3 minute read
WHAT’S ON AT THE BELLEVUE
The Bellevue Resort’s managing director and owner DUSTIN CHAN on what’s new in Bohol and where the group is headed
Tell us about The Bellevue Hotels and Resorts group
We have four hotels. The Bellevue Manila in Alabang which opened in 2002 was our first deluxe class hotel. From there, we opened The B Hotel Alabang , a three-star boutique businessman’s hotel, followed by our first five-star resort in Bohol, The Bellevue Resort, which opened in 2012. The B Hotel Quezon City is our newest. We are looking at expanding further in the future to Palawan and Cagayan de Oro.
What’s new at The Bellevue Resort in Bohol?
We’ve just opened Lamian Restaurant and we’ve started to renovate our rooms. Then we’ll work on our restaurants, and the next phase would be to add more guest rooms and more pools to cater to groups as well as individual travellers. We have a kids’ club area, with lots of videos and activities to entertain kids and baby sitting services are also available.
Our Azurea Spa offers traditional Filipino hilot (massage) or shiatsu which you can have at the spa or in your room, just before bedtime so you feel truly relaxed. Our gym is fully equipped and is near the beach.
Back in 2012, we were one of the first big hotels in the area. We started as a family business. We try to be the bench mark, the preferred hotel in the market.
As a group, we might expand into phase 2, looking at developing lifestyle malls. We have started construction of phase 1 of the Heritage Malls in Alona.
Tell us about your farm projects in Bohol.
At The Bellevue Resort, we do our own recycling and are committed to sustainable tourism practices.
We own vegetable and fruit farms, growing mostly organic produce, to serve the food needs of the resort.
One farm is located just across from the resort and the other one is about seven kilometres away. We also have a pig farm and recently we acquired a new property in the middle of Bohol, an 8-hectare cacao farm. It’s forecast that there will be a growing demand for cacao and Bohol yields the best quality cacao. We are also helping our community with the opening of a pre-school, the Bellevue Mission School, ran by missionaries to teach children in the area to read and write.
How is tourism in Bohol right now?
Lately we are getting more European visitors. There are still a lot of Koreans visiting Bohol, but they tend to stay in dive hotels, the budget end.
The international market is now gaining momentum. There are still a lot of local tourists as more people are finding out that Bohol is value for money, convenient to get to and explore, and that there are plenty of things to do here. More hotels and tourism establishments are opening up to accommodate tourism growth.
Best time to visit Bohol?
There is really no bad time to book. You have the luxury of sunshine year round. I’d say avoid the rainy season which is usually December to January, but this year, we experienced few rains. When it’s rainy in Manila, it’s nice and sunny in Bohol. The rainy season in Manila is from June to August, which is the best time to be in Bohol.
Visit www.thebellevuebohol.com
