Cuartó: Everything nice and good

CEBU, Philippines - Achieve five-star hotel services for a rate of a two-star.

This is the promise of Cuartó, a very hip hotel, on midtown Cebu set to open in the middle of May.

“The concept is inspired by hip, fresh ideas. Accents are of a dominant color (orange) purposely to stick to the minds of guests. Actually three percent of this six-storey structure is marked with our trademark orange color to emphasize boldness and being outgoing,” says Archt. Bernard Chua, hotel president and chief executive officer.

The location, on the corner of J. Llorente and Garcia Streets, was once the site of the Chua family’s ancestral house in the 70s. In time, it was transformed into a commercial area housing tenants in the banking and food service sectors, among others.

“In the past, my business partner and I were limited to building structures for other people. But now we have something we can call our own. If you work for other people, it involves owners so mapugngan among concept. With this project, we were without borders. We were able to unleash our creativity as artists,” he added, referring to Archt. Anthony Uy. Together they comprise the youngbloods behind AB Development Company.

Exciting features of Cuartó Hotel include an old elevator cab on an all-new system. “We can do very little with the scarcity of space. This is a refurbished building so we have to do with what available space there is. But we are very proud of our continued development because we are able to save space and balance the cost. Just like in Hong Kong, every square inch is saved.”

Each cab door on every floor offers a feel of surprise. “The motif outside is of different gates. Old villa gates like that on the Harry Potter film to give the guests a feel of magic. The inner motif of the cab presents a train station to seemingly take you to another dimension. So it’s about modernity of an old structure,” Chua said.

When asked how technologically comfy the structure is, Chua replied that phones are IP system-ready and in fact they boast of continuous streaming for Wi-Fi capabilities. “Mora lang kag nag-play from your internal memory. That’s how speedy it is. So you get to download YouTube, for example, continuously.”

Food and beverage concessionaire Brown Cup, on the ground floor, occupies a fifth branch but is considered a premium branch. “The first three floors would be the active area, and then the rest are the passive areas. We still have our old tenants in here, dental clinics specifically. So, in a way, there are value-added services we are offering aside from superb customer care and a signature meal – a very hearty meal that serves one person but is good for two.”

The ÓYeah service is a hotel facet worth looking forward to. This is about incorporating speed boat tours, dive tours, city tours to museum and landmarks, and other island-hopping tours, with massage and transportation services so guests will know Cebu like the locals for the duration of their stay. “Let them be Cebuano while in Cebu,” Chua added.

Meanwhile, since Anthony Uy is into making music too, he will be seen playing with his band “Womb” live with their brand of music at the restaurant on the second level. His input in the renovation of this old building designed by a local icon in the field of architecture, Artemio Alcoseba, is preserving the overall look of the building design. “We have presented it the way it should look today, modern because of its clean lines. Very contemporary because of the materials and trends in designs. And in the future we will be up with pavement-mounted signage to complement our very attractive logo, very tempting most especially when the night lights are on,” Uy shared.

“You should also check our friendly ramps. There’s nothing quite like it in any other hotel in Cebu. It’s the friendliest for the differently abled, the senior citizens, and special children,” Chua pointed out.

Sensitivity to guests’ special needs is best manifested by the umbrellas hung in each room, aside from those provided in the lobby. There are also hygienic dental kids and toiletries in attractive tubes. “Actually we taught of those details while the project was ongoing. We consider that since we are travelers ourselves, what would we expect to see in the toilet or powder room? Those are customized because we are sensitive to the needs of our guests,” Chua disclosed.

Cuartó was considered for a name because Cebu is more Hispanic than Tagalog. “We could not use its Cebuano equivalent which is ‘lawak’ (most especially involving online marketing) because it would be strange to foreigners. Spanish is more understood widely because of its universal reach,” Chua explained. “Aside from that, our room is our refuge when we arrive home. Most of the time, derecho naman ta sa cuartó.”

The hotel opened softly last January 17 in time for the Sinulog festivity. Eighty percent of its 36 rooms have since been occupied. “We also get referrals from neighboring hotels. I’m just so glad that they recommend us when they get fully booked. That only shows they don’t consider us a competitor. In return, we will do the same to boost the bayanihan spirit,” shares hotel manager Anita Iway.

“We believe in art. One thing that we wouldn’t allow is kanang mobati mi. We will always be everything nice and everything good,” Chua vowed. (FREEMAN)