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I am in San Pablo City as a guest of the Tahanan ni Aling Meding which is by far the most heavenly place I’ve stayed in a long time. Why is this so? Because it is not as stiff as a hotel and boasts of the comfort of home while providing all the amenities you need as a valued guest.
This place was originally a rest house for a family of 11 siblings who made it big as migrants in the United States. This explains the 11 rooms in the mansion of which 10 are now open to the public.”Aling Meding” is the late family matriarch and everywhere in the place you can see various mementoes as well as photos showing how close-knit this family is.
Entering Tahanan’s huge wrought iron gate and winding driveway, what immediately catches the eye is a trio of swimming pools for both kids and adults. One pool is equipped with a jacuzzi and there is even a water slide for kids to play around with.
After the pool, the next best thing about Tahanan ni Aling Meding is its superb landscaping and its garden bedecked with all kinds of lovely plants and flowers. No wonder, many a celebrations like weddings and reunions have been held here since the house opened as a hotel three years ago.
This is the room where I stayed and got an invigorating pedicure/massage. The room opens to a verandah which has a fantastic view of the mountain and the lake. I particularly loved the bed linens and the fluffy pillows which were chosen with care all the way from the US. Tahanan’s other rooms are equally lovely, including the honeymoon suite and the family room which can accommodate as much as eight persons, all priced reasonably, ranging from P2,000 to P3,500.
Aside from all these, Tahanan is filled with other nooks and crannies waiting to be discovered. The food is good. The staff is so warm and friendly that you can almost call it your second home. The whole place opened up to me like a stunning revelation and now I can’t wait to go here, with my family, again.
Tahanan ni Aling Meding is along Sampaloc Lake. For reservations, call (049) 562-5855 or visit their website.
Stumble It!
Wow this is so beautiful! A refreshing change from the usual bed-and-brekafasts I hear about. It’s so homey, I love it! Thanks for sharing the contact details.
wow! this is great news aj! i’ve always been trying to find an alternative to (over-crowded) tagaytay, and this must be it! i’ll certainly make time for this one.
nice place AJ. mukhang magandang site for our EB. lapit din yan sa hidden valley.
wow… yayayain ko wasit ko dito! kelangan nya ako i-date!
mukhang mahal
baka di kayaninng budget ng amo ko
Maganda! I didn’t know San Pablo has this wonderful place. Well, the last time I was in San Pablo was 20 years ago! LOL
what a great vacation spot. Thanks for the tip. San Pablo isn’t that far actually
Hi everyone! Am sure you’ll like the place..101% guaranteed. And as Noemi said, it’s not far from Manila, only a two-hour ride via the highway
Reminds me very much of the hotel in Lake Como, northern Italy. Bedroom verandah view of the lake while just lazing around is quite a sublime experience. Specially during sunset. But that’s a steal that you got as far as the price is concerned. Will try to stay in this hotel. Btw, ages ago when I still had relatives there, we used to bike around Sampaloc Lake. Beautiful quiet place but probably more improved now. Thanks for bringing back some warm memories with your pix!
Hi Al. How lucky of you to go to Lake Como.I’ve heard of it because of George Clooney’s villa:grin: As I said, they’re trying to rehabilitate Sampaloc lake now. The mansions around the lake are quite interesting too. It was my first time to visit the lake and I enjoyed the scenery..
salamat sa pagbisita sa aking barung-barong ajay
it’s my pleasure to have you in my links
i am honored melai. yes, i do lurk around your barung-barong mansion:grin:
whehehehe.. naka-rollers ka ba dun sa picture, inday?
nice pictures.. magandang idea yan ha.. thank you for sharing.
[...] Tahanan ni Aling Meding [...]
We would just like to share with you our unfortunate experience with Tahanan ni Aling Meding where we stayed overnight at room 203(the room they called Narra)
Taken by good reviews of the place, we decided to try it out in the hope of finding a nice place to recommend to our family and friends who may wish to visit us from Manila.
However, much to our disappointment, we felt shortchanged for an accommodation that delivered less of what was promised in their brochures and their website.
For starters, guests are supposedly given welcome drinks upon checking in. Yes, we were asked whether we want it in the lobby or sent up to our room…we chose that it be sent to our room. Need I say they weren’t sent? So when we went down for dinner, I jokingly pointed it out to the receptionist and she apologized saying they were busy with another function that night (UAP San Pablo chapter induction of officers) but promised to serve the drink to us the next day before we check out. Fine…like having been explained to that we are non-priority clients since they have a function to attend to that night was supposed to appease us!
Anyway, we were asked if we wanted to eat our dinner in our room veranda so we said ok…the dining place looked abandoned and gloomy anyway…BUT…you guessed it…about 10minutes into waiting for our food, an attendant knocks to say we can’t eat inside the room…well, ok…beats eating outside a veranda in full view of barong clad Architects to be inducted that night, anyway. So, we went down (3 floors down) and were served cold chopsuey (I specifically ordered this as per recommendation…it was not exceptional as expected and definetely not worth the wait…no trace of pork or clams were seen as opposed to what was shown in the brochure) and so-so inihaw na liempo (my mom’s version tasted better). We were asked for our drinks…I went for green tea and my husband ordered red tea. Again, the waiter came back to say they only have green tea. Haaah!!!! The “function” used up all the red iced tea and there was none left for us second class customers! Ok, then I asked about our welcome drinks…it was Tropicana…so we just retained we’d get that in the morning before checking out.
After dinner, with not much to do…we wanted to watch some TV…BUT…cable’s dead…network problems which they said should clear up in a few minutes…never did!
I was to take a pee and noticed, there was no toilet seat! Ahhh!!! Then I saw a large cockroach creeping inside the shower room! OMG!!!!! Where did that come from??
As I looked up the ceiling, part was broken and was haphazardly fixed by patching the hole up with some pieces of wood and cardboard…but you could still see the space between the ceiling and the roof…if you were the “praning” type, you would think someone could easily do a peeping tom on you while you’re doing your thing in the bathroom! Or worse, a rat could just jump on you!
So, we are stuck with no TV…and there’s this large fly (bangaw) that buzzed so loud I thought it was some big insect! We had to squish it so the sheets got soiled… we had to make do with the sheets of the smaller bed instead. (I must say though that the sheets are particularly nice…though there are stains on one pillow…and another smelled of roach!) Considering, we had a good night sleep.
We were looking forward to breakfast…the brochure boasted that thay serve brewed Batangas coffee and to me, that could well save the day. Well, we were served Cafe Puro instant coffee (i’m guessing since it’s not even Nescafe!) and when I asked if they have brewed coffee, the waiter apologized and said the coffeemakers broken.
I was sooo frustrated and was ready to take it up with the manager!
Check out time was 12nn so we made use of the remaining time to take pictures of the view (the place does command a nice view of the Sampaloc lake and Mt. Banahaw…such a pity)
When we were checking out, I jokingly reminded the receptionist of our welcome drinks…na goodbye drinks na…she asked…”Ay, di po ba na-serve? Sabi ko po i-serve sa inyo.” And you would think she’d go ask someone to get them for us? NO!!!! It was just left at that! Nakalimutan na…Fine.
There was this lady at the counter (I think she might be the manager) who asked where we’re from and I said we live nearby and just wanted to check out their place because of the good reviews I read in one blog. But I quickly added I never found them to be true. I explained to her how I expected the coffee to be brewed as it was stated in their brochure. Guess what she did? She took out a brochure and started scanning for the words that said we were entitled to free brewed coffee! Having seen none, she tells me so. OMG! I could not even begin to explain myself to her! It was the first time in my entire life to be treated as a seemingly clueless, stupid paying customer! Of course it need not be said! It was implied! It was stated as a come-on that they serve Batangas coffee! Was she telling me that as hotel guests, we are not entitled to brewed coffee? And it is only available upon request? To walk-in diners? Ganon ba kamahal ang brewed coffee at hindi pwede isama sa complimentary breakfast??? The waiter’s broken coffeemaker alibi was better! At least he never made me feel I don’t deserve the coffee! So I asked, (for lack of words to say to her unexpected response) and what about the complimentary drinks? Is it not written in your brochure??? She dismissed this question.
Anyway, I was fuming mad but I decided to hold my piece until I am composed with what I have to say. I decided expecting customers deserve to know about this more than anyone. I still can’t get over the fact that I did not speak my mind right there and then. I was just so taken aback by how i was treated as a customer that I was speechless! All I could say to her was that it was disappointing and it was not worth the price we had to pay! Does she really expect me to return? Or even recommend the place to friends???
The place is really nice…and the attendants are polite and would greet you with “goodmorning ma’ams”. But should you decide to stay for a night, make sure your stay won’t coincide with a function they are having…and make sure you bring books to read should the cable break down again…and don’t expect to be served everything the brochure promised.
Having said these, I hope the place’s admin and marketing people do something to improve their service and their marketing skills. We did not expect much from our stay…but we never expected less than what was promised! And having to be told you were wrong in assuming you deserve what was beautifully painted in that deceiving brochure…and your complaints be set aside on a technicality of words… those are sure ways to lose your business.
[...] I am expressing my opinion on this matter because of what reader Jocelyn Neri experienced in Tahanan ni Aling Meding. Even though she was swayed to try hotel because of the good things that were written in another blog, I still feel responsible because after all, I also had good things to say about Tahanan when I visited there last April. Here’s what she had to say: [...]
heloo im from alaminos laguna, works as a teacher in la salle green hills.im scouting for a place for my son’s baptism reception… wanna know how much to prepare for a hundred guest including budget meals. can we just rent the place? how much?
been there before.
[...] Ni Aling Meding is one of those must visit places here in San Pablo City. Ajay’s Writings on the Wall describes it as, “the most heavenly place I’ve stayed in a long time” while Our [...]
hi guy!
This is to inform you that “tahanan ni aling meding”-yourhome by the lake, is now running under new management.
Therefore, I apologize for your unwanted experince before…
Now, aside from heavenly view, we are looking forward to serbe you better..
For those who want to stay at “tahanan ni aling meding”, just text me @ 0917-6124288..I will give u discount for your stay and incentive for your recommendations…
Because of many changes, TAHANAN is now offered as BED & BREAKFAST..it is also a perferct place for dream garden weddings and receptions, lavish private party, retreats,babtism,christening and ideal place for seminars, workshop and conference..
thank u po! and i hope to see u there!
KHRISTINE M. GARCIA
Marketing Director
Tahanan ni Aling Meding
Dagatan Blvd. Sampaloc Lake
San Pablo City
For inquiries & reservations,
call (049) 562-5855…
i was in TAHANAN last march kasbayan ko si derek joel lamangan, super and ganda tlaga dun lalo na ung view - the lake and the mountains, ideal ang ambiance, the beatiful garden and surroundings, the nostalgic heritage, the peace and tranquility. dun ulit ako magstay paguwi ko ng pinas this september sama ko mga friends ko.=)