Upcoming Hotels and Resorts in the Philippines 3

New Holiday Inn opens in Makati

Holiday Inn & Suites Makati (HISM) targets business executives as its clients, according to a report by Philippine Star.

“International business travellers make up the bulk of Holiday Inn & Suites Makati’s pre-opening sales,” said Ms. Maricor Aquino, director of sales and marketing of Holiday Inn & Suites Makati. She said 90 percent of the reservations were done via the hotel’s online portal.

Business travellers find the Makati CBD location of the hotel attractive. At the heart of Ayala Centre, with direct access to Glorietta Mall, the 20-story hotel gives guests added options for leisure activities in a secure location.

Fairmont eyes 2 more projects

Fresh from the opening of its flagship hotel in the country, global hotel chain Fairmont Hotels and Resorts is eyeing the development of resort hotels in the Philippines, according to a report by Philippine Star.

The hotel giant is looking at partnering anew with property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) for at least two more hotels in the country.  “For the Philippines, I think we can probably do two resort hotels but it can be more. The Philippines has always been a great place for tourism,” Ms. Jennifer Fox, president of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, said.

“There are resort opportunities like in Cebu. The Philippines is more than Manila because it has beautiful islands, beaches and natural resources,” Raffles Hotel and Resorts president Peter French said.

The 30-story Fairmont Makati offers 280 deluxe rooms and suites. It also houses the Raffles Makati with 237 serviced-living units.

Ayala Land to build more resorts

Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts Corp. plans to develop more resorts as part of a target to offer as many as 4,000 rooms in two years, according to a report by BusinessWorld.

“We have other resort developments being planned and, at some point within this year, we will disclose more details on these,” Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts president Jose Emmanuel H. Jalandoni was quoted as saying.

“We continue to grow this business because we believe in the tourism potential of the country,” Mr. Jalandoni said.  “The government is pushing tourism, but at the same time we find there is a need for more products to be out in the market.”

The company has developed El Nido Resorts, an island resort complex in El Nido, Palawan, consisting of the Lagen, Milinoc, Apulit and Pangulasian Island Resorts.  “We have just opened Pangulasian. We soft-opened in last quarter of 2012,” Mr. Jalandoni said.

Ayala Land to open more hotels

Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts Corp. will open more hotels this year.  Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts president Jose Emmanuel H. Jalandoni said the plan is to open a hotel under the Seda brand in Cagayan de Oro City, another Seda in Davao and a Holiday Inn in March.

Seda, formerly Kukun, is Ayala Land’s wholly owned boutique hotel brand. After launching Seda Bonifacio Global City in December, AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts said it plans to open Seda hotels in other areas.

The 349-room Holiday Inn and Suites Makati in Ayala Centre, meanwhile, is part of Ayala Land’s ongoing five-year redevelopment of Ayala Centre in a bid to transform the five-hectare district into an integrated, mixed-use complex.

Ayala Land now targets to end 2015 with as many as 4,000 rooms in order to cash in on the country’s tourism potentials.  “We’re aiming for 3,000 to 4,000 units (rooms) in the next two years.   This is for both hotels and resorts. Some of this we’re still planning, and we haven’t announced all,” Mr. Jalandoni was quoted as saying in a report by BusinessWorld.

Westin to return to Manila

Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide, one of the world’s biggest operators of high-end business and leisure accommodation plans to open its first hotel in the Philippines in July 2016, marking the Westin brand’s re-entry into the Philippine market, according to a report by ABS-CBN.

Westin is Starwood’s second largest brand in Asia Pacific region with more than 40 hotels in operation and 20 hotels in the pipeline.  Starwood will build the 600-room Westin Manila Bayshore as part of Travellers International Hotel Group’s multi-billion-dollar integrated entertainment complex in Manila – Resorts World Bayshore.

Travellers International is a joint venture between property tycoon Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI) and Malaysian conglomerate Genting Group.

Aqua Boracay to rise on resort island

French designer Philippe Starck and English entrepreneur John Hitchcox have chosen to design a project on Boracay Island, according to a report by Business Insight.  Starck and Hitchcox’s “yoo” is designing Aqua Boracay, a 144-unit serviced-apartment to be located at Bolabog Beach, on the other side of White Beach.

The development is expected to be the next destination of the island famous for its long stretch of white sand beach.

Aqua Boracay is the first resort residence designed by the yoo design studio in the Philippines.  Masterplanned on a 1.6-hectare property fronting Bolabog beach, the project offers a “sanctuary” from the lively D’Mall across the island where much of the island’s tourism activities take place.

Aqua Boracay will have a cluster of four-storey, low-density and low-rise building with the 144 units offering one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments with prices starting at P11 million.

Landco to develop Calatagan

Property developer Landco Pacific Corp. has announced the development of its Calatagan property in the province of Batangas where it intends to launch Playa Calatagan Residences and Aquaria, according to a report by Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The Playa Calatagan Residences is the latest seaside condominium within the 74-hectare seaside residential and mixed-use development.  The developer will be inviting locators to build boutiques, restaurants and retail stores. Its first tower, called Nautilus, is set to break ground by the fourth quarter of 2013.

The 95-room midrise condominium is designed to be the next-generation beach community, featuring world-class lifestyle amenities.  The Aquaria beach resort will be ready for its public soft opening before the end of the year.

Bellevue Bohol opens

Bellevue Bohol has held its grand opening, according to a report by Manila Standard Today.  Bellevue Bohol is the first five-star resort in the area.  The resort provides a tropical oasis for tourists looking for the ultimate in comfort and luxury.

The Bellevue has 159 luxury suites overlooking the picturesque Doljo Beach. The resort combines contemporary design and tropical lifestyle to create the perfect getaway in Bohol.  The Bellevue Resort is tucked away in a sliver of secluded beach at the southwestern tip of Bohol, making it perfect for guests who desire privacy.