Imperial Palace Waterpark opening spells employment

CEBU, Philippines - Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa (IP) will finally open its doors on July 1 and will initially offer 300 of its 557 hotel rooms, suites and villas.

Korea-based hotel group IP which owns several properties worldwide started its Cebu construction July 2006 and has already poured P4 billion in investment into the local economy. It is now poised to enter the tourism market targeting both local and foreign tourists.

IP General Manager Amando Huh said that although the Department of Tourism reported that majority of foreign tourists are Koreans, they want to attract a variety of guests from different countries, including Europe and U.S.

Huh said, "We don't want to be known as just a Korean hotel. We're happy to be part of Philippine tourism. There are similarities between Korea and the Philippines so we also want to be identified with the Cebuano community."

Imperial Palace has employed over 600 Filipino staff as well as those from Malaysia, Germany, and Sweden for its July 1 opening. When IP will be fully operational by September, it will employ 1,080 staff.

Since IP expects majority of their hotel guests to be Koreans, the hotel and resort staff are being meticulously trained on customer service and oriented on Korean culture and language. "Korean tourists can expect the same standard of service as those we offer in Korea."

On opening day, different restaurants will also be operational like Maru (Korean), Cheon San (Chinese), and Cafe Amiga (Asian and Western). Wine and cocktails will be open at the Delmar lobby lounge and karaoke at their Belami outlet.

In-house guests can also enjoy various waterpark facilities like the island pool and adventure pools like the toddler's pool, wave rider, Amazon river, water slides, beach pool and captain hook's pool.

Imperial Palace also has an extensive array of fitness and wellness facilities in their 709 square meter spa with massage rooms, sauna, plunge pool, steam Jacuzzi, treatment areas for different spa services as well as a fully equipped fitness center.

However, day packages will not be available as the hotel is only 92 percent completed. Huh said that at present, they are conducting 24 hours operational testing and fine-tuning to guarantee excellent customer service.

The hotel is nestled in an eight-hectare property in Barangay Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City.