That Bohol Magic
Hotelier and resort Henry Chusuey is the man behind the famous Boracay Regency Beach Resort and hotels in Boracay. His three hotels in the island—Boracay Regency, Boracay Garden Hotel and Regency Lagoon Resort—account for over 600 guest rooms.
After Boracay, the next destination for Chusuey and his hotels and resorts is Bohol.
“I am a risk taker. Everyone knows that Bohol is the next booming destination in the country because of its white sand beaches, natural attractions, and its accessibility. I have the same gut feel for Bohol as I did for Boracay. A perfect location just needs investors and proper planning for its development to be realized and I am positive that Bohol will be one of the best destinations in the future,’’ said Chusuey.
This writer was part of a media group invited by Hennan Resort in Bohol’s Panglao. Hennan was formerly known as Alona Palm Beach Resort and is a walk away from Alona Beach. This beach, incidentally, was named after former actress Alona Alegre. If you are younger than 40, you probably don’t know her but if you’re as old as I am, you’d know that Alona Alegre was a big star.
Now back to Hennan Resort—it has 12 standalone and oversized villas surrounded by trees and flowering plants. This is because the original owner of the resort wanted to position the hotel as a place where guests could enjoy all the privacy that they want. Of course, there are other attractions like the infinity pool with a sunken bar, the world-class service and the beautiful villas.
Chusuey has many plans for his company’s latest acquisition, After all, the resort sits on 6.5 hectares and Chusuey always dreams big.
And with that in mind, he will build additional 300 rooms at the back of the villas.
“The villas may not be as exclusive and as private as they are now once we open the new rooms by 2012. But this expansion will mean additional facilities and and amenities to the existing villas.We will be adding a convention center, spa, gym, souvenir shops and more restaurants and bars so our guests could have a variety of activities to choose from, ’’ he added. ‘‘We have strategically planned the location where the additional facilities will be put up so the paying villa guests will still enjoy exclusivity during their stay. The convention center with around a thousand square meters, will be built at the back of the property so it will not disturb the guest staying at the hotel.’’
The Hennan Resort staff also gave the media group a guided tour of Bohol. Among the places we visited was Baclayon Church, which was built by the Jesuits in 1569. This old church still has its original wood carved altar with gold leafing. There are images of the Madonna and Child and Padre Pio on the walls outside the church, the two images are not readily discernible unless they are pointed out to you. The group also stopped by the Sandugo Blood Compact Monument built to commemorate the event between Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna of Bohol in 1565.
Next stop was the Tarsier Research Center in Corella, a protected area for these cute territorial mammals and we saw 4fourtarsiers including a baby still clinging to its mother. The tarsier, usually measuring only 4 to 5 inches, is considered the world’s smallest primate.
From there, the group proceeded to Loboc for for a river cruise complete with a hearty buffet lunch and live entertainment aboard, Loboc is one of Bohol’s 47 towns and aside from this river cruise, the town has made a name for itself because of its children’s choir which has already won international awards.
And how can a trip to Bohol be complete with out seeing the 1268 Chocolate Hills in Carmen?
Actually, these hills are also found in Batuan and Sigbayan. These cone-shaped symmetrical hills are actually made of grass-covered limestone, products of the earth’s evolution millions of years ago. Since it is the rainy season, what we saw were mint green chocolates instead of the brown ones. Of course the old folks will always have their own versions of how the hills came about and the guide regaled us about the tale of lovers Arogo and Aluya with the hills supposed to be the tears of the giant Arogo when he mourned the death of Aluya.
There are many interesting things about Bohol aside from the beautiful beach and warm and friendly people and I have to agree with Henry Chusuey that it will be the next big thing.
by Lito Cinco / http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideLifestyle.htm?f=/2011/july/1/lifestyle1.isx&d=2011/july/1
