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Boracay: Paradise island of the Phils.
Source: Manila Bulletin
Author: Danny Fajardo
Date: 2003-01-08
 
BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan — Aside from being the oldest province in the country, Aklan is also famous for its Boracay Island, known around the world as Paradise Island of the Philippines.







Located 68 kilometers from northwest of Kalibo, Aklan’s capital, Boracay island is only 25 minutes ride by pumpboat across the northwestern channel from the northwestern tip of Panay.





Visitors here find themselves going back year after year as if in pilgrimage to a most holy land of white, talcum-fine sand and warm, crystalline waters. One of these visitors loved Boracay so much that he decided to stake his claim on his own piece of paradise.





Henry Chusuey, an entrepreneur in his forties discovered Boracay in the 80s. Henry is from Iloilo and there he was known as the Cinema King because his theaters lined the whole province in the 80s. After commercial malls took over the entertainment and cinema scene, Henry found solace in the white sands of Boracay which he visited every week. His passion eventually pushed him to buy prime beach-front property and build what he decided would be his retirement home. Since he is far from retirement age, Henry and his friends Ramon Locsin, Eddie Ong, Jerry Ong and Henry Sy, decided to open Boracay Regency to the public in 1998.





Boracay Regency is the first self-contained, Mediterranean-inspired resort in Boracay. Its director for sales, Mary Ann Ong explains that the idea behind creating a self-contained environment for their customers is Henry’s idea of giving their patrons the ultimate vacation package while keeping them safe and secure, at a fair price. Ong laughingly shares that, “Usually, first time visitors to Boracay revel in the idea of a rustic vacation – no aircon and all. But as soon as the mosquitoes bite, they realize it’s not that fun after all and so we have for them a paradise refuge with hotel-quality services.”





Initially, they had only 43 rooms in an L-shaped, three-storey structure with all the rooms on the ground level greeted by a breathtaking sight of the pool. Eventually, they had to open up another L-shaped wing on the adjacent lot because of the growing number of their customers.





Henry Chusuey’s idea for Boracay Regency is for it to allow their guests to enjoy the novelty of the untouched tropical beauty without sacrificing essential 21st century amenities. Their 74 well-appointed air-conditioned rooms are equipped with hot and cold water options. All rooms are fully furnished with uniquely designed bamboo and rattan furniture pieces, cable TV, a mini bar and IDD/NDD telephones with extensions into the bathrooms.





The new wing contains another 31 rooms plus a music lounge, food, karaoke and play center. Atop the music lounge’s dance area is a glassceiling that allows patrons to view the magnificent Boracay skies.





“Our new entertainment hub’s elevation is only five feet from ground level so as not to mar the beauty of the surroundings with high-level structures. Actually, it’s even camouflaged with a beautiful landscape so that you wouldn’t even know that the music lounge is there. Our food center follows the newest trend in dining. We have Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Filipino restaurants in one roof,” shares Ong.





Regency is now ranked a Double-A resort and aiming for a Triple-A accreditation from the Department of Tourism (DoT) in the near future. Recently they acquired a property management, central reservation, and central customer information system called MICROS-Fidelio. “Fidelio allows for smooth check-in and check-out. For the staff, this spells out a workload that’s cut into half, no more long printout of bills and manual checking. For the customers, it means world-class service and hassle-free, heightened vacation experience,” Ong said.





“We know that we will get the accreditation because we use MICROS-Fidelio. Their system is used in almost all of the hotels and resorts here in the Philippines and abroad. I know that Fontana Leisure Park, Shangri-La Hotel and Mandarin Oriental are some of the resort-hotels that run on MICROS-Fidelio,” she added.





For inquiries and reservations to Boracay Regency, call at tel. no. 523-8707 or email: regency@pacific.net.ph.





 

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