INdulge!
VOL.5 ISSUE 84 • JUNE 29 -30, 2012
EDGEDAVAO
TRAVEL
Pride of identity Hotel Vicente exudes Filipino pride Davao City is on a construction boom with office, residential, and hotel towers sprouting everywhere with designs that are leaning more towards cutting edge and modern, so modern at times that sometimes the Filipino soul of the spaces get lost in translation.
Hotel Vicente’s lobby and reception desk.
The wood and capiz shell details.
One of the three function rooms on the 5th floor of Hotel Vicente.
Hotel Vicente’s rooms are well-appointed and well designed with beautiful Filipino accents.
One day, while I was in transit along F. Torres Street, from what used to be the old Calma residence, now stands a grand five-story hotel with amazing attention to design and detail which got me excited. Unfortunately, on the day of the hotel’s soft opening, I was not able to visit, but many thanks to Carlo and his mom, Sylvia C. Lorenzana, I was given a special guided tour of their beautiful boutique hotel. Named after her father, Vicente T. Calma. The hotel stands out like a beacon along Torres Street. Upon entering Hotel Vicente, I immediately felt right at home with its cozy lobby with exquisite wood and capiz shell details that are neither gaudy nor boring. Added to the mix are original antique furniture that used to be part of the ancestral Calma house which add character and history to the spaces. To the side and behind the lobby is Cristobal, a Filipino restaurant that features recipes that were passed on by Virgina Cristobal Calma, the wife of Vicente T. Calma and mother of the Calma siblings. Cristobal also has a sidebar that also serves beautiful Argentinean wines by Lagarde. All 27 rooms of the hotel are beautifully appointed and detailed. From the capiz shell headboards to the beautifully crafted vanity tables, every room of Hotel Vicente is unique and have an air of Filipino pride. I personally love the beautifully finished bathrooms that are like those that can normally be found on bigger, more expensive hotels abroad. On the fifth level of the hotel are its function rooms which are named after three municipalities of Bulacan where the Calma family originated from. And like
the lobby and the restaurant, the function rooms also carry the wood and capiz details. I also loved the fact that they were also able to recycle parts of the old Calma house into the structure itself, from the accent beams in the corridors to the steps of the stairway, the new structure pays tribute to the old family home. Although small in scale, Hotel Vicente carries all the marks and breeding of a proper boutique hotel. Whatever it may lack in size, it truly makes up for in character and a unique stay in Davao City. Hotel Vicente is located along F. Torres Street and can be contacted at (82)2957053, 2957389 or visit their website at www. hotelvicentedavao.com Follow me on twitter @ kennethkingong for happenings around the city, foodie finds, and travel tips.
Hotel Vicente’s cozy and welcoming lobby.
Cristobal, the restaurant of Hotel Vicente.