Everyone loves Iloilo BY JONATHAN EVANS
Historically a powerhouse, the city and its namesake province in the Western Visayas host a burgeoning investor class and a vibrant real estate scene
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Style Residences
Deca Homes Pavia Resort & Residences
Madge Café
Located within the SM City supermall, Style Residences offers an array of retail, leisure, and F&B options, and proximity to Iloilo’s major business and IT parks, convention centres, airport, and seaport. It sports a wide range of units ranging from suites with balconies to studios. There are several swimming pools, gardens, and gazebos. A basketball court and kids’ play area also grace the development, which aims to bring spacious comfort to tenants and their children. Lying close to both Southpoint, Iloilo’s biggest entertainment destination, and the 18-storey SM Strata Tower, the city’s leading business address, Style Residences flaunts all the perks of luxurious city living.
This mega-complex comprises 2,125 units in the northern Iloilo town of Pavia. From above, Deca Homes’ sprawling project resembles a densely populated airfield. Amenities include a church and wakeboarding lake, alongside more typical features such as a clubhouse, pool, multipurpose hall, and basketball court. Pavia Resort’s bungalows with mini-gardens straddle the line between cosy, functional and eco-friendly. Other accommodation choices include single detached homes and two-storey townhouse units. It’s the Panay region’s biggest real-estate development, and one of its most affordable. Despite its size, property group 8990 Holdings intends to cultivate a sense of community and intimacy in this suburban mini-city, which lies 10km from the Iloilo City centre.
Few F&B stalwarts have the longevity and reputation of Madge Café, a coffee shop that has served its pure Ilonggo arabicabean coffee for 82 years. The heady brew is made using a kettle, cloth sock, and kolador (container to remove water) and is best complemented by muscovado sugar. The café takes its name from Magdalena, wife of founder Vicente de la Cruz. Its original outlet is still located at La Paz Public Market, but a cosy spin-off café can now be found at Shops at Atria, where the walls are festooned with coffee cups personalised with customers’ names: a Madge Café trademark. Hand-crafted blends include the milky Media Cafe and Puro Tab-ang, a milder black brew. The simple menu includes Pinoy comfort food favourites.
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