Alphaland Baguio Mountain Lodges

I spent last weekend in Baguio with my “right and left hand men,” Mike Asperin and Rico Sison. We woke up on Sunday morning to be greeted by a beautiful cloudless day. It was the kind of morning typical of Baguio and its cool and fresh mountain air. I asked Rico to take photographs of his new masterpieces, especially the views from the Clubhouse Inn and some other log homes and I am sending them to you herewith.​

Now that the weather is beautiful in Baguio, we decided to invite our Balesin members who may be interested in seeing the project or who might be spending part of their Christmas holidays in Baguio, to come and visit Alphaland Baguio Mountain Lodges. We will be happy to have you as our guests even for an overnight stay. Because we have only 12 suites at the Clubhouse Inn (but a fully staffed and operating kitchen—our chef comes from Balesin Island Club), we can accommodate you on a first-come first-served basis.

Please call Ms. Evans Ramos, our Assistant GM for Club Operations at Balesin (Tel nbrs +63908.498.8900 or +63977.322.6730), or my Secretary, Ms. Jojo Manalo (Tel nbr +63918.918.6085), to make your bookings. I repeat that you will be our guests, including overnight stay and all charges (including food, but excluding alcoholic beverages) will be with our compliments.

Balesin Private Villa

For those of you who have not visited Balesin lately, we have now completed the first 8-suite Private Villa. Under construction are the 4-suite and the 6-suite Private Villas. I think that the 4-suite Private Villa (keeping my fingers crossed!) will be ready for occupancy before the Christmas holidays and will welcome your visit. It looks as if the 6-suite Private Villa will not be ready until after the holidays.

My friends Dr. Vicki Belo and husband Hayden Kho stayed at the Private Villa for Thanksgiving and she has waxed lyrical about it, heaping undeserved praise on yours truly. I enclose her post, which I think you will enjoy reading.

The Private Villas will give corporations and individuals full ownership with individual land titles. Since the Private Villas may be occupied by any designee of the owner of the villa whether accompanied by a member or not, and enjoy the full amenities of the island, the 8-bedroom Private Villa is ideal for major corporations such as banks, insurance companies, and other entities that normally provide incentives for their customers or in the case of insurance companies, their agents. These are normally in the form of foreign trips or other expensive perks. By owning a Private Villa, the bank or insurance company can give a number of free nights at their option. Since a villa night is worth Php25,000 multiplied by 8 suites and again multiplied by 365 days, the corporation will have Php73 million in value to give away each year.

The smaller villas (6- and 4-bedroom suites) are ideal for families or individuals who visit Balesin quite often. An annex at the end of this update gives the daily analysis of the value for each type of Private Villa.

I myself, will buy a 4-suite Private Villa so that when I am long gone, my family and their progeny can still stay and enjoy our beloved Balesin.

Balesin Coffee Table Book

We have now completed the long-awaited Balesin coffee table book, which is hardbound and over 500 pages, with magnificent pictures of your Club. I am pleased to inform you that we have decided to give, as a Christmas present, one copy to each member, free of charge. You may pick up your copy the next time you are in Balesin or anytime from my office at The City Club. I have no doubt that you will enjoy it and consider it a prized possession.

Finally, I would like to wish all of you a blessed Christmas and a great New Year in 2018.