I think, is the collection of the father's owner.

Dining Area, guest area, or Family Room.

What's your order?

The entrance to the guest rooms...
The open door is the comfort room.

While some tables have glass tops, one would not miss that they sit on top of a tree trunk.  One trunk is even so HUGE that one would wonder if it used to be the dwelling of elves and brownies. Nice!

The piano which badly needs to be repaired and tuned.
Far back, the table with the big tree as a stand.

Inside the guest room, (we were booked in Room #2) a four-posted room with a giant flat screen tv and DVD player welcome the guest .  It's a big contrast from old Spanish theme.  It reminds one  that old Spanish style can mix with modern day gadgets.  There's also cable TV, a DVD player with some worn-out DVD's, a side table with an attached chair, a side drawer, built-in cabinet with drawers and a comfort room.  Oh, the room is small, by the way, about 15 square meters?

The four-poster bed

Love this sculpture!

The room has a mini snack tray with coffee, candies, junk food and bottled water.  All for a price, my dears.

Casa de Carlo can be a used as a venue for parties and other occasions since it has an open space.

Here's my review:

Smiley faces:

1. The four-poster bed.  I felt like a princess.

2. The furniture. I felt like I was in a different era.

Wish I brought this home, but it wouldn't fit in my bag.

3. The wall murals. So Spanish! Love it!

4.  The hanging vines with flowers in the gardens.

5. The staff. They are very friendly.

6. The breakfast! The longganisa was very tasty.

7. There's hot and cold shower.

8. The complimentary two small bottles of water, plus Colgate toothbrush and toothpaste, and shampoo.

9.  We asked the staff if they had some ice. Though at first they said none, they gave us some after a few minutes.

10. The very very strong free wifi connection!!!

Sad faces:

1. (Also) The four-poster bed.  I got spooked out when we went to bed.  It's a personal reaction, no offense.  I just have a wild imagination that I had to open the light in the bathroom.  Reminded me of Shake, Rattle and Roll. But well, compare it with the feeling of being like a princess when on this, then this bed is cool.

Goofing around, forgetting that the bed looks like
those in horror movies.

2. There is no proper table to have a meal. There is only one chair. If you come with someone, you can't even have a meal in the room at the same time, since there's only one chair.

3. It's inside a subdivision. It's hard to go out to get supplies, or have a meal.  The staff contacted a tricycle driver for us via cellphone and picked us up on our way out.

4. When we arrived, the chef was absent so we couldn't order food. Good thing, we had a lot of junk food with us so we didn't die of starvation.

5. We were made to pay P50 pesos for the Oreo biscuit that was missing. Heck, our kiddos do not eat Oreos because it's too sweet for their taste buds, even if you dangle them in their faces. I even checked the trash can to see if there was an Oreo wrapper. Nada! I checked out baggages. Still no Oreo. So we paid. What a waste!

The chair with a side table. Nice no?
And the drat missing Oreo. Where did it go?

6. The room is small.  

7. There's no refrigerator. But the other Suite Room, I was told has one.

8. There are too many remote controls - one for the cable, one for the TV, one for the DVD player.  An there's too many buttons to push to adjust the sound and everything. Not too user-friendly.

9. The garden was not tended.  For a potential venue for parties, it would have been nicer if the garden was more "tamed" or groomed.

The  garden.

For the price that my sister paid for it, I give Case de Carlo 3 stars.  (Voucher was for an overnight stay for two, with free breakfast. Children below 12 years old are free.)

The kid got tired, I guess, from the stay-cation