MANILA, Philippines – A home made tarsier sculpture on the bedside desk. A vibrant rug woven from recycled textiles on the bed room flooring. A rattan lampshade casts a smooth, heat glow. A Tamaraw rocking chair is tucked within the nook.
At Panglao’s first 5-star worldwide luxurious resort, South Palms Resort and Spa, each room is a gallery of Boholano tradition, and each artisanally made piece is an emblem of Bohol’s experience in craftsmanship.
Regionally owned and set alongside a personal stretch of Panglao Seashore, the resort is a part of Accor’s prestigious MGallery Assortment — a curated roster of boutique resorts worldwide — that carries world hotelier requirements however is firmly anchored by Filipino hospitality and Bohol’s cultural heritage.
And it isn’t simply discovered throughout the 4 partitions of 1’s villa: artwork may be present in each nook — from the picket tabo for laundry sandy ft, lounge ottomans created from discarded denim, a mosaic wall made by a neighborhood employee they simply met on the seashore, tables constructed from reclaimed timber, and an arch of century-old beams greeting friends upon check-in. Tactility meets sustainability, and sensibility meets magnificence.
“Every thing you see right here is materials you’ll be able to contact,” stated one of many venture’s designers. “It’s adaptive reuse — world requirements of producing however utilizing plant-based and reclaimed supplies from the setting.”
The resort is the imaginative and prescient of a powerhouse artistic crew: inside designer Patricia Ho Douven of White Jacket, F&B and detailing specialist Phillip Pond of Atelier Pond, public house designer Patrick Keane of Enter Initiatives Asia, and grasp planners Chris Singer and Prasasti Chenchin of SCSY Studio.
“We introduced worldwide sensibilities and experiences however all the time with a coronary heart full of affection for Bohol,” the crew shared. “The [Filipino] homeowners’ dedication guided us to create design parts impressed by native tales. In all places you flip right here, there’s a narrative — that’s what makes it particular.”
Better of Bohol by means of the arms of its artisans
Simply quarter-hour from Tagbilaran Airport, South Palms hosts over 180 rooms and suites located between the Bohol Sea’s turquoise waters and coconut groves. Situated in Barangay Tawala, Panglao Island, the resort was constructed with — and round — the neighborhood it belongs to.
The property additionally attracts inspiration from Sirenna, the legendary sea guardian stated to look at over Bohol’s seas. Her presence is woven into coral-like kinds within the foyer, nightly rituals by the oceanfront, and the traditional banyan tree that anchors the grounds.
“The seashore and the water impressed us most,” the design crew shared. “The pavilion patterns got here from coral, fish scales, and the swirls of the tide. The structure was by no means meant to be inflexible — it needed to really feel liquid, natural, alive.”
They famous that in a moist, coastal setting, wooden weathers and adjustments, and that was a part of giving it one other life. In constructing the sprawling property since 2018, the crew layered their strategy: structural metal for stability, reclaimed wooden for finishes, and heavier new timber for stable constructions. Utilizing reclaimed timber for cladding — like in South Palms’ spa that’s quickly to open — provides every house a way of heat and familiarity, “like coming into your auntie’s dwelling.”
The proprietor, the Uy Household, collected wooden for six years. It was a treasure trove when building started, so the crew used it for furnishings, partitions, and finishes. “The concept was to make friends really feel like they’re coming into a house in Bohol, however in a contemporary, clear setting.”
Plastics from native festivals are upcycled into furnishings, lighting, and repair items, giving “second lives” to colourful supplies that symbolize the lifetime of Boholanos.
The place every room tells a narrative
Every room is patterned and designed with intention and objective, relying on the theme. Fish murals outdoors the villas symbolize Harvest; Baybayin symbols hand-painted on the room’s partitions categorical Tradition; and the long-lasting Chocolate Hills seem in murals that honor Nature.
Inside, the small print carry the identical thoughtfulness; handmade decor provides each room a chunk of Bohol. Even the slippers — as a substitute of the same old plain, white lodge pair — are handwoven with vibrant textile patterns that friends can take dwelling. A easy but sturdy banig tote bag positioned in each room provides native character to your seashore outfit. And from work to woven throws and pillows, the patterns are all crafted by Bohol’s weavers, giving every room its personal character.
The villas themselves are “old-house impressed,” with artwork drawn from each day Boholano life. “Every thing is bespoke, nothing is imported,” the inside designer shared. From the room sofas to balcony lounge chairs, all the way down to the picket chandeliers — all are crafted by native arms, utilizing native supplies.
“What’s necessary is deeply connecting with the place you construct [the resort],” the developer added. “It’s that childlike simplicity. Youngsters wish to contact and really feel issues. They wish to have that have. And that’s what we would like with this venture.” One playful function is the Wall of Hung-Hung in each room: a panel of picket planks and pegs that lets friends rearrange patterns, cling baggage, or just work together with the fabric.
South Palms’ rooms are created from salvaged Boholano wooden sourced from deserted island houses, complemented by banig headboards, coconut wooden furnishings, and different textured and tactile additions.
Rooms are available in a wide range of choices relying on price range and desire: nature views, balcony views, non-public pool suites, oceanfront villas, or direct seashore entry — with charges beginning at P15,000 and till P40,000+.
Sustainability is a tradition
The resort is powered by sustainability: rainwater is transformed for sewage, and far of the meals cycle is sustained by the property’s personal nine-hectare farm simply 10 minutes away, full with animals, fish, herbs, and produce.
Nothing goes to waste: the identical freshly picked lemongrass served within the resort’s tea will even be infused into the spa’s oils, blended with the resort’s personal virgin coconut oil. Even the normal asin tibuok or “dinosaur egg” salt will discover its manner into future spa remedies as a part of physique and salt scrubs.
The crew additionally shared that 1,017 photo voltaic panels generate round 526 kilowatts of energy — sufficient to maintain the resort working for six to seven hours each day — whereas 14 free water refill stations throughout the property can be found to make use of for all friends. “Water ought to be free!” the proprietor stated.
“We constructed this with Panglao’s future in thoughts,” the crew added, emphasizing that the resort’s imaginative and prescient has all the time been about nurturing the land and supporting the Filipino neighborhood behind it.
As a substitute of imposing a generic “luxurious” look, they “listened fastidiously to the vacation spot” and borrowed its spirit into the small print. Even the perform and ballroom names add a private contact, carrying the names of the Uy household’s family, reminiscent of Marcela, after the grandmother.
Nature and neighborhood at their most interesting
A key function of the grasp plan is its deal with panorama design, with particular care given to defending and preserving mature and native plant species. Buildings had been fastidiously designed round these bushes — just like the rubber tree simply outdoors restaurant Tia’s Home and the tree in entrance of the outside bar. They wished to create pure outside areas that invite friends to expertise the location’s unique setting.
“We wished to ensure each household, each particular person coming into the resort has memorable experiences — from arrival to check-out. For instance, our first visitor this morning arrived by kalesa. What number of resorts can say that?”
From the foyer, you’ll see raffia weaving, a practice well-known in Bohol, which youngsters also can strive on the Ayas Jungle Children Membership. Households can spend time collectively on the wide-open pasture, the biggest within the resort.
Guests can discover the nine-hectare South Farm, feed the animals, and shortly expertise beekeeping. Round 20 to 35 farmers had been despatched to the mountains to review the science of beekeeping with a view to harvest the resort’s personal honey for its eating places within the coming years.
The resort can also be engaged on a marine sanctuary with its in-house marine biologist.
From sea to desk
Asin tibuok is the star of South Palms’ bustling kitchen, proudly displayed beneath its personal warming gentle, a spotlight of the area and a coveted artisanal salt nonetheless made by just a few households in Bohol. With its smokiness and slight sweetness, it finds its manner in all places: sprinkled on cocktails on the bar, labored into dishes, or as a garnish to desserts.
Uma, the resort’s flagship restaurant, sources all of its elements regionally, particularly the freshest catch of the day from accomplice farmers and fisherfolk.
Chef Bettina Arguelles, along with her French nice eating coaching, applies her methods to make regional staples stand out — turning ginamos (the fermented shrimp paste of Visayas and Mindanao) right into a sambal-like sauce for grilled blue marlin, pairing contemporary talaba (oyster) with grilled bone marrow, or reimagining Negros’ burrata with calcag shrimp, dulong, and salted fish, and a candy cherry tomato marmalade.
Dishes like uncooked tanigue with house-made coconut vinegar or Bohol mud crabs and sea urchin become a chic capellini deliver native flavors to finer heights. The menu celebrates Bohol’s sea bounty, too: grouper, South Farm prawns, tuway clams, and ikura with lato (seagrapes) deliver the ocean to 1’s plate. Mocktails made with guava and fresh-pressed juices add to the tropical contact.
Even the afternoon treats left within the room, like dried mango with asin tibuok yema with kasuy; pinyato; and ube halaya depart extra to be found about Bohol’s traditions.
Coronary heart and soul for its individuals
The crew spent years immersing themselves in Bohol, some making greater than 30 journeys. What started as fast conferences typically become karaoke nights within the village or weeklong visits to Cebu to fulfill with native fabricators. They discovered by being current — consuming, listening, and becoming a member of within the each day rhythm of Boholaon life. One designer recalled visiting a shrimp farm tied to the proprietor’s household story.
“We turned a nook and there was Hope’s dad, sitting with one of many staff, ingesting coconut wine combined with Pepsi and consuming shrimp. At first, we had been nervous — this was the large boss. However he invited us over, and we spent the afternoon simply speaking, experiencing on a regular basis life. That’s how we discovered.”
The resort additionally provides again by supporting two native orphanages — Bohol Sunshine Dwelling and Trinity Angels Care Dwelling— by means of common donations, play-based visits, and shared meals.
Admittedly, it was a venture of excessive design ambitions, the crew shared. A neighborhood resort on a distant island with a worldwide identify; add in sourcing, importing, and fabricating, and the whole lot turns into extra complicated.
“However the objective was all the time: it should seem like the Philippines, not Bali, not Thailand, not Malaysia. That was our mission.”
The imaginative and prescient was by no means to “escape” the province however to return to it — with dignity. To honor craftspeople, traditions, and native customs. “That feeling will resonate with Filipinos and with foreigners as effectively,” one designer added. “It’s fully storytelling — and that, at present, is the brand new luxurious.”
The M in MGallery stands for “memorable and significant.” Every property is exclusive, related to its neighborhood, and design-led. “It’s simple to discover a luxurious resort within the Philippines, but it surely’s more durable to seek out the Philippines in a luxurious resort,” they stated.
If there’s one phrase the crew hopes friends take dwelling, it isn’t “luxurious” — although that may be a given, with value tags that mirror it. Relatively, it’s generosity: the generosity of nature, of the Boholano neighborhood, and of Filipino service. As a crew of principally international designers, they converse typically of the heat they themselves skilled — a welcome they want to pay ahead to each native and worldwide friends.
“Authenticity is the brand new luxurious. Folks don’t fly 18 hours to see the identical designer manufacturers they may see in any large metropolis. They arrive for one thing distinctive, one thing rooted in tradition.”
It’s additionally about storytelling. Each element is supposed to make friends pause, nod, and ask questions. In doing so, they kind a relationship — one other phrase the crew highlights. “The friendships we shaped right here — with the homeowners, with the neighborhood — are distinctive.”
Different buzzwords embody abundance, hospitality, and heat; that’s the soul of Bohol, in any case, and the crew tried to precise that of their community-rooted design.
For this reason South Palms prioritized native craft: timber, weaving, furniture-making — areas the place Filipinos excel. “We wished to showcase what native arms can do. That tactile, handcrafted high quality — that’s actual luxurious.”
And even throughout building, each Boholano employee greeted them with a smile. “That’s not one thing you’ll be able to design,” one designer shared. “That’s the spirit of Bohol.” – Rappler.com
