BELLEVUE’S IMPRESSIVE PLANS
Respected hotelier Carlo Gomez is preparing for yet another hotel opening, his seventh! The Bellevue Bohol in Panglao Island, a five-star deluxe resort, is expected to open in June 2012.

Phase one of the resort will consist of 159 rooms, convention facilities that will be able to accommodate over 300 people, three food & beverage outlets including two bars, a Thai-inspired spa, a children’s play center, and a gym. Majority of the hotel rooms are 40 square meters big and will be facing the ocean, each with an outdoor Jacuzzi.

The coffee shop, overlooking the ocean with an open kitchen, will be serving international cuisine, including Chinese and Japanese. There will also be a fine dining restaurant that will fuse European and Asian cuisines. Gomez is deep in his research about the delicacies and food history of Bohol, hoping to include these in the resort’s final menu offerings.
The second phase of this development, which they hope to complete before the end of 2012, will consist of 60 premium suites and 129 deluxe rooms, all within this two-hectare prime beachfront property. The Bellevue Bohol has 250 meters of sea frontage, a definite advantage versus many of the existing resorts in the area. The over-all design concept of the resort is Asian minimalist.

The Bellevue Bohol belongs to the Bellevue Group of Hotels Inc., owner and operator of the five-star The Bellevue Alabang, which opened in 2003. The property has 456 rooms and the biggest convention facility south of Makati. The group also recently opened their second brand called B Hotels, located in the central business district in Alabang with 152 rooms. The B Hotel is a three-star boutique property, which the group plants to expand to Quezon City and Cagayan de Oro City within the next few years. By mid-2012, the group will have close to 750 rooms in their inventory and over 1,000 in a couple of years.

SET TO SOAR IN QUEZON CITY
Another hotel that is ready to open in the first half of 2012 is the Luxent Hotel located in Timog Avenue. The hotel, owned by the prominent Siy family, will consist of 180 rooms, convention and banquet facilities for about 500 people, and a themed restaurant concept that hopes to equal the popularity of many of the freestanding restaurants in the booming entertainment district in Quezon City.

Wesley Siy, the very young entrepreneur in charge of the project, envisions this hotel to be hip and trendy, attracting the young and successful crowd in the district that includes executives and artists from television giants, GMA and ABS-CBN. I will provide more information on Luxent Hotel in my future columns.

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DEFINING THE SOFITEL BRAND
VA: After a highly successful “branding change” from a 30-year-old “Westin brand” to a Sofitel,” what is next for the “Sofitel Philippine Plaza, in terms of new concepts this 2011 and beyond?

GA: In the past five years, Sofitel had as its focal point the complete upgrade of its hardware. For instance, massive enhancements made on such facilities as elevators, rooms, as well as the renovation of the iconic Imperial Suite, which will be completed late this year.

In 2011, Sofitel’s thrust will be in upgrading its software by rendering highly personalized service in all areas of business. We want to surprise our guests with Sofitel’s unique brand of tailormade solutions, to every unique requirement, both large or small.
Our guests are very important to us, and we understand that each one has specific preferences and specific needs that we aim to satisfy. This means going out of our way to know them, to please them, to give them the very best, as we would our guests in our own homes.

Sofitel likewise takes pride in its core strengths in food and beverage, and indeed, it is our goal to be the market leader in these areas. This year we opened two key food and beverage outlets Snaps Sports Bar and Fever Luxe Lounge. These outlets are run by Head Chef Jose Luis Gonzalez who has worked in five of the top ten restaurants in the world, such as Noma, El Bulli, Arzak, El Celler de Can Roca, and Mugaritz.

We always ensure that we have the best talent on board to help us achieve the finest in products and services.

THE SPIRAL TOUCH
VA: Inasmuch as Spiral has maintained a strong hold and lead in the hotel coffee shop business, particularly the buffet service and we foresee this hold to remain for some time, what is SOFITEL doing in terms of guest services in Spiral to ensure its continued leadership?

GA: Spiral is constantly innovating itself. We hold food festivals to bring to Manila the most colorful and exciting cuisines from around the world. Take for example the Mexican food festival, in honor of the 100 years of the Mexican revolution, and the Bavarian food festival in celebration of the Oktoberfest.

At Sofitel, we believe in the art of storytelling, and so one will note that there is always rhyme and reason behind our offerings. Fascinating stories make everything come alive and make everything more meaningful. We find that when something is meaningful, experience is heightened. I believe this is what makes Spiral so memorable.

Also, talent is one aspect of our business that is so important. We have on board a new chef for the Japanese station, who is tasked with further elevating the standards of its cuisine, which happens to be very popular among Filipinos. We also have Head Chef Gonzalez, who will be monitoring the quality of cuisine we serve at Spiral, which is one of his strongest disciplines. Most important to note is that Spiral is moving more and more towards personalized service. Into 2012, guests will see a veering away from standard chafing dishes in favor of dishes served a la minute. This will further ensure top quality in food that is prepared according to the tastes and preferences of our guests.

Very recently we launched the new Davao and Boracay rooms under Sofitel’s Inspired Meetings™ service concept, which has as its thrust personalized service. These rooms are one of the first in the world to showcase mobile, interactive show kitchen stations, which enable us to provide unique food preparations for every unique taste and every unique requirement.
We see Spiral evolving quickly in this direction this year, and further more into 2012. I believe that the concept of personalized service is truly one that will revolutionize standards in food and beverage, and it is by this standard that Sofitel lives by.

Huma Island Resort in Palawan is scheduled to open itʼs doors in April 2011. The luxury resort will have a total of 85 seafront villas with excellent amenities fit for the most capricious of travellers. It will have five international restaurants manned by superb specialty chefs. A private jet owned by Huma Island will ferry guests to this exclusive and untouched island paradise north of Palawan. You can visit their website for more information: www.humaisland.com.

Daesik Han, owner of Hotel Vida - Clark has engaged the consulting services of VIC ALCUAZ for a series of Human Capital requirements begining from a review of their current JOB GRADING & COMPENSATION STRUCTURE. The objective of the engagement is to ensure Hotel Vidaʼs competitiveness in the ever growing hotel and resort business particularly in the Clark and Subic Eco-zones. The engagement will progress to include the writing of the Hotelʼs Vision, Mission, Values and Culture statements, a General Re-orientation Program and the running of training programs for both manager/ supervisory skills enhancement as well as the upgrading of the front linersʼ ʻservice excellence skillsʼ. Hotel Resident Manager Cecile Flores is working very closely with her team and Vic Alcuaz to ensure a successful consulting engagement.

Hotel Vida has 125 well appointed rooms, a restaurant and bar, a recently opened casino and many other hotel facilities. You may vist their website for more information: www.hotelvida.com

One of the pioneer resorts in Boracay NIGI NIGI  which opened it's doors to the public over 20 years ago has recently ran VIC ALCUAZ's 'EXCELLENT! IT'S ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE!' training program for the resort's pioneer and front line staff consisting of bartenders, waiters, housekeepers and front desk staff.

Nigi Nigi is popular for it's Polynesian styled cottages and gardens as well as their very busy bar and restaurant. The resort is near station 2 and sits right in front of the world famous Boracay beach.

Vic Alcuaz conducted the workshops and was assisted by Life-Coach Bel Ochoa. Delnora Nano, a major owner of the resort and Bollie Bolton, Senior Operations Manager contracted the training expertise of Vic Alcuaz for this endeavor.

The Association of Human Resources Managers in the Hospitality industry (AHRM) recently concluded the 15th Mabuhay Awards at the Diamond Hotel Philippines.

The association once again awarded distinctions of honor to the best manager, supervisor and rank & file staff to 51 finalists from the hospitality industry. among the winners were the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, the Crown Plaza & the Pan Pacific Manila. The Mabuhay Gold Award (hotelier of the year) was given to former hotelier and now dean of the school of Hotel & Restaurant Institution Management (SHRIM) of the De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde, Dean Letty Delarmente. the eveningʼs guest of honor was Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz of the Department of Labor & Employment (DOLE). AHRM Lifetime Member Vic Alcuaz and multi-media personality and fitness guru Cory Quirino were hosts of the awards night.