SMOOTH AS SEDA: SEDA NUVALI

         Throughout my entire life, I've always thought of Laguna as "The place you pass on the way to Tagaytay", or "Where Enchanted Kingdom is". It wasn't until a few years ago when Nuvali began to grow, did my perception of Laguna begin to change.

    With its restaurants and the outlet stores at The Solenad Strip Malls, a stop at Nuvali there every time we head out to Tagaytay has become a given. Although I am always excited to see Nuvali's selection of restaurants, not to mention Rina and Rain love the fish feeding, I never really thought of Laguna as a vacation spot.

  The rise of Seda Nuvali changed all that.

     I wasn't aware that Seda had opened in Nuvali up until around November. I had been to the BGC location once to umm.. Use the toilet but I had never seen the rooms or tried their food so my stay at Seda Nuvali experience would turn out to be my very first taste of the Seda hospitality.

   

     Seda is tucked away within the growing Nuvali community. The grounds are on the edge of the lake, making it feel like a nature commune, with luxurious ameneties. 

     

     Seda aims to be the next big Proudly Filipino hotel chain, with its lobby using comfortable furniture pieces conceptualized by internationally recognized home grown talents, such as Kenneth Cobonpue, and Ann Pamintuan.

         There are four Computer stations with internet access that are readily available for guests to use. 

CLUB LOUNGE

     The Room we were given allowed us access to Seda's Club Lounge, which is located on the 9th floor of the hotel. Seda's Club Lounge serves meal spreads during Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, and Merienda, as well as refreshments throughout the day.

 The lounge offers a spectacular view of the lake, making it the ideal location to settle down with a good book or (Blog) write.

     Granted, the water of the lake may not be crystal clear, but its a stunning sight to behold nonetheless. 

     There are many activities you may do around Seda Nuvali. You may rent Bicycles and take a ride along the lake, or even find a shaded area in the grass for a nice picnic.

      One of the more popular activities is the Boat Taxi, where you are taken around the lake in a speed boat. Not exactly Miami Vice, but still pretty cool, especially for the kids. I've got to warn you though, the line gets really long, so you might want to go early if you intend to ride on the boat.

   Rina and Rain love feeding the fishes. You can buy a small bag of fish food at the booth for P30 bucks. No matter where you throw the food, there's bound to be a bunch of huge fishes fighting over those pellets. Sorta like me at the breakfast buffet's bacon platter.  

    There is also a computer with net access for to catch up with emails and such.

SEDA TOUCH

 
    If you would like to get a relaxing massage while you're enjoying your stay, you can drop by the second floor and visit Seda Touch, Seda's Spa area. 

    Comfortable rooms are available for both single guests and couples as well. 

 The bed was perfect for a nice relaxing nap. 

FITNESS CENTER

    Seda's Fitness Center is equipped with state of the art cardio machines and weights, giving you the option of keeping yourself in shape while on your vacation. 

Coincidentally, the treadmill was also perfect for a nice relaxing nap. 

     Seda Nuvali also has functions available that can accomodate up to 100 people. Since it has become the primary option for local businesses and family functions around the Laguna area, the rooms were in use so we weren't able to take photographs in the room, so it would be best to contact Seda Nuvali directly for inquiries. 

CHILDREN'S PLAYROOM

     There is a kid's play area that features a small slide, little tykes hoops and a TV, but I found the area a little bit too small.. 

  Especially when considering the large empty space of the game room, which is equipped with computers and three different gaming consoles, all to be enjoyed on cozy beanbags.

    Once Rain sat on the beanbag, we had trouble getting her out of it. Once I sat on the beanbag, Rina also had trouble getting me out of it. Mainly because she couldn't pull me out, but still. 

PREMIER ROOM

     

   We were given the Premier Room, which is a nearly 40 sq meter room overlooking the lake. The room is equipped with a King size Bed..

   And a day bed by the window, which can also serve as an extra bed.. Especially during those times when your toddler daughter and wife move around so much that you're virtually relegated to the edge of the bed.. Who else can relate?

       I was very much impressed with Seda's Entertainment system. True, a 32 inch flat screen TV isn't anything that will blow your mind nowadays, but it was the connectivity console that caught my attention.

    An outlet with server types of of sockets- from USB, to HDMI was available. I brought a media player and a hard drive so (Rina) Rain could watch "My Little Pony".

   All I needed to do was chuck the HDMI cord from the Media player into the socket and Viola! One happy (Rina) Rain!

    A microwave and ref allows you a little flexibility when it comes to food. You can choose to dine in the hotel's in-house restaurants, or buy food from one of the numerous restaurants at Solenad and heat it up again before eating it. 

           The dazzling spacious bathroom was equipped with a bathtub as well.

DELUXE ROOM

    The Premier room that we were billeted in had an adjoining Deluxe Room right beside it, which was where my sister in law and father in law stayed. The room is a tad bit smaller and had two double beds..

          As well as a day bed similar to that in the Premier Room. 

    The bathroom was also a bit smaller than that of the Premier room but still quite lovely.

SWIMMING POOL

 
     One of the highlights of Seda Nuvali is their gorgeous swimming pool. 

  The Pool is quite child friendly, and even as a portion that allows kids to play with water fountains!

 

    Well.. Both kids and kids at heart, that is..

   This also marked the first time I got punked by my own daughter. As we were playing with the fountain, she called me over saying, "Look, Daddy!".

               Then she holds the fountain and directs it to my face!!!!

    I'm glad i'm posting this because it will serve as a reminder that she's gonna be grounded in a few years!!! 

POSING SESSIONS

        If you've ever visited the website Jackie Go (GoJackieGo), then you know that the woman is gorgeous. I've always been amazed how you can photograph her doing something as simple as flip her hair and it could end up on a magazine. 

      I asked her if she could give me some tips on how to do some of those poses she does, complaining to her that no matter how hard I try, I could never seem to replicate her effortless grace and beauty.

       Naturally, she scoffed the notion off, saying that she would help me out. We started by doing a simple, "Hand to the ear" pose that seems to be a standard pose for people who post OOTDs on social networks nowadays.

          And like I said, for some reason, it didn't have the same effect. 

    Based on the face of Rina and everyone around the pool area, it kinda in fact, had quite the opposite.

    Jackie then asked me to try something a bit more simple.. 

   The Cross Legged Beauty Queen pose aka "The Mommy Fleur".

   Unfortunately, I have some.. umm.. "hanging parts" that makes leg crossing a little bit more (painful) difficult for me. 

    After that I had to raise the white flag and call it a day. Much appreciated Jackie, but I guess I'm a lost cause :( 

MISTO

    Despite the tempting lure of the numerous restaurants at Solenad, staying in a relaxing hotel such as Seda Nuvali would cause one to never want to leave, even for a meal. You may choose to instead dine at Seda Nuvali's in-house restaurant, Misto. 

   For the Holiday Season, Seda Nuvali offered a Christmas Buffet, which I suspect they'll be doing for all Major Holidays. 

 

           As is with all buffets, I made a beeline for the carving station!

    In the spirit of the  yuletide season, Seda had a huge Ham as the main attraction to their carving station! 

     But still keeping true to its Filipino roots, guests were given a hunk of Lechon Kawali to gorge on.

 
        One of the highlights of the meal was the Roasted Beef with Red Wine and Gorgonzola Sauce..

           And the Peking Style Chicken

BREAKFAST BUFFET

    The Breakfast spread consisted of some early morning favorites, including a selection of breads.

     Assorted Sausages and Potatoes

You can have eggs any style you want..

       There were other breakfast staples such as Chicken Adobo and Beef Tapa, but one of the standouts were the Sheperd's Pie and the Five Spice Chicken.. Which seems more like a Brunch entree, than breakfast.. No complaints from me though. 

       I was ecstatic that there was Bacon, although it looked quite unorthodox as compared to the bacon I'm used to. I found it a little bit too rare, so I asked to have it re-fired, which they gladly did with no hesitation.

JAPANESE SET MEAL

    We hadn't even digested our breakfast yet, when lunchtime came around. The MIsto kitchen wanted to show it's versatility and took the liberty of preparing a Japanese meal for us!

       We began with some California Makis and some other type of Sushi wraps. Not my cup of tea, but Rina and Chaikka attacked it. 

 
    Next was the Chicken Teriyaki, which had a nice cook on the meat but needed a little bit of soy sauce or salt. 

      I actually really liked the Tempura platter, which consisted of plump prawns, but mixed vegetables too! I had the sweet potato tempura, which was quite delicious. 

        The Katsu wasn't anything to go crazy over, especially when you compare to other Katsu titans such as Yabu. The meat was on the tougher side, but the flavor was pretty good.  

        The dessert was Misto's take on the Leche Flan with blueberry compote and the proverbial cherry on top. 

      Seda is a fairly new hotel, with the rooms and service undoubtedly world class. The food was fairly decent but still a few notches below its hotel contemporaries. I'm confident though that the food will improve as well as time goes by. 

        The emergence of Seda Nuvali delivers an interesting option to the Pinoy Traveler. Laguna is far enough for you to feel like you're going on an out-of-town vacation (complete with outlet store shopping), yet near enough for it to feel like a relaxed "staycation".

    Regardless of how you may view it, the Seda standard of hospitality and service is one that every traveler should experience.  

Seda NUVALI
Lakeside Evozone, NUVALI
Sta. Rosa City, Laguna
(6349) 255 8888

nuv@sedahotels.com

Website: http://www.sedahotels.com/nuvali/

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