Friday, February 7, 2014

Keni Po Tagaytay: Get Your Money's Worth and More



Last week, I was putting together a simple itinerary for our 7th anniversary getaway. We wanted to go to 
Tagaytay, and I figured staying for the night will be our best bet so that we can enjoy every hour of our time 
there.  

Now that was where I stumbled upon a bit of a dilemma - Tagaytay hotels aren't known to be cheap. 
In fact, even the smaller ones charge somewhere at 3000 to 4000 a night, and that wasn't cutting it for our 
limited budget. So I browsed forums online and the name Keni Po kept on cropping up as a touted 
'affordable and comfortable' hotel. Maybe my search wasn't very comprehensive, but I actually did not find a 
single bad remark about the place, except for, well, when somebody said "Don't expect much." 

So I didn't. 
I just kept in mind that Keni Po will just be a place for us to lodge our bags in and sleep for the 
night, so it really wouldn't matter if it wasn't marvelous. I booked an overnight stay in their Family Room 
which can comfortably accommodate four persons. Perfect, since we are a group of four, hubby, me, 
our daughter, and her yaya. We went to Keni Po after our tiring (but fun!) morning at Picnic Grove. 


We got there a little before the check-in time of 1pm, and found out that our room wasn't ready yet. 
There was this nagging "uh-oh" feeling inside me. I saw the staff coming out from our room with 
unwashed plates and bowls, and I figured the group before us may have left late, and weren't really keen 
on doing the dishes at all, thus the delay. All the worries went away when we were led to the garden area 
where we can wait. There was a wooden seat amidst well-manicured greens, there were concrete pavilions 
adjacent to a small pool, there was a trelissed path covered with white flowers. It was such a lovely sight to 
behold that I didn't even notice that 10 minutes had already passed by. We were told our room was ready. 



This is their family room. It wasn't grand and big, but it was beautiful and homey. The place smelled freshly-scrubbed, and indeed, every corner was spotless. It pleased my OC hubby, so I must say their cleanliness 
standards deserve some applause. The first room that greeted us was this living area. It had a brightly-colored sala set, which by the way looked new (or perhaps just very well-maintained). 
There was also a TV set with cable connections. 


This is the bedroom, which unfortunately did not come with cabinets, but had two tall double beds, and a 
wall-mounted LCD TV with cable connections. There was a full-length mirror as well, and the room was 
air-conditioned. Yey! And just like the living room, it was very clean, the linens had that freshly-laundered smell, and the pillows weren't a disappointment either. They gave us a each a guest kit composed of towels,
toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, and soaps good for four people. 


This is the kitchen area, which was conveniently equipped with a gas stove, a refrigerator, and spacious 
cabinets. There was a selection of drinks and snacks that you can avail of at a very affordable price, and I
 mean very, compared to posh hotel prices. Their 1.5 liter of Coke was priced at 55 pesos, and their mineral 
water priced at 20 pesos. If it was in some four or five-star establishment...well you can imagine it wouldn't be
in that range at all. You wouldn't even dare touch the goods in the ref. Noooooo.... 

But in Keni Po, getting a couple of refreshments will not scare the hell out of your wallet. They also had some 
plates and utensils ready for you, just in case you didn't bring yours. I found it very convenient that the family 
room has this well-equipped kitchen, because it means a budget-conscious mom like me can just bring 
home-cooked food and heat it (which we did) there. And you can get fresh produce from the local market and cook it there too! :)

They also offer room service, in case you're not in the mood to do anything in the kitchen. Their silog meals 
are priced at 80 pesos, and I heard their tapa was very good.  They also had soupy viands like sinigang and 
nilaga (good for sharing), which were priced at 150-200 pesos. That's still 50-100 pesos more affordable 
than eating them at Tagaytay restaurants. We didn't order food from them, because our leftover adobo 
was still enough for our breakfast. Hehe. Told you we had a limited budget. :) We did order rice and 
scrambled egg, and I had some of their hot chocolate (which tasted a lot like Jollibee's!). We opted to enjoy 
our breakfast in their garden pavilion, which offered a relaxing view. 

photo from: http://keniporooms.blogspot.com/
This is the bathroom. I had to lift the photo from their blogsite because I forgot to take a photo (toink toink). 
It was rather small, but had enough space for one individual to take a shower, so I guess that's good enough. 
They had a hot/cold shower....yey! It was spotless just like the rest of the Family Room, and didn't have that 
'old damp smell' you sometimes get in 'affordable' places. The only negative thing with the bathroom is water 
supply isn't as strong as you would want it in the morning. To help you visualize: think of getting a medium-strength drizzle instead of a full-on shower when you use the shower. :) 


This is their garden area, which is very conducive for barbecue nights, breakfasts, and mini-pictorials with 
friends and family. I really liked their two-floored pavilions, which came conveniently equipped with tables. 
It was like being lodged in a little private resort. :) 


Their pool on the other hand, is beautifully surrounded by flowers and smooth stones. I really liked that they 
kept it clean. Even when we did our tour the night before our check-out, there were no
floating leaves or insects, and for a pool in a garden setting, that was quite exceptional. My only negative 
comment for the pool is this, it was 4 feet deep all throughout, which means little kids can't walk around in it. 
It was also brrrr, very cold. :) We had to wait for the sun to be beautifully settled in the sky before we dared 
take a dip. I sure hope they consider heating it someday. They are in chilly Tagaytay after all. 

There is also ample parking space in the area, and since we checked in on a Sunday, there wasn't a lot of 
parked vehicles. Their staff are nice and accommodating too. 

If you're coming from Tagaytay Rotonda, Keni Po is located on the left side, just beside Ina ng Laging Saklolo
Church. It is about 10 minutes away from Picnic Grove (if traffic isn't heavy), same distance to Tagaytay 
Rotonda. 
 
And oh yes before I forget..... An overnight stay at Keni Po is only at 2000 
pesos for the family room. Quite a steal right? :) No buffet breakfasts here, but hey, 
this is Tagaytay - there's a whole plethora of restos to try! 


So, if you plan to visit Tagaytay and want a more than decent place to stay in without worrying about your 
budget, Keni Po is definitely a good choice. Call in early to make reservations, their rooms get booked fast 
(no doubt here why. :)).  Here is their blog, and you can also join their Facebook group.

15 comments:

  1. It looks like a pretty homey place, but the bathrooms are really small. But it works if you're not really spending all your time in the hotel. :) Nice review!

    http://www.mrsdiazchronicle.weebly.com

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    1. Hi Maita! Absolutely agree with you, the bathrooms are small. But for me, for as long as it's clean, and there's sufficient water supply, I'm good. And yes, homey places like Keni Po are best for trips when you plan to enjoy most of your time outside - and when you're on a budget. :)

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  2. I love Keni Po. We stayed there more than a decade ago, and it's really value for money.
    I remember having to commute to reach the place, and when we got there, the price the owner/front desk quoted was higher than I expected. Turned out the trike driver told the owner/front desk that we were looking for a place to stay and he "brought" us there. Apparently, they give a commission to trike drivers when they bring passengers there. When the owner/front desk learned that we specifically looked for Keni Po, he gave us a lower rate. Trike driver: busted! LOL!

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  3. Hi, balak sana naming mgpareserve ng room sa keni po. pano po kau ngpareserve? sabi kc nung nkausap q sa cp.. we need to pay the whole rental fee sa bpi pra mareserve ung room.. is that valid? gnyan din po ba ginawa nio to have a reservation? just want to make sure...

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    Replies
    1. Hi sis Angelica! Sorry for the super late reply. Sabi ko 50% lang idedeposit ko, kasi yun lang nabasa ko sa forums. Ok lang naman daw. And yes it was a BPI account. :)

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    2. Hi. Do they have mobile number? :)

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    3. Hi sis Zarra! Yes they do - 09321847555. :)

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  4. Oh, nakita namin yan nung naghahap kami ng tagaytay hotel, sadly, I went in the wrong hotel. haha. mejo mahal yung nakuha namin.,

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  5. Hi I just I want to ask if ung Mary grace parra na sinend sakin is totoo. We need to deposit our payment daw sa acc# ni Mary grace parra. Is this scam? Papareserve po kase kami. Thanks

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  6. Ang sarap naman mamahinga jan. Sana jan magpareserve yung Tita naming manlilibre mamasyal sa Tagaytay. Ma-suggest nga yung place. Thanks! :)

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  7. Hi.. How to book po in keni po? ;nx!

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  8. Hi.. How to book po in keni po? ;nx!

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  9. Hello Ms. Tin! This is Pia Bernaldo of Travelbook.ph. Would like to know if you are interested to be one of our partner bloggers? Hope you can check affiliate.travelbook.ph or email us at affiliate@travelbook.ph

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  10. May contact no. Po kayo ng keni po? Thanks.

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