Friday, December 14, 2007 Hotel to rise in Cebu north
A BOUTIQUE hotel, envisioned to have five- or six-star amenities, will soon rise in northern Cebu.
This, as MSY Holdings Corp. (MSYHC), the holding company of the Salimbangon-Yeung business ventures, have began constructing Kandaya in Daanbantayan, Cebu.
Kandaya, described to be a “fully exclusive” boutique hotel, will rise on a 12-hectare property of the Yeung family in the northern town.
MSYHC chief operating officer Martin Yeung said construction of the hotel started over a year ago.
“We want to (create) tourism potentials in the northern part of Cebu,” he said, adding that the company sees plenty of opportunities for Daanbantayan to attract the international leisure market.
He said Kandaya will be the “first of its kind in Cebu.
“When categorizing a six-star hotel, it’s not just about the design but also the amenities, services (and) rooms, (among others),” he said in an interview with reporters Monday.
Yeung said the hotel, named after a tribal chief in Daanbantayan, will have a modern Zen-inspired design.
It will be operated by a professional management team, either based in the Philippines or Hong Kong, and is expected to be completed next year.
Yeung said the total cost of developing the first phase of the hotel, which will involve the construction of a two-story building with 18 rooms, is estimated to reach P500 million.
Yeung did not say how many rooms the hotel will house as the development of the project will be done in phases.
He said the hotel will have high standard accommodation and amenities that will include a spa.
To improve access to the resort, Yeung said the company will discuss with the local government unit the possibility of having air transportation facilities, including an air strip, in the area.
Yeung, who graduated in Pepperdine University in Malibu, is the son of Cebuana philanthropist and businesswoman Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung. The hotel-resort is the first tourism-related business venture of the Yeung family.
The Yeungs, who are in the jewelry business, own Fairway Diamond Co. Ltd. and the Simplexdiam Co. Ltd.
MSYHC subsidiary, MCF Property Ventures, on the other hand, owns and operates Mactan Island Memorial Garden together with its first residential project called Bayswater. (MMM)
