Water of first and last resort

It was close to a good two decades ago when I first brought my then small kids to a resort on Mactan Island that we all fell in love with, so that a second visit was quickly arranged soon after.

I recall the privilege of meeting up with the young proprietor, Manny Gonzalez, who had turned a rocky area into a dream destination. This he did by executing a vision of an old-time plantation surrounded by fields of water.

He went around his new resort, Plantation Bay, on an ATV or All-Terrain Vehicle. But he toured us on foot through the initial attractions. These included what was called Mogambo Falls, which became my kids’ favorite area, since it meant entry into what seemed like a cave, before they were allowed to careen safely down a giant water slide into a pool.   

I myself wasn’t partial to indulging repeatedly in gravity’s ride, on one’s butt. I favored the large saltwater pool, where we all wound up and stayed frolicking till well past sundown. The dinner that followed was exceptional.

I also recall Mr. Gonzalez recounting how he had crafted the white-sand beach that fringed the sea. In a way, it was artificial, yet the innovative spirit that went into this attraction could only merit appreciation. Instead of importing white sand from a neighboring island as was customary, Manny had a certain type of white rocks brought down from a mountain and crushed into tiny pellets to resemble sand.

If memory serves me right, the term he used for the gravel was “dolomites.” They weren’t as fine as real sand, and in fact had a strange feel on one’s soles. But the beach did look as if it was of white sand, so that aesthetically it transformed an atoll into an attractive seaside resort on a grand scale.

Our family had such a fun time that first time out that we went for a repeat weekend, when we enjoyed it even more. The second time out, we were lodged in a unit that was right beside one of the lagoons, with pocket islands within easy reach.

It was veritable heaven to wake up in the morning and stroll out the front glass door to resplendent sunlight bathing a waterworld, and cross over by foot into a pocket sandy island where a hammock hung between coconut trees. To lave in the water, all you had to do was dip into an area where it ran deeper.

It was more than picturesque idyll. It was edenic sensory experience all around, enveloping 24-7 relaxation, with all meals for the asking. R&R was as basic, and essential, as playing with water. Yes, as with the excellent British writer James Paterson’s title for his memoir set in Marinduque.

Oh, reading literature, whether books or magazines, while vacationing in Plantation Bay was and still must be de rigueur. Nothing like cuddling up with fine prose or poetry while in such a setting.

And now, this unique destination has a book of its own, Tales of Plantation Bay, in a handsome coffee-table format, lush with photographs in full color and featuring charming bits of text written by Manny Gonzalez himself.   

We learn of its origin from a very personal viewpoint:

“Much of the land that is now Plantation Bay was originally purchased as a real-estate speculation. The land was under water at high tide, and had no beachfront, but the price was right. The two buyers were Joben Jalandoni and Manny Gonzalez (now shareholders of the hotel-owning company), who hoped they could flip the land in a couple of years.

“That didn’t happen, and it looked like a huge loss would ensue. Some years later, Manny just happened to be having lunch with his aunt. He began talking about his failed investment, describing the lack of beachfront, barren terrain, and other challenges of the land. The aunt, Consuelo Cuenco Reyes, listened intently, then said: ‘Get me a lot plan, because I own some beachfront out there; maybe our properties are connected…’

“And by golly, they were. With her tiny speck of a beachfront, the rest of the property became viable for development as a resort.

“A business blunder, a chance lunch years later, a one-in-a-million coincidence, and an aunt who liked her nephew. What can you say but that it was Meant to Be?”

 “The Aunt’s Tale” is but the introductory text, as simple as it is brief. Follow the next “Tales” in fleshing up not so much the entire history of the place, but celebrating its most memorable features and anedotes, especially with regards the people (staff and clientele) who have helped turn it into a successful story. As tidblts of recollection and appreciation, they provide a decidedly humanist dimension to the story of Plantation Bay.

It’s a narrative replete with serendipity and fine karma (as well as counter-karma for certain “baddies”). A feng shui master contributes good joss after the Asean Economic Crisis of 1997, soon after the resort’s opening, helping to raise the occupancy rate as a possible “timely intervention by Heaven?”

“The Tale of the Fifth Tree” recounts how there had only been five trees in the otherwise “barren moonscape of hard coral rock.” The Fifth Tree, not a coconut but a gnarled old something, resisted plans to cut it down or even prune it, the way its detractors would fall ill. “Eventually, all the maintenance and gardening staff… decided that it was in their best interests to leave the Fifth Tree alone.”

Most of the “Tales” are lauds for everyone who has served the resort in some way, from the longest-lasting GM to all those who were sent for schooling or training abroad, at USA’s Cornell U. and European cities, even if most of these wound up eventually taking employment elsewhere.

“The Hawaiian Luau Story” narrates how in the aftermath of a disastrous presentation by a professional dance troupe, it was decided to train the service staff themselves under “a talented director/costume designer, Paige Ginete,” until a successful “first in-house Hawaiian Luau Dinner.” This led to happy consequences.

“Over the years the luau was joined by other theme-dinner presentations — all with mostly hotel staff moonlighting as dancers.

“Our dancers are sought after for special events around Cebu. They’ve now also been to Korea and Japan several times, to perform in marketing roadshows unique to Plantation Bay.”

The bulk of the book, besides the lavish photography, thus serves as a paean to everyone ever associated with the resort, whether they have since been pirated or gotten married to foreign hoteliers. Only towards the end does Manny Gonzalez, who never attributes any tale of success to himself, detail the constant evolution of the dream destination, in “The Story of the Never-Ending Construction”:

“From the beginning, Plantation Bay was constructed with a circular plan, so that the rooms could face inward to our own lagoon views. The facilities were also named in strict alphabetical order so that no one would ever get lost! The general site layout remains basically unchanged. However, on the theory that even perfection can be improved upon, over the years we have continued to make changes.

“The Riverboat Suite was constructed in 2001.

“The Savannah Park Complex was added in 2002, to provide more recreation facilities.

“We used to have eight ‘honeymoon villas’ but they weren’t popular, so in 2004 we replaced them with the 35 Windward Cluster poolside rooms.

“The original Spa (the back part now) was built in 2002, then greatly expanded in 2007.

“At about the same time, we added the two Palermo buildings now facing each other with a pool in between. Quantum Villa came in 2010.

“Palermo Restaurant was completely rebuilt in 2015.

“But the most-altered building is Kilimanjaro Kafe, which had to be extended four times in order to accommodate guests who were lingering longer and longer over breakfast… The top of the main octagon was originally just an open-sir viewing deck. Around 2000, we added two more floors in order to create a Presidential Suite. Then, in 2014, we ripped out the suite and put a night-club there; taking a cue from the flying-saucer shape of the space, we called it Alien Abduction (AA). (We ran out of letters of the alphabet long ago.)

“And now we’re wondering what we can build that can be named BB…”

Well, as goes that adage from Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” Dreams and visions have a way of turning into good-joss ventures and continuing narratives. It helps that there is that waterworld to lave and play in, as a first and last resort.

Photographers for the book that credits Manny Gonzalez as author and executive publisher are George Cabig and Seymond Nievera, while design, production and publishing were done by Media Wise Communications, Inc. / Muse Books headed by Monching Cruz, who’s a perennial Anvil Award winner as a bookmaker.