When my eldest child asked me if she could stay home during the weekend to do schoolwork, I took it as an opportunity to look for something to do that's suitable for our younger kids. Sometimes, the age gap among our kids makes choosing a destination for everyone to enjoy a bit tricky. Then my husband told me he wanted to bike from Manila to Nuvali and we could meet there. I looked for a kid-friendly hotel in nearby Tagaytay and found Hotel Kimberly!
The hotel's kid-friendly facilities include both wet and dry playgrounds which Guijo (age 10) and Lauan (age 4) enjoyed. For older kids, an obstacle course with team-building-type tires, ropes, logs, and nets would offer more thrilling play. All equipment are clean and safe, and when we were there, work was being done on some facilities - in the shower area near the pool - which is a good thing! It seemed to me like the hotel was well-maintained and the staff were attentive. Lauan had some catching up to do with his playground skills because he's a quarantine kid. For the last two years, the playground in our condo had been off-limits and his pre-school playground was also inaccessible because all learning moved online.
Away from the busy ridge, Hotel Kimberly has no view of Taal volcano which Tagaytay is famous for, but what it lacks in view, it more than makes up for in space. The hotel is set in wide grounds with an open field, a small farm, some tall trees, and lots of animals. Kids can feed sheep and rabbits for free by giving them Bignay leaves plucked by hotel staff. For a minimal fee, they can also get a bucket of feed for all the free-roaming fowl - like peacocks, ducks, roosters/hens, geese, and guinea fowl. It seemed to me that the animals are free to roam and they have plenty of space to forage for themselves, but they are herded to their enclosures for scheduled feeding activities so guests can safely interact with them without bringing undue stress, and for the safety of both animals and kids.
At sunset, the staff set up a bonfire and they gave us marshmallows on long sticks. Since my kids were the only ones present, and the staff prepared a lot of marshmallows, they were allowed to get as much as they could handle - which wasn't much because the gooey-sticky melted mallows were too sweet. Nakakaumay. It was a very pleasant experience to have an excuse to stay outdoors, though! My kids were either running around or sitting on logs, or a huge rock, or picking up sticks or leaves, or pointing at a bird and all sorts of other random things that remind us how separated we are from nature when our eyes are glued to our screens!
After playing all afternoon, the kids worked up an appetite. Dinner was outdoors, by the pool. The kids had a hearty appetite and the good food was accompanied by yet another kid-friendly activity: an outdoor movie screening! "The Secret Life of Pets" was showing and it felt good to watch it under the stars, in cool Tagaytay weather. After the movie, and after a long day of activities, my husband Oliver, and my two boys went to sleep early. All was quiet and I had the chance to get some work done on my online modules in preparation for the start of a new semester. I needed wifi this weekend.
Sometimes, we all get what we want. My husband wanted to go biking for himself but also wanted to spend time with his family. I wanted to take the kids somewhere fun, but I needed to prepare for my first week back to teaching. And my daughter needed peace and quiet at home so she can focus and chill, and the hotel's playgrounds and activities were aimed at younger kids so she didn't feel like she missed out by not joining us. For this particular weekend, Hotel Kimberly had what we looking for.
Date of stay: 29-30 January 2022
Hotel Kimberly
Amadeo Road, Tagaytay, Cavite
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