The beguiling Be Grand Resort

The Philippines has over 7,000 islands, yet we have only developed a handful for their tourism potential. Thankfully, this is changing and I’ve spent the last three years travelling regularly to one of our beautiful islands to help build its latest resort destination.

Panglao is just off the main island of Bohol. It is eight times larger than Boracay but is nowhere as crowded. Panglao’s resorts are spread fairly well on two main sides of the island, facing north and south respectively. The more popular side is Alona Beach, named after the popular actress. She starred in an FPJ movie shot there in 1973.

The resort I worked on is the Be Grand Bohol, which opened recently. It is situated at the northern end of the island, just next to the main stretch of Alona beach. It is just 30 minutes from the bridge at Tagbilaran City. You can fly into Tagbilaran from Manila or take a short comfortable ferry from Cebu. A new airport is under way in Panglao, and this would make the enclave even more accessible.

I’ve worked on many resort projects internationally in the last three decades, and I have to say that this project was one of the most enjoyable in terms of design collaboration and level of trust and openness on the part of the client to good ideas.

On this project, I worked with a good friend, Luijo Nakpil, who handled the building design. My firm and I were responsible for the site planning, pools, outdoor amenities and detailed landscape architecture of the project. Our client is a group of companies based in Cebu and involved in a variety of businesses including furniture and cement. They also manage Be Resort Mactan, a popular leisure destination in Punta Engano.

The client gave us a design brief that painted a picture of a resort that was to be warm and welcoming in feeling, and blessed with proximity to and surrounded by water. The good thing is that the site is a generous five hectares in area.

The first thing we designed for was a meandering driveway flanked by thick foliage. The resort also took great pains to conserve existing trees and palms. We used endemics and local shrubs found on site too, propagating them in situ. The picturesque drive ends in an open welcome pavilion with an elevated view to the main pool and the sea beyond.

The main welcome pavilion is a commodious space with a high ceiling. The lobby is enhanced with furniture and lamps by famed designer Kenneth Cobonpue. Nearby is the ballroom pavilion, which can accommodate up to 358 people. The lobby leads to a lanai or azotea, which overlooks the main pool and wet dining area below. The wet dining is a cool place to relax and have cocktails with lounging chairs actually in the water, which is fed by waterfalls that defines a grand outdoor staircase.

From this lanai, guests can see that the resort is made up of two main clusters, the main pavilion, which houses 189 guest rooms and suites in the five-story main building, and 19 luxury villas. In between these two, and enveloping the villas, are over half a hectare of pools and gardens.

The villas are further organized into two types — the couple’s villas (one story) and the family villas (two-story). These are layered on to the site in three steps, all connected by water. You can literally swim to the next villa. The family villas have a large lagoon pool with an island in the middle. The couple’s villas each have their own Jacuzzis, which merge into a linear pool.

In between the villas and the main pool is the Bridge, which is a bar and dining facility that spans water and is fronted by the scuba training pool. This pool cascades its water leading to the large main pool. You can do laps in this pool, which is 50 meters at its widest. To complete the pool facilities is a children’s pool with wet play equipment.

Beyond the pools and the villas is a wide 150-meter stretch of sand. This steps down to the waterside and a floating pontoon jetty, designed to allow access to scuba and touring outriggers. There are elevated decks and a wide expanse of sand for sunbathers. In between the beach and pools is a large lawn and wedding garden.

Aside from the Bridge, the resort has several food and beverage outlets, all embedded nicely in the landscape and architecture. The Food Hall below the main pavilion is your all-day dining place. It is a local take on a modern gastropub. The Monkey Bar is a beach-side al-fresco grilled seafood facility. Finally there is Lune, on the top floor deck of the main pavilion. This is the best place for sunset drinks and dinner. Lune provides panoramic views of the sea, with Balicasag Island in the distance.

Aside from Kenneth Cobonpue’s signature pieces, the resort also boasts the artwork of my brother  Johnny Alcazaren. Johnny is a CCP Thirteen Artists Awardee and has exhibited his paintings, sculptures and installations locally and internationally. His works at Be Grand include two five-story murals in the main pavilion atria and a smaller piece on the wall of the Bridge’s wet bar. All three depict the natural attractions of Panglao and Bohol.

Resort design is an art in itself. Be Grand Bohol was fleshed out like artwork, a collaborative effort towards a singular goal. To fully experience and appreciate the place requires the frame of a few days and nights immersed in its one-of-a-kind settings. The resort, true to its name, makes a grand statement…that life must be lived large to be enjoyed.

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Feedback is welcome. Please email the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com. For more information on Be Grand Resorts, visit their website at http://beresorts.com/resorts/bohol/, or their facebook page, or call +63-32-236-8888 or +63-38-412.9000.