Enter the BORACAY TROPICS

BORACAY ISLAND — The rush of construction for new hotels and resorts has intensified here as the demand for more rooms has increased considerably in recent years. First to finish construction was a new five-star resort hotel named Boracay Tropics. It is located at Boracay Station 2 on a sprawling estate of verdant landscape, a tropical oasis blending of Mediterranean and Asian architecture and interiors.

Nearing completion are the future hotels of Shangri-La Group (200 rooms); Discovery Shores of Discovery Suites (60 rooms); Balaihara of Fairways (150 rooms) expansion of Boracay Regency (80 rooms); Boracay Mandarin (48 rooms) and Real Mariz with 80 rooms; or, a total 618 new rooms.

As of today, Boracay has 224 resorts with 3,004 rooms of which only 1,500 are DoT-accredited. This was according to Department of Tourism (DoT) monitoring office headed by Judith Iconamin.

Iconamin said domestic and foreign arrivals jumped to almost half a million (499,457) in 2005 from 428,751 in 2004.

She said the increase in arrivals is even more pronounced at the start of this year (January) when the number of tourists who came here reached 44,829 as compared to 36,207 in January 2005 and 33,143 in January 2004.

Some 80 percent of tourists coming here are locals and the remaining 20 percent are mostly from East Asia (Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan), then from the US, Switzerland, United Kingdom, New Zealand, etc.

Boracay Topics will be inaugurated next month during the wedding anniversary of Mr. Bert and Mrs. Cely Sarabia with Secretary Ace Durano cutting the ceremonial ribbon and heading the list of special guests.

The Triple "A" property is meticulously designed to provide privacy, a lot of breathing space and peaceful refuge from the hassle and bustle of the beachfront. The two three-storey hotel building property encloses the exclusive and self-contained sanctuary.

Most of the guestrooms have balconies overlooking the giant bean-shaped pool and the lush garden with trees. The hotel has 44 elegantly-appointed superior deluxe rooms and six Cabana Suites. The Premier Suites include a receiving area and a kitchenette. All rooms are equipped with airconditioning units, a mini-bar, a private shower with hot and cold water, a cable TV and an in-room safety deposit vault.

The multi-purpose TropiCafé Restaurant situated at the ground floor serves a sumptuous choice of the best of Oriental and Western Cuisine with a bar to unwind after a long adventurous day in the island.

KTV rooms warm up guests for a festive Boracay nightlife. A health and nail spa is also available to pamper and soothe tired bodies. A children’s game room, meanwhile keeps kids entertained with computer and board games while parents relax.

For travellers who need to mix business and pleasure, there are seminar facilities designed for small or big events with rooms spacious enough for small groups to about 150 people. A modern business center is available to provide access to the everyday world. For details, please call 687-1465 or through e-mail at info@boracaytropics.com.

It may surprise you to know that foreign travellers were the first ones to discover, explore and enjoy the 967-hectare Boracay Island, paradise island of the Philippines, famous for its world’s finest and loveliest palm fringed white sand beaches, azure waters, coral reefs and rare shells. That was in the ‘70s.

By mid-80s, the relatively unheard of Boracay was receiving world-wide accolade as a travel destination to watch. It is said that only then did the locals come to get curious about this secret paradise.

Bert Sarabia, a native of Aklan, would regularly bring his family all the way from Manila to Boracay to spend the Holy Week and to give the family a break from the demands of their jewelry business. Although already gaining popularity from the locals as a travel destination, accommodation was still rudimentary – native huts, bamboo floors that also served as bed (a mattress was a luxury then), and candles or kerosene lamp. (Only a few of about 10 resorts in the place had generators).

One time, the family stayed in a resort without a generator. Mosquito nets took care of the omnipresent insect but the warm nights were another thing. Bert and Cely would take turns using native fans all night so their children would be able to sleep. The ordeal egged them to check out the following day and to return to Aklan. But the lure of the beach and the sea, however, was irresistible to the little ones and so they would get back to the island at day time.

The following year’s experience was a turning point for the family. An advanced booking in a generator-serviced resort made several months earlier, saw them without an accommodation upon arrival. The resort owner handed their reserved room to a foreigner who had gotten it at a higher rate. Perhaps guilt-stricken by such unjust actuation, the resort owner, hinted that the family buy a property in Boracay and become a resort owner, too.

In 1987, the Sarabias acquired a 1,000 sq.m. lot which they bought at R330 per sq.m. A cottage using native materials was built and this served the family’s immediate needs during their annual break in Boracay.

When the time to venture in the resort business came, the family constructed eight cottages and four duplex units. A restaurant, with four rooms upstairs completed the resort scene.

In 1988, Rainbow Villas was registered as a resort. For a while, the resort’s operations was en famille. Bert and Cely were long-distance operators and so serious business considerations were not a priority. Bert’s relatives ran and maintained the resort.

Cely recalls that Rainbow Villas was home to foreign travelers, mostly backpackers who would stay for weeks spending their time in ultimate quiet, privacy and bliss. (Local tourists were only a handful then.)

In 1991, the family bought an adjacent lot of 600 sq.m. at the back of the property for R1,000/sq.m.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Villas was now a key player in the area. By 1992, the business realized its return on investment and hope was written all over its face. (Earlier, Cely had learned that biblically, rainbow symbolized HOPE.)

Once more, an investment opportunity announced itself when another 1,600 sq.m. of the adjacent lot was offered for sale. At R4,500/sq.m., Boracay’s land worth was galloping in a frenzy in 1995.

In October 2004, the old structures were demolished and Rainbow Villas gave way to a bigger and more intricate development plan – a resort hotel. The business name Rainbow Villas also bowed to Boracay Tropics Resort Hotel. (The rainbow colors of hope were kept however in the logo of Boracay Tropics).