Ayala, Floirendo break ground on new boutique hotel

MANILA, Philippines - AyalaLand Hotels & Resorts Corp. (AHRC) has broken ground on a new boutique hotel in Cagayan De Oro, its joint venture with the Floirendo family’s Anflo Management & Investment Corp.

Targeted to be operational by 2012, the 150-room boutique hotel forms part of the 3.7-hectare mixed-use development named Centrio, the first in the area to offer a full range of uses including retail and office in one integrated location.

The centerpiece of the development will be a shopping mall that will offer basic conveniences addressing the everyday needs of the city, as well as unique, dining, entertainment and retail concepts that will serve not only the immediate communities but also tourists and transients.

With a total initial investment of approximately P2.5 billion, the project is expected to spur growth and create about 10,000 new jobs.

The hotel will be the third in a series of boutique hotels to be operated by AHRC. The first is located in the burgeoning Bonifacio Global City while the second will rise in Davao City. Both hotels are expected to be operational in 2012.

Junie Jalandoni, vice-president and group head of AHRC, said all three boutique hotels “cater to the new generation of travelers that put a premium on style, location, comfort and good prices in one complete package.”

Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) vice-president Al Legaspi said the eight-story CDO boutique hotel is stacked above the three-story Centrio mall, with its main lobby on the fourth level. “The hotel has been designed to offer a stylish and warm hotel experience. At the same time, it will provide easy and convenient access to restaurants, shops, cinemas and other retail outlets.”

Legaspi said the hotel will also have function and meeting rooms, an executive lounge, a business center, indoor and al fresco restaurant, a fitness gym and swimming pool. Rchitects Inc. and C.T. Onglao Architects have been awarded the architectural and interior design contracts, respectively. Both firms have extensive experience in both the local and Asian regional markets.

The hotel and mall complex will likewise be conveniently accessible to an office building that can cater to the unique needs of BPO companies seeking greater presence in Cagayan de Oro City.

Tonyboy Floirendo, vice-chairman of Anflocor said: “This key city is considered as the economic gateway to Northern Mindanao, a prime educational center, as well as one of the emerging tourist destinations of the country known for river rafting and other eco-tourism opportunities.”