Club Punta Fuego, a premiere membership resort club, is located on Peninsula de Punta Fuego on the pristine coast of Nasugbu, Batangas.
It is no coincidence that Alfredo Roca has chosen luxury hotel and resort property management as his career focus.
The managing director of Anya Hospitality—the latest brand under the Roxaco Land and Fuego Hotels and Property Management partnership—recalled that when he arrived here 17 years ago, he noted the dearth of luxurious resorts and opulent accommodations in the provinces.
“Back then, you could probably count on one hand the properties located in the provinces that cater to high-end consumers. The challenge then was how to address the many wealthy people wanting to stay at all-inclusive properties here in the Philippines. To these people, luxury accommodation means having the luxury of enjoying a break in a rustic self-catering hideaway someplace unfamiliar. Or perhaps, luxury for them means the opulence and exclusivity provided within a majestic backdrop where all their whims are catered to,” said Roca.
Roca related that the process was slow as their group (Landco Pacific and Roxaco Land) wanted to get everything right the first time adding that the type of consumers they will be catering to want to identify with brands that represent themselves, and this has to be brands with quality which are exclusive.
“Over the past decade, we have established a track record in successfully managing prime hotels and resorts that are now market leaders in their respective destinations. At the same time, we have provided a wide range of hotel management services and solutions designed to help our partners turn properties into havens of uniquely splendid experiences,” related Roca.
Following the successes of Fuego hotels and properties—where Club Punta Fuego, Terrazas de Punta Fuego, Aquaria Water Park and Playa Laiya belong—Roca said the group added the Anya Signature Collection, a selection of premier boutique resorts with Anya Resorts Tagaytay as its first offering.
Splendid second home
“The Anya brand promises to deliver a splendid second home that exemplifies the best of Filipino aesthetics and hospitality. Each property will take pride of its sophisticated Filipino-inspired architectural design not to mention a fine and tasteful lifestyle including a signature wellness experience and healthy, fresh dining selections,” described Roca.
The Tagaytay development is a P1.5 billion, 7.2-hectare luxury that boasts a total of 54 resort estates, 88 resort suites, and 126 luxury, full service branded residences. Last year, one of its components, the Anya Resort and Residences, has been included on the list of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, a group of luxury boutique hotels and resorts from around the globe (this is an exclusive circle because of the 1,000 hotel applications received yearly, only five percent meet SLH’s standards and are given membership).
“We will be following this up with another Anya development located in Palawan, particularly in the Coron-Busuanga area. Bohol and Cebu are other possible targets. We will seek more locations because with Anya Hospitality, two to three hectares of space is what we all require for us to develop a resort with the company maintaining an option to enter into joint ventures with the landowners aside from acquiring the properties by itself. We envision future Anyas not even going beyond 100 to 120 rooms because that’s really what we want to bring—highly exclusive, highly private boutique resort development,” he said.
Major driver
Anya Hospitality is optimistic about the country’s tourism becoming another major growth driver of the economy.
“In a report provided by the Department of Tourism, the country had a total of 44 million tourist arrivals in the first half of 2016, with 92 percent, or 40.4 million, domestic travelers. The 8 percent, or 3.6 million, belonged to the international tourist arrivals who all spent P148.56 billion in the first half of this year,” said Ronie Marie Reyes, Fuego Hotels and Properties marketing communications director.
It should be noted that by end of August, DOT reported that foreign tourist arrivals already breached the four million mark, which is equivalent to 164.25 billion. This is the first time the country surpassed four million arrivals in just the first eight months of the year.
Roca added that with the Philippines having more than 7,000 islands, possibilities are endless. “We only need to look at a place, see how we could realize all its potentials and also check what infrastructures (airport, descent roads) are already in place. Then we will talk to potential partners on how we could establish our brand,” said Roca.
Roca said they learned so much from industry stalwarts Don Pedro Roxas and Santiago Elizalde of Roxaco Land Corp., the property development arm of Roxas and Company.
“Just take a look at Club Punta Fuego, our premiere membership resort club located on Peninsula de Punta Fuego on the pristine coast of Nasugbu, Batangas. The secluded resort is only 2.5 hours away from Manila. Being this easily accessible makes the Club ideal for quick holiday weekend trips, business outings, or family getaways,” he said.
The Spanish-Mediterranean style residential resort soon became a fully operational private enclave under the management of Fuego Hotels and Properties.
Aside from the main Club, the company also created the neighboring Terrazas de Punta Fuego and Punta Fuego Yacht Club, two extraordinary leisure destinations that can be reached by car within 15 minutes.
“Very soon, we will also introduce in this area, the Fuego Suites—serviced residences that are suitable for medium to long-term stay clientele. We offer value for money and provide modern and comfortable accommodations with a highly effective Concierge service,” described Roca.
