It has been a while since crickets.
Weird way to start off a blog post, I know. However, the exact thought has not left since our first night at the dome when I went out to the outdoor kitchen to grab some cutlery. It was the first time in a very, very long time that I have heard crickets and they lulled me all the way to sleep. It was then that I realised that living in the city does eff up your mind because very mundane things like that sets a place apart from your everyday life.
We wanted an escape, but we still wanted the comfort of a vacation.
We're not very into camping...as a matter of fact, we're not into it at all so you can just imagine how much the idea of glamping is very appealing to us because it has what nature has to offer that we've been craving for without the nitty gritty of setting up camp or having to cook our own meals. It's relaxing down to its core.
We found Dome de Valentine, a part of the popular Treehouse de Valentine, in Airbnb and we decided to choose this for that experience. It's a huge bonus that we could take our dog with us. Our experience magical, but let me tell you more about it.
Booking our stay
We booked our stay via Airbnb. You may check out the listing here. We communicated with Mikhaela, the property manager who was extremely nice to us. After we made the booking, Mikhaela sent us the details of our booking as well as other details about the property. Also via Airbnb messaging, we booked our ride to the property at this time for Php 3,600 for a one-way trip with a sedan. We figured this was the best option because it is sure that the car rental would not have any problem locating the property. This was paid via Airbnb through a payment link that Mikhaela sent to us. Lastly, we pre-ordered (as required) all of our meals. There is also a deposit of Php 2,000 to be paid in cash but is refundable if there was no damage and you check out in time.
Getting there
As mentioned, we booked a ride through Mikhaela (the host). We provided details such as our names, our address and the times that we wanted to be picked up and dropped off. We also noted that we have our dog with us. We left our place at 1:45pm and we arrived at around 3:30 pm. It only took longer because of the traffic in the city. The ride was very much okay, there's only just a few meters of rough terrain when we were about to arrive and a couple of road construction but nothing too bothersome.
 |
| The very few metres of rough terrain. |
Dome de Valentine
This is probably one of the very few places that look as pretty in real life as it does in the photos. The dome is large with five beds, a dining area and shower room. There is also a private pool, an outdoor kitchen, outdoor shower and a patio.
The dining area comfortably sits eight and is overlooking the private pool and also partly the woods behind it. There is also black coffee, sugar, creamer and dinner napkins that comes with the stay. There is a hot and cold water dispenser inside the dome.
A day bed could also be used as a main bed if needed - though it's obviously a little smaller. This was the perfect spot for just chilling during the daytime, reading a book, scrolling through Tiktok, etc.
This area right next to the dining is the only one that had a television on it. You can watch Netflix and Youtube - the internet held pretty well even with the streaming. Silent time is at 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. For the Wifi password, Renae will provide it during check in.
A small, but very pretty seating/living area also overlooks the outdoor area.
This is the toilet and shower room inside the dome. It's not particularly large, just enough space but it is obviously very clean. The best part here? The toilet has not only one...but two bidets! The only "problem" I had was there was no place to put extra toiletries in the shower so we just placed ours on the floor.
For the outdoor area, there is a private pool which may not be a large one but I think could comfortably fit around five people at a time. The pool was very clean and well-maintained. This was my first experience having a private pool and I can definitely tell you that after this experience, if I had all the money in the world, I'd go for private pools all the time. I am a little conscious on how I look in swimwear because I don't have the summer bod that everyone seems to have and I find it awkward having to bump into strangers when swimming. This was the first time that I truly fully enjoyed waddling (homegirl can't swim) around the water.
The outdoor kitchen has a large fridge, an induction stove, washing area, cooking utensils, cutlery, mugs, cups, plates, etc. There is also a dishwashing soap and a brand new sponge in the wash area. In our case, we ordered all our meals so we didn't have to cook. In case you do choose to cook, make sure to clean up after yourselves and also put everything back in its place. Right next to the kitchen is a patio that can be used for hanging out or even dining.
This is the entrance to the outdoor shower. I wasn't able to take photos of the inside because our dog got so fussy and excited of being outdoor. However, it was also very clean and though we didn't use it, it was a great enough space if you want to clean up before heading inside. Also worth noting is that you do have to be barefoot inside the dome and you'd have to leave your shoes outside the front door.
Everything that we ate during our stay
All meals (including drinks and complimentary breakfast) should be pre-ordered at least two days before you check in. We ordered all our meals because we usually cook our food at home so we didn't want to have to do it during our vacation. We also added in the times that we wanted to have our meal when we preordered. Since Airbnb does not allow menus to be sent over via private message in the app, I had to message their Facebook page for the menu before sending our choices to Mikhaela back in Airbnb. The total payable for meals were paid for in cash at the property upon check in.
Overall, the meals served surpassed my expectations for the biggest reason that they did remind me so much of homecooked meals that I had back when I was a child. The meals were so homey and cozy - felt like home away from home.
 |
| Pork Belly |
The pork belly was delicious, but the fatty part was a tiny little bit tough.
 |
| Sisig |
The sisig was also so good! The only downside was that it was a little spicy for my tolerance which is not that much to begin with. I wouldn't take this against the dish, just my poor spice tolerance because I did enjoy this and was able to finish it.
 |
| Danggit with Garlic Rice and Omelette |
For breakfast, we first tried their danggit with garlic rice and omelette - you can specify how you want the eggs cooked when you preorder. The danggit was not salty which was great and the egg was cooked well.
 |
| Mixed Platter |
I don't even know where to begin with this one. It's like a potluck of all things good. We chose the platter that has seafood - the seafood that we got with ours were baked scallops which I really loved because it was not overly butterly or cheesy. We also had crispy pata, sweet and sour chicken , beef steak, pancit and rice. They all were extremely delicious (I am seriously running out of adjectives here).
 |
Kropek
|
 |
| Green Mango with Bagoong |
We didn't order this so I'm guessing this came with the platter but we also had kropek and sliced green mango with bagoong.
 |
| Mango Float |
For dessert, we had the mango float. This was still very good, but the mangoes were only the toppings. Still very yum!
 |
| Humba |
The humba was as what we had expected a Cebuano humba to be. It did remind me of how my grandpa used to make it. The meat was very tender.
 |
| Chicken Tinola |
This had a very generous serving that we ended up sharing the soup.
 |
Chorizo with Garlic Rice
|
We specifically requested this not to have eggs with so this does not look as festive as usual. The chorizo was spicy so that's something to know if you have no tolerance to spice.
 |
| Bacon with Garlic Rice and Omelette |
Bacon with omelette. The bacon was nothing too special but it's not bad at all. Still well-cooked.
 |
| Pancit Canton |
We decided to have a little snack before we checked out. Here we have pancit which was the same as what we had for the mixed platter. The serving was good to be shared by two people.
 |
| Turon with Banana |
What better way to end a great stay than some delicious turon. This only had banana as a filling which I liked most about it. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I am not a big fan of langka in my turon. Sorry. Anyway, I ended up wrapping up the rest of this home because I was too full from the pancit.
Exceptional Service
When we arrived, the manager Renae (or Renee - I'm so sorry I forgot how it was spelled) welcomed us right at the parking area. He took us through a quick tour of the dome and he even personally delivered a few of our meals during our stay.
On our second day, one of the staff offered if we wanted the pool cleaned which we gladly accepted. Renae and the rest of the staff were exceptional and in my humble opinion, could rival (and even surpass) the service we experienced at more expensive hotels. They were very friendly and we felt at home in the property.
The Power Interruption
It rained hard on our first night which I believe was the cause of a coconut tree toppling over an electricity line. The next morning, there was no electricity so the property had to use their backup generator. The manager, Renae, asked us if we could only switch on one aircon for the day. We had no problem with this because we planned to go to the river which was only a few minutes walk away and to go swimming in the pool. During the nighttime, we needed the lights and the wifi and the water in the dispenser was already getting to room temperature so we asked for those to be turned on as well. The power interruption lasted through the entire night but we had no problems getting a good night's sleep because of the backup power.
Check out
Check out was at 11:00 am and took no more than five minutes.
Pet-Friendly Tips
They welcome up to two trained pets per group. If your pet is not house-broken (trained for peeing and pooing at very specific places inside the home and is non-destructive indoor), it would be best to leave your pet behind under the care of someone you trust. Always, always clean up after your pet's mess and bring everything essential for that like poo bags, potty pads, etc. Also make sure NOT to use the utensils for your pets and bring separate ones that your pets can use.
In conclusion...
We're so happy that our first time glamping was one that we loved and would treasure forever. Staycation may not be for everybody because there's really not much to do except to lay around, take a relaxing swim, eat and relax. This is for those who want to really uproot themselves from the noise of their regular lives. It's for those who don't want to do anything at all.
Location:
Disclaimer: This is out of personal experience. Your experience and preferences may differ from mine. This review is not written with the intention to harm any individual, group or business.
