Suddenly, it is March! Whatever happened to January and February?

For us, we have been very busy with new Balesin projects and several other matters.

The Balesin Marquee

For some years now, we have felt the need for a dedicated events facility in Balesin. As you may know, we now have 384 villas on the island and can actually accommodate a large wedding or even international conventions totaling more than a thousand people. Heretofore, the largest event that we could accommodate was a sit-down dinner at The Balesin Royal Villa for a maximum of 300 guests.

We have now designed The Balesin Marquee, a special events facility that can hold 600 guests for a sit-down dinner, and as many as a thousand guests for a performance, with theater-style seating.

We have ordered a fabulous (but expensive!) marquee events-style tent, made of PVC polyester tensile fabric from Germany. It is guaranteed to withstand 250 kph winds. The marquee will have its own large kitchen, a dozen comfort rooms, and huge storage spaces. The marquee will be fully air-conditioned and will have a cocktails/reception area with a beautiful view of the beach and Lamon Bay. We have sited it at the former driving range area near The Regency Private Villas.

The delivery takes several months, but we should have it operational by June of this year. For us in Balesin, it is a game changer, and will optimize the use of the many villas that we have built over the years.

The Regency Private Villas

In a week’s time, the first Regency Private Villa (Villa A) will be completed. After a shakedown period of several weeks, it should be ready for occupancy well before Holy Week. It will have 20 bedroom suites and a splendid deck, pool and cabañas, overlooking the best beach on the island. The largest facility we have today is The Balesin Royal Villa with only 14 suites.

After Balesin Regency A, we will be completing B, C, and D. Depending on weather conditions, they should be all complete before the rains come in August. Thus, there will be a total of 52 bedroom suites in 4 different structures. I inspected Regency Private Villa A a few days ago. It is beautiful and I have no doubt that you will love it.

The Balesin Chinese Villa

After over a year of to-ing and fro-ing, we finally concluded an agreement with one of the most affluent entrepreneurs from Shenzhen, China, on the long-awaited Chinese Villa. Construction should begin towards the end of this month.

The villa, which they want to name “Apsaras Tribe” (not very Chinese-sounding, but it is the name they chose), will have 12 villas and a banquet area for 150 people. Part of our deal with them is that they will bring in Cantonese chefs from Hong Kong or from Shenzhen. At the end of this update are renderings of the villa which our inimitable designer, Rico Sison, has done.

Balesin Road Rehabilitation

As many of you know, road maintenance is a never-ending problem at Balesin. When the rainy season comes, the roads develop many potholes, which make getting from one village to another or to the Clubhouse an extremely tedious and unpleasant experience.

Beginning next week, we will resurface all of the roads with a mixture of several types of paving materials, to ensure a lasting hard surface. This project will cover all the main roads on the island and will take about two to three months to complete.

Balesin Summer Sports Camp

Beginning April 1, we will have, for the first time ever, the Balesin Summer Sports Camp, consisting of four different sports (basketball, tennis, baseball and soccer). We have created a very modestly priced package for a family of up to five persons in one villa. The package includes airfare to and from Balesin, four nights and five days of various sports activities, a one-day wellness program for parents at the Aegle Wellness Center in Balesin, all meals and unlimited use of our other facilities.

Co-sponsored with San Miguel Corporation, we have been able to greatly reduce the price of the package (for a family of up to five), to Php 160,000 for the entire package, the normal price being double that figure.

We intend to have this program every summer so that our members and other guests can enjoy Balesin and at the same time, get their children to train and improve in their favorite sport. We have assembled a team of world-class instructors for this program, which begins on April 1 and finishes at the end of June. Please see our website at www.balesinsportscamps.com and flyer (attached) for more information.

Alphaland Baguio Mountain Lodges

Turning now to our Baguio project, we have completed 27 log homes and sold all of them. We are building an additional 11 single-family homes, in addition to the 2 quadruplex units (4 homes in one building, or a total of 8 home units). We are also about to complete the Mini Sports Center, which has a covered basketball/tennis court, and a separate mini gym. Almost next to the Welcome Center, the Mini Sports Center should be operational by next month, and will also be available as a wedding banquet venue.

The Alpha Suites

The Alpha Suites, our all-suite luxury serviced apartments at Alphaland Makati Place consisting of 250 keys, opened last May and has been doing quite well. We have been getting superlative ratings from several hotel booking companies. One hotel booking company rated us 9.4 out of 10, and gave The Alpha Suites the best rating out of all the serviced apartments in Metro Manila.

Truly, it is not possible to find a hotel in the city where you have access to nine restaurants within the premises, a 500-sqm gym, plus tennis, basketball and badminton courts, and a huge swimming pool.

With its introductory price of about Php 7,000 per room night, it is truly unbeatable. Additionally, all Balesin and City Club members get a 20% introductory discount.

Balesin International Gateway (BIG)

Last December, we started moving earth on our new project on Patnanungan Island, about 21 nautical miles from Balesin, where we have acquired 732 hectares, the entire southern part of the island. It is therefore 1-1/2 times the size of Balesin. The beach is pink, not white as Balesin, but attractive in its own way.

We will be building a 2-1/2 kilometer airstrip which we intend to qualify as an international airport, a championship golf course, five hotels of about 200 rooms each, and over a thousand home sites. Unlike Balesin, it will not be a membership club, but available to the general public.

During this year, we target to complete the runway, the wharf, and a 50-suite villa. Thus, by Christmastime, our Balesin members can fly to BIG and even stay there overnight to size up and select their own home site.

As you can see, we have been BUSY, but that is what keeps us going.