Checked out: Nurture Wellness Village

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A row of gazebos for outdoor treatments at Nurture Wellness Village.

A couple of weeks ago we tried out Nurture Wellness Village in Tagaytay. I've read so many good things about this spa so my expectations were naturally high. We stayed at a different place and only booked a massage at Nurture, so I couldn't say anything about their accommodation.

Overall ambiance
Nurture Wellness Village sits on a mostly downhill terrain. After entering the gate, guests are greeted at an open-air pavilion with tea. Trees are aplenty but the property is not entirely shaded, so there are several nice open spaces of grass. The gardens are well-maintained and nestled among them are open-air gazebos where guests wait before being ushered to their massage rooms. I suppose this is also where foot treatments are done.

Concrete structures painted in white are likewise scattered all across the property, accessible via winding concrete pathways. So yes, it's like a mini-village. I'm not sure if these are all treatment rooms, though, but I understand that checked-in guests have a separate area. Nonetheless, we passed by a model Ifugao house, which is one of the accommodation options available here. We also passed by the pool, which was a lot smaller than I expected it to be and which could also use some cleaning, by the way.

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On our way to our massage room.

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One of the gazebos for foot-related treatments.

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A model Ifugao house. The bathroom is outside the room.

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Nice gardens here.

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The tiny pool. The water's cloudy, however.

Booking a treatment
Booking our massages was a breeze, which I just did over the phone. No deposits or advance payments were required. I'll also give it to the staff for being patient with me because I had to reschedule our treatments twice in an hour because I was caught in traffic going to Tagaytay.

The treatment room and massage
Our treatment room was in a duplex kind of structure and there was a small porch outside. The room itself was fairly spacious with two massage beds on one end and a TV and a small couch in one corner. The bathroom was just as spacious. Maybe it's just me but I'm not a fan of the interiors that I don't quite get any zen vibe from the room. Okay, maybe it's just me.

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Our treatment room's exterior.

After a little foot bath (with some natural corn grits as scrub, if I'm not mistaken), we proceeded with our massage. I think I had Nilaib (Php 1,800), a 1.5-hour massage that also employs steamed hot pouches of Filipino herbs wrapped in banana leaves, while My Bibe opted for Lunas ni Nanay (Php 1,600), a 1.5-hour massage using the traditional Filipino method of hilot and ventosa. It's nice how Nurture incorporates Filipino traditions, methods and ingredients into their treatments.

The massage itself was fine but asking for a hard one didn't sit too well with my body afterwards. The beds were nice and firm, though.

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I don't quite get any feeling of zen here. But maybe it's just me.

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Our little pre-massage corner.

Dining
We tried out their restaurant for lunch. It was a huge rectangular open space with mismatched wooden furniture and a number of paintings mounted on a yellow wall. There was also a showcase table setup on one side. Nurture does weddings and other events, by the way.

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The restaurant.

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Bright and airy.

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Sample table setup for weddings.

As is expected of a wellness center like Nurture, the food here is supposedly healthy. The menu was a mishmash of many things, both vegan and not. There were all these different smoothies that come in one color, green, and a host of different salads, sandwiches and pasta dishes. There were also meals that came with rice.

Because we were famished, we went for their rice options. I got curried chicken while My Bibe had Osso Bucco. Before that we also ordered Kakaibang Lumpia as appetizer, which were fried spring rolls stuffed with smoked mackarel, green mango and cheese, served with a sweet chili dip.

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Kakaibang Lumpia.

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One of them green smoothies.

The lumpia was interesting and the smoothies were good (I think mine had kale in it). The osso bucco was just fine but I wasn't satisfied with my curried chicken. Apart from lacking a basic ingredient--curry--the dish could also use a bit more sauce. We also had tablea chocolate cake for dessert, which, while not a total disappointment, failed to wow. But coffee was good.

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Kind of disappointed with the chicken curry.

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Osso Bucco.

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In hindsight
Nurture Wellness Village is, without a doubt, a nice place yet something was amiss; I just can't put a finger on it. The facilities are clean, the gardens are nice and all that but they just don't seem to click with me. Maybe I was expecting too much, especially with the prices they command and after reading all these nice things about them, but I was just left a tad unimpressed.

I'm not saying it's not worth trying; in fact I'm really curious about staying in their Ifugao hut, which I was told, was already air-conditioned. I guess my expectations were just pointed in a different location or maybe lifted a little too high than normal.

As for the massage, let me just say that its quality always depends on the therapist's skill, regardless of the spa. Nurture, however, could look into their restaurant menu and maybe improve on some of their offerings. Hopefully I can get my order right the next time.

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Getting there
Assuming you're already in Tagaytay, head over to where Antonio's Grill, Leslie's, and Dencio's are. If you're coming from Sta. Rosa, they're on your left. Turn right at Magallanes Square, which is just across the street from the restaurants mentioned, and just drive straight ahead. It's a bit of a drive, about 3km according to their website, but just follow the signs by Nurture. 

I think there are also tricycles at the corner of Magallanes Square, in case you're commuting.

For more information, head over to the Nurture Wellness Village website.

Comments

  1. Cool place


    http://heyhadrien.blogspot.com

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  2. What a gorgeous place! Definitely looks like a good spot to relax.
    the-creationofbeauty.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow what a beautiful place! love the pool!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I always see this in dealgrocer. Hmm, not bad, but I'd rather go to The Spa.

    ReplyDelete

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