Alegrados open Bluewater Panglao

Sunday, July 31, 2011

FROM just 32 rooms in a resort in Mactan, a resort group has expanded beyond Mactan and now, beyond Cebu.

The Bluewater Panglao opened its first phase yesterday, with the promise of something “exciting” as it further develops its resort.

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The 54-room resort in Bohol aims to showcase Filipino culture in its structure, rooms, food and services.

Julie Vergara, president of the Bluewater group, said they want to showcase the “beauty of the Filipino.” She announced that the resort is not only owned by Filipinos, it is also managed and run by Filipinos.

She believes this is what sets the Bluewater brand apart from other resorts.

They have integrated Filipino features into the resort, such as a special massaage treatment called “hingut-an,”a 10-minute head and shoulder massage mimicking the old Filipino way of removing head-lice from little girls’ heads.

They also make use of bamboo glasses to serve welcome drinks and include Filipino touches all over the resort, including a woven cover for monobloc chairs placed near the beach.

The resort currently occupies two hectares but Vergara said they plan to fully develop the rest of the four hectares of the property.

Construction of the resort began in April last year. Once it is completed, Vergara said the resort will be “amazing,” with 200 hotel rooms, a bigger Amuma Spa, additional pool and restaurant, ponds, meeting rooms and a convention hall.

The resort currently has 54 rooms, two pools and a restaurant.

Bluewater Panglao is their third resort and the first that the Alegrado family opened outside Cebu under the Bluewater brand.

Vergara said it has always been their dream to open resorts in major tourist destinations in the country and that Bohol was a natural choice for them, with her parents both having roots in the province.

She said the Panglao resort is in a higher category than the resorts in Maribago and Sumilon, as they will feature different villas for honeymooners and families with their own pools, and a family loft, considered a first in Philippine resorts.

She said they always design spaces with families in mind.

Architect Benjie Reyes added that they always make their rooms more spacious. He added that a signature of the resort is its cantilevered beds. Reyes said all their furnishings are built in-house.

The resort soft-opened last May and has since had about a 40 percent occupancy rate.

Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto said the opening of the resort will add to the province’s hotel rooms and help in growing the tourism market of Bohol.

Vergara feels that Bohol has much to offer tourists and that it exudes a feeling of comfort and warmth.