Hotels and resorts in Calabarzon

Calabarzon, or the industrial region of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces, is experiencing a dramatic increase in new tourism projects.  "There are a lot of properties being built in Calabarzon region," Louella Jurilla, regional director of the Tourism Department for Calabarzon, said during a buyers and sellers business matching session in Intramuros, Manila on July 21, 2009.

Director Jurilla said there are now more than 200 accredited establishments, with a total of 3,000 rooms, in Calabarzon region alone.  "We see this number to further increase by 8 percent this year," she said. In justifying her forecast, she said three large projects are to be constructed in Cavite province, although she said it is premature to disclose the details of those projects.

She said several large projects are also under development or have been recently completed, including the 300-room Summit Ridge Hotel of Robinsons Land Corporation in Tagaytay City. For example, businessman Henry Sy is expanding the 261-room Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay to make it the largest in the area, with a total of 450 rooms. The hotel, managed by Fuego Hotels and Properties, has recently erected a new building.

Microtel Inn and Suites in Sto. Tomas Batangas has recently added 22 rooms to bring its total to 78 rooms.  A dozen hotels and resorts which have expanded their properties participated in the business matching session with travel agencies and tour operators.

These properties include the 70-room Club East Manila in Taytay Rizal, which boasts of the largest wave pool in Southeast Asia.  Reggie Hernandez, the events and promotions officer of Club East Manila, said they offer surfing lessons on their 10 swimming pools.

Other properties are Mount Malarayat Gold and Country Club in Lipa City, with 80 rooms and 200-hectare gold course and country club; Hotel Pontefino in Batangas City, with 60 rooms and two swimming pools, including a new P12-million pool; Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay City; Tagaytay Country Hotel, with 68 guest rooms and several function rooms; Microtel Inn and Suites in Sto. Tomas Batangas and 75-room Microtel Inn and Suites at the Eage Ridge Golf and Country Club in General Trias, Cavite; and Matabungkay Beach Resort in Lian Batangas, with 86 guest rooms, several function rooms, and a 1.5-kilometer beach front.

Also in the list are the 75-room Eagle Point Resort in Mabini, Batangas; 68-room Tagaytay Country Hotel; Nurture Spa Village in Tagaytay; Caliraya Recreation Center in Lumban, Laguna; and the Farm at San Benito in Lipa City. Director Jurilla said Calabarzon remains the top destination for domestic tourists, despite the rise of other destinations in the countryside. 

"We are number 1 in domestic visitors," she said, while quickly adding that Calabarzon also attracts a great number of foreign visitors.  Top destinations in the region, she said, are Enchanted Kingdom in Sta. Rosa, Laguna; the hot spring resorts in Los Banos, Laguna; Tagaytay City; golf courses in Cavite; and the diving spots in Batangas.

She said tourist arrivals in the region continued to show modest growth, despite the global economic downturn, although the figures are not yet finalized.

Source: Manila Standard Today