Batangas unveils finest hotel

Restaurateur Ricky Gutierrez of Chateau 1771 fame is building a new paradigm for Philippine business. He is showing the way for a new breed of entrepreneurs to trust their gut feel in opening new business ventures despite the hard times. After all tomorrow is a better day and having faith in the country is the only way we can ever move forward.

This is what Gutierrez and his savvy partners did when they started to build their dream hotel in 2001. The terrorist attacks on New York City’s Twin Towers had just occurred and global business, especially those related to travel and tourism, was at an all-time low. Undaunted, Gutierrez and company ploughed on and went ahead with their plans, firm in their belief that "there will be better times ahead."

Gutierrez’s message to his countrymen is to believe in the "goodness and excellence of the Filipino."

"We can’t possibly dig our own pit. We can’t always beat ourselves up and say we’re not good enough," he notes. The result of his optimism is Hotel PonteFino in Batangas City, a quaint four-storey structure which is showing the way to five-star hospitality down South. It opened in September of last year.

Gutierrez and his partners at Hotel Concepts Inc. are undoubtedly banking on the country’s reputation in the service industry. Filipinos are everywhere in the world working in restaurants, resorts, cruise ships, hotels and the like.

"But while Malaysia has its Shangri-La, Singapore has its Raffles, and Indonesia has its Aman chain, the Philippines does not have its own hotel set-up utilizing 100 percent Filipino talent and all-Filipino standards, policies and procedures. Hotel PonteFino is it! We aim to showcase the best of Filipino warmth and hospitality which is the strongest asset in our culture," Gutierrez stressed.

A step out of the ordinary is the group’s choice to locate the flagship Hotel PonteFino property in Batangas City. The group noted that the market is already saturated in most major cities such as Metro Manila and Cebu; the Mindanao region, on the other hand, posed problems with peace and order.

It was therefore inevitable to look southward and Batangas City became a wise choice because of its thriving economy. It happens to host the country’s three biggest power plants, the Shell oil refinery, and a host of multinational companies. Among travelers, the city is well-known as a jump-off point for ferries going to Boracay and Puerto Galera. Its port is also of international standard and is touted as the next biggest alternative to Manila.

PonteFino is far from grand. It takes pride in being known as a "boutique hotel," cozy and full of the charming touches of home. Its architecture and interiors are a pleasing fusion of Filipino and Spanish influences – from the yellow stucco walls with terra-cotta bricks to the modern Filipiniana design of the bedrooms.

The hotel has 60 rooms equipped with all the amenities to suit the discriminating tastes of families and businessmen-on-the-go. Some of the little details are worth noting: Native slippers, the spacious couch in the living room which transforms into a bed, microwave oven in the suites, broadband net connection, Claude Tayag paintings on the wall, and my favorite sleek bath tub for taking long, warm baths.

You also go to this premier hotel not just to rest but to sample the wide array of food selections in its two restaurants. With brilliant young chef Dennis Edillon at the helm, PonteFino is now known as the purveyor of the "New Batangas Cuisine." This came about as a result of adding a new twist and improving on local flavors while maximizing ingredients indigenous to the province.

We were fortunate enough to sample some of Chef Dennis’ specialties such as the ever-popular Batangas bulalo, Balayan Caesar Salad, the Batangas crepe topped with panutsa (peanut brittle), as well as the best-selling PonteFino pasta which is spiced up with flakes of native steamed tulingan. For fine dining, Pastorelli Restaurant is the place to try out the chef’s so-called "Asian Freestyle Dinner." Here, one can have a fill of fancy, fusion-style dishes like macadamia-crusted tilapia with smoked duck, beef carpaccio, Chicken Teppan and juicy Prime Rib.

Just when we thought that we’ve had our taste of the hotel’s sumptuous culinary offerings, we found soon enough that its massage treatments were equally extraordinary. I particularly found the Four Hands Taal Hot Lava Stone Therapy unforgettable: It involved two attendants kneading my tired skin while applying hot lava stones at various trigger points in my body. The feeling is that of being "ironed" like a piece of clothing but it is safe enough because the skin adjusts to the heat and the result is ultimate relaxation.

When it’s time to head to the great outdoors, guests can choose from a selection of Hotel PonteFino’s Discovery Tours aimed at exploring Batangas City and its environs. One can choose to go on a Visita Iglesia and admire the centuries-old churches of the province or admire nature with the Calumpang River cruise and the Nagtuon River ecological trek. For first-timers, we recommend the heritage tour of the historic town of Taal. This includes visits to the ancestral houses of historical figures Marcela Agoncillo and Leon Apacible, the Shrine of Our Lady of Casaysay with its miraculous well and the beautiful Basilica of St. Martin de Tours which is reportedly the biggest in East Asia.

After our weekend visit, Batangas City will not just be known to me as the place to ride the next ferry boat to the beach. I will think of it in terms of Hotel PonteFino and how it has stimulated my five senses!

Hotel PonteFino is located in Gulod Labac, Batangas City. For more information, check out www. pontefino.com.ph.

[ Taal Heritage Wiki |
Leon Apacible Historical Landmark Wiki ]