Sulyap Bed and Breakfast

D and I recently drove to San Pablo, Laguna, for an overnight stay at the Sulyap Bed and Breakfast. Sulyap, when translated to English, means glance. I found about them when I felt like browsing through staycation deals via the Agoda app. I was immediately drawn by the rustic facade of its Casa Obando boutique hotel. It reminded me of the preserved and/or reinstated heritage homes of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan. Since San Pablo is just a little less than two hours’ drive away from home, we thought it’s time to visit the city and check out its lakes. Getting there was a blast, as we took a scenic route though the Lipa-Alaminos road. Along the way we stopped by a quaint restaurant called Lucia’s Cafe for brunch, where I quite enjoyed my margherita pizza while D liked his pan seared salmon and coffee.

We got to Sulyap Bed and Breakfast around noon. There were several Spanish-Filipino styled houses, and we enjoyed walking through their beautifully maintained garden. Our room was at the second floor of the Casa Obando. It gave such a homey vibe because next to our room was a living room which reminded me of my childhood days when I would visit family friends and relatives’ homes in the provinces. My favorite was the wooden rocking chair, which I used for a good 30 minutes the next day before we checked out.

The best time in Sulyap was dinner time. There were only a handful of guests at the time so we pretty much had the place all to ourselves. The pako salad was such a delight – this is one of the salads I always look for whenever I am in Laguna as it’s a bit hard to find pako in our hometown. Christmas spirit was in the air and the restaurant’s music was Filipino Christmas songs which added more charm to the place.

It was a much needed time to unplug – I got to finish reading two books! The only bummer was the Sulyap Gallery was closed at the time. The staff said it’s been closed for more than a year now. I guess that’s our cue that we should schedule another trip back when the Gallery reopens. Though we only had a short overnight stay, I’m glad we found this lovely place in San Pablo.