Sonya's Garden Spa
Introduction
Once a simple garden, turned to a huge business, Sonya's Garden has gone a long way from its humble beginnings. I remember about 10 years ago when my uncle brought us to this place, it was nothing more than a house with a garden and a small but cute covered area in which guests are entertained. The food literally is the freshest you can get, (right off the garden) and it is simply sumptuous and to think that its all veggies and very healthy and good for you. It was nice hidden, private and remote, we even jokingly called it the Sonya's "secret" Garden. Now, 10 years on, I have finally came back to Sonya's Garden, and there have been some monumental changes; there are much more areas to dine in now, there is also a venue for weddings/debuts/etc now, and more relevantly there is also a spa. The spa is located at the innermost area of the whole complex, you get to stroll by a beautiful garden a shop. Just like The Nurture Spa which is also located in Tagaytay, you also get a good dose of unfiltered nature, great for a relaxing spa experience.
Ambiance
Walking into the spa area, you get a sense of culture as I imagine the architects thought it would be nice to use conventional Filipino building materials. Each individual gets a private room all for them self. In each room is a bed, and a private shower area where you can also hang your clothes as you change into the robe and shorts. What I found kinda awkward about the room is that the bath area is almost as large as the room area, because the room isn't really that large to begin with I would have thought that a little bit more room area and a little bit less bath area should have been done, but as I am no architect that's the extent of my complaints on the ergonomics of the room. Anyway, I found that the room is very relaxing and the use of yellow lights extremely calming. You may or may not turn on the high velocity fan in your room, since the room is cooled by the mountain breeze; the spa area has a high roof with no ceiling so it is relatively cool inside, but this of course depends on the ambient temperature outside. Also as the spa is located in a garden, you get to take in a whole lot of nature, no white noise machines necessary here, everything is all genuine nature.
Quality of Service
Here's where my personal experience turned a little bit sour. I was just a little bit surprised that a huge man came into my room, it took me a while to realize that he was to be my masseuse. Not that I haven't had a massage by a guy before but hey he was a huge dude and I have to say it was not a comfortable experience. One of the advantages though of having a dude do your massage is that there is very good pressure. After a little while, I started to get relaxed by the massage, and I got a little bit more comfortable with the idea. They use very nice aromatherapy oils that are very relaxing. One of the things that I pay attention to in quality of service is how experienced the masseuse is or is not. Anyway this big dude did a pretty good job with the pressure but I'm afraid he fell short because he could not sense what areas in my body needed a little bit more time, it felt like the whole thing was a carefully rehearsed movement and that he was not reacting to my personal needs (and no I don't really vocally go out and tell them unless I'm really in so much pain, besides they're professionals and they should know these things) So for me it wasn't really worth it but my companions came out with a refreshed look in their faces, and when I asked them about their experience they all said they had a very good experience. Maybe I just got the lemon or maybe my masseuse just wasn't up to it for that day but hey as Micheal Jordan once said "I do my best all the time, for that one person that one person in the stands, that one person that spent his allowance, his salary, for that one person, this might be his first or his only Micheal Jordan experience, and I want it to be memorable for that person.", I'm not entirely sure those are the exact words of Mr.Jordan, I'm sorry if I got some wrong but I watched this documentary when I was 10 and sort of never forgot the thought of that speech. For Sonya's Garden Spa, I'm sure that they have very competent staff and my experience is the exception not the rule but in my opinion there needs to be a great improvement in the quality of their service. Oh and the tea they served after the massage is really excellent.
Once a simple garden, turned to a huge business, Sonya's Garden has gone a long way from its humble beginnings. I remember about 10 years ago when my uncle brought us to this place, it was nothing more than a house with a garden and a small but cute covered area in which guests are entertained. The food literally is the freshest you can get, (right off the garden) and it is simply sumptuous and to think that its all veggies and very healthy and good for you. It was nice hidden, private and remote, we even jokingly called it the Sonya's "secret" Garden. Now, 10 years on, I have finally came back to Sonya's Garden, and there have been some monumental changes; there are much more areas to dine in now, there is also a venue for weddings/debuts/etc now, and more relevantly there is also a spa. The spa is located at the innermost area of the whole complex, you get to stroll by a beautiful garden a shop. Just like The Nurture Spa which is also located in Tagaytay, you also get a good dose of unfiltered nature, great for a relaxing spa experience.
Ambiance
Walking into the spa area, you get a sense of culture as I imagine the architects thought it would be nice to use conventional Filipino building materials. Each individual gets a private room all for them self. In each room is a bed, and a private shower area where you can also hang your clothes as you change into the robe and shorts. What I found kinda awkward about the room is that the bath area is almost as large as the room area, because the room isn't really that large to begin with I would have thought that a little bit more room area and a little bit less bath area should have been done, but as I am no architect that's the extent of my complaints on the ergonomics of the room. Anyway, I found that the room is very relaxing and the use of yellow lights extremely calming. You may or may not turn on the high velocity fan in your room, since the room is cooled by the mountain breeze; the spa area has a high roof with no ceiling so it is relatively cool inside, but this of course depends on the ambient temperature outside. Also as the spa is located in a garden, you get to take in a whole lot of nature, no white noise machines necessary here, everything is all genuine nature.
Quality of Service
Here's where my personal experience turned a little bit sour. I was just a little bit surprised that a huge man came into my room, it took me a while to realize that he was to be my masseuse. Not that I haven't had a massage by a guy before but hey he was a huge dude and I have to say it was not a comfortable experience. One of the advantages though of having a dude do your massage is that there is very good pressure. After a little while, I started to get relaxed by the massage, and I got a little bit more comfortable with the idea. They use very nice aromatherapy oils that are very relaxing. One of the things that I pay attention to in quality of service is how experienced the masseuse is or is not. Anyway this big dude did a pretty good job with the pressure but I'm afraid he fell short because he could not sense what areas in my body needed a little bit more time, it felt like the whole thing was a carefully rehearsed movement and that he was not reacting to my personal needs (and no I don't really vocally go out and tell them unless I'm really in so much pain, besides they're professionals and they should know these things) So for me it wasn't really worth it but my companions came out with a refreshed look in their faces, and when I asked them about their experience they all said they had a very good experience. Maybe I just got the lemon or maybe my masseuse just wasn't up to it for that day but hey as Micheal Jordan once said "I do my best all the time, for that one person that one person in the stands, that one person that spent his allowance, his salary, for that one person, this might be his first or his only Micheal Jordan experience, and I want it to be memorable for that person.", I'm not entirely sure those are the exact words of Mr.Jordan, I'm sorry if I got some wrong but I watched this documentary when I was 10 and sort of never forgot the thought of that speech. For Sonya's Garden Spa, I'm sure that they have very competent staff and my experience is the exception not the rule but in my opinion there needs to be a great improvement in the quality of their service. Oh and the tea they served after the massage is really excellent.
Comments
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