Microtel Cabanatuan: A new home up north

The new Microtel Hotel in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija is one eye-catching structure. In the middle of the greenery, the seventh Microtel in the country rises from the flatlands with its distinctive salmon color. Since we arrived there in broad daylight, you can just imagine how its color intensified as the sun reached its peak.

It was a different story indoors, with the cool laid-back atmosphere and locally made decorative handicrafts providing a relaxing setting. What we found out later was that Microtel Cabanatuan was the result of a carefully planned design to make the hotel look familiar to everyone and feel right at home to the locale.

“We want this to be as rustic as possible, to reflect the surrounding greenery. This is like a throwback to the bright colors used in older buildings. It is our way of connecting with the locality,” says Microtel’s principal architect Luis Nakpil.

Nakpil adds: “When you get to stay in the hotel, you get a flavor of the place. It gives you a lot of character and becomes more specific to the place. Here you get the best of both worlds. You have the comfort of a very good international hotel and the character of Cabanatuan, so it does not overwhelm you.”

Describing the design process as “a lot of fun,” Nakpil says Microtel Cabanatuan was one of the easiest to design because the 4,000-square-meter land was flat and did not require any trees to be cut.

He adds: “It was just textbook-perfect for us. It even afforded us the opportunity to build a swimming pool in the property. With the pool, the hotel acquired that resort feel in the process.”

One might find it strange that an international hotel would actually be the first to rise in what looks like the middle of nowhere. Not so, as what we discovered.

Microtel Hotel is standing on the future Avida commercial center. Soon, the area will welcome new establishments such as residences, a mall, and various business centers. It will become the newest community in Central Luzon.

“Besides, Cabanatuan is the center of commerce in this region and the gateway to Cagayan province. It is the rice granary of the country,” says Joel Cucueco, resident manager of Microtel Cabanatuan. “We see its potential as a city, which will grow further economically.”

“Microtel always sees the potential of an area. We always get the ball rolling and then others follow,” Microtel director for sales Roy Martin chimes in. “Whenever we build a hotel in a certain place, we know that we are offering a great experience through our accommodations. When people realize that, they will look at the place in a different light. They will even consider putting up their businesses there, and, quite possibly, living there.”

Microtel vice president Teddy Lim adds: “We are reaching out to people and giving them access to these different places in the country. Local tourism is also something we are into. Having foreign visitors is an added bonus, really. Even though they are familiar with the Microtel brand, they will discover that our hotels are very much Filipino. As what some of them have told me, the Filipino Microtel people are so much nicer and helpful.”

Cucueco happily reports that the hotel has been generating inquiries and bookings from locals and multinational companies, particularly those based in the United States. Incidentally, Microtel is an accredited hotel of the US Embassy. Among the features that got Microtel the thumbs-up is its strict security.

“At Microtel, security is more than assigning guards to look after guests and the property. There is also security in a guest’s own room. The materials we put in the rooms are fire-retardant, such as curtains, linen, and even the trash. We just do not stop with the outside concerns,” stresses Robbie Gonzalez, Microtel’s area general manager for Northern Luzon.

Even the hotel is particular with serving well its handicapped guests. Gonzalez points out that the local building code requires one handicapped-accessible room for every 50 rooms. He says, “Here we have two rooms for them in this 50-room hotel.”

Adhering to the standard of all Microtel hotels, the Cabanatuan hotel also boasts of its trademark chiropractic “healthy for the back” beds. It also offers complimentary breakfast, wireless Internet access, and a business center, among others.

With these developments, Microtel Cabanatuan is not just attracting curious onlookers but also guests and visitors who are after efficiency, comfort, and great value.

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Microtel Cabanatuan is located in Sta. Arcadia, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. For inquiries or reservations, call 671-7171, e-mail at sales@microtelphilippines.com or log on to http://www.microtel-cabanatuan.com.