First in a series

Valentine’s Day must be the heaviest-traffic day of the year in Metro Manila. The mall-size crowd is everywhere, including your supposedly most private restaurant.

Therefore, we thought of making Lifestyle’s List of away-from-the-crowd Valentine Destinations:

Domicillo
Km. 58 General Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Maharlika East, Tagaytay
This is on soft opening—an eight-room bed/breakfast overlooking Taal Lake. It’s beautifully designed by the famous Budji+Royal Design firm of Budji Layug and Royal Pineda, and owned by the Domicillo-fame family of Rene Alcala.

Alcala, like Layug, belonged to the design group Movement 8 that gained world fame in the 1980s and ’90s. Not surprisingly, this place has the home furniture and accents of the group.

The rooms are perfect for staycations. (For now, Domicillo serves only breakfast.) Restaurants are right next door. The place is beside Cliffhouse along the main highway. You won’t miss it.
For inquiries, e-mail [email protected], tel. no. (046) 4133552, mobile 0922-8841532

Café Tan-aw
Pinto Art Museum
1 Sierra Madre St. Grand Heights, Antipolo City, Rizal

This vast sprawl in Antipolo is getting to be a very “in” date place, especially among the young.

The place is serene, yet has many visual interests all over—
from the contemporary art collection in the museum to the sculptures in the garden and fabric (inabel) collection in the new Museum of Indigenous Art. It’s food for the heart and soul.

And for literal nourishment, there’s Café Tan-awan that serves pasta and other comfort food. Perfect for a date.
Museum hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays to Sundays. For inquiries, tel no. 6971015 or e-mail  [email protected].

Casa San Pablo
Barrio San Roque, San Pablo, Laguna

Casa San Pablo’s expansive grounds and spacious rooms have made it an ideal venue for team building, but the rustic bed-and-breakfast run by self-described innkeepers Boots and An Alcantara also makes for a perfect romantic getaway.

Affordable overnight packages for couples include a free gift, whole body massage, and rooms and meals especially prepared for a coosome twosome. Lovebirds who just want to while away the weekend can snuggle up in bed in colorful rooms accented with Boots’ eclectic art collection and Hot Wheels cars, indulge in sumptuous lutong bahay prepared the way lola Sinforosa Azores-Gomez used to make them, or stretch out on a hammock in the garden and stare at a starry sky (or each other) all night.

For inquiries, call Casa San Pablo at tel. nos. +63920-9675277, +63917-8126687, or e-mail [email protected]

To be continued tomorrow