TAGAYTAY Romance, meditation & learning destination

The sleepy town of Tagaytay is stirring to urban pleasures. These past few months, restaurants – from fast food to fine-dining – have mushroomed all over the place, affording weekenders from the city more reasons to motor 70 kilometers and bear the traffic build-up just to have a breathtaking view of the world-famous Taal volcano, get a welcome whiff of fresh and cool air, while dining in new settings.

Roads are being widened and paved. But there are unique charms that remain. Like the rolling patches of pineapple fields, flower beds, and vegetable gardens. Exquisite homes continue to be built, along with retreat houses that add to the more than 50 of such in Tagaytay.

The city is still a top choice for refuge, for tired bodies and searching minds. Also of late, conference facilities are being constructed to cater to further learning. In Tagaytay, however, the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) is still the preferred destination for seminars, conferences, and workshops.

It may look a little tired, but for a government institution that does not receive any funding, it has been kept and managed exceptionally and is still the benchmark in the industry. Opened in 1973, it is a building so well designed, that its varied facilities, from the hotel amenities to the restaurant to the seminar rooms are spread out in a sprawling 4.5-hectare property. This means that even when it rains, guests do not suffer the fate of getting wet or inconvenienced.

DAP has four multi-level conference rooms that are equipped with audiovisual facilities and smaller workshop rooms for small groups. Its spacious auditorium which can seat up to 1,000 people, is ideal for convocations and concerts. It also has a little theater for small-group movie watching. Satisfied clients include government offices, Christian renewal groups, media associations, international NGOs, and many more.

DAP Tagaytay manager Ermarie Mondejar enumerates its various facilities that include a business center, Internet café, bake shop, souvenir shop, tiangge alley, videoke bar, and its outdoor amusement and sports park that includes a basketball court, tennis court, Gotcha field, and team-building equipment. “We have become one big learning and leisure complex. That’s our way of getting in tuned with the times,” Mondejar said.

She also showed its collection of artworks that included pieces by masters Joya, Abueva, Legaspi, Elizalde Navarro, Ang Kiukok, Olazo, and more. “Art lovers can spend hours musing before these excellent works,” Mondejar enthused.

The hotel facilities of DAP Tagaytay offers a wide choice, from suite to quinta or rooms that can accommodate five people. “We have rooms to suit different needs and budget.”

What tops these facilities are its well-designed cottages that are ideal for executives or families.

The DAP Tagaytay is open to the public. “This is not an exclusive place,” Mondejar clarified. “Anyone or any group who think they have a need for our facilities can just come to us and make a booking.”

Tagaytay — according to a brochure of the Tagaytay Film Broadcast and Creative Workshops, a project that DAP is actively involved in — remains to be an ideal place for “romance, meditation, and learning.”