In this generation’s hustle culture, hassle does not need to tag along. To enjoy seamless work travel with convenient living options is a direction the country’s largest homegrown hotel chain goes for.
The Mactan Newtown Township is the first township development outside Metro Manila and the first with its own beach front
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Found in the south-central city of Lapu-Lapu in Mactan Island is a 20-story property with a premium hospitality brand marrying Cebu’s gushing culture, arts, and history.
Belmont Hotel Mactan, the third under the business and leisure (‘bleisure’) Belmont brand, had guests officially welcomed to its 550 well-appointed rooms and suites recently. It is the 12th and latest property opened and operated by Megaworld Hotels & Resorts.
“The island of Mactan is populated by hotels and resorts focusing heavily on leisure and wellness, so we are very excited to bring a new kind of hospitality experience through Belmont Hotel Mactan,” said Cleofe Albiso, managing director of Megaworld Hotels & Resorts.
To say Belmont wedded Cebu means, among many other things, that it pays tribute to the country’s hero, Lapu-Lapu, through a wall art in the hotel’s lobby illuminated with an installation that imitates frothy sea waves.
Further in, guitars handcrafted by skillful luthiers, also a thriving trade in the locality, accentuate the walls of Zabana Bar. Of course, it wouldn’t be a bar without equally artistic drinks.
Well curated drinks are prepared by skilled mixologists at the hotel’s Zabana Bar.
Belmont Café, meanwhile, is adorned with vibrant Sinulog Festival headdresses. Cebu’s furniture industry is featured in woven rattans and woodwork screens, demarcating dining spaces without losing the feel of an open layout feature. And the food is a must-not-miss! There are sutukil dishes, or “Sugba” (grill), “Tula” (stew), and “Kilaw” (to cook in vinegar), among an array of Cebuano cooking. Asian and Mediterranean dishes are served, too.
Belmont Café is adorned with woodwork screens and Sinulog Festival headdresses. Indulge with an array of dishes, from local to international, here.
After a hearty meal and before paying off some sleep debts, let the room’s mural design tease you with what else Cebu has. The weaving industry, accessory-making, and otap are among the mural pieces featured. The hotel also provides inclusivity in suites for guests with special needs. And most units feature expansive views of Magellan Bay and Hilutungan Channel.
The property itself is packed with recreational and entertainment facilities, including a swimming pool with a children’s section, a float pool bar for tropical beverages and a la carte snacks, wet and dry saunas, an outdoor lounge with an elevated deck, a fitness center, and a viewing deck overlooking Mactan Island.
Leading the hotel is General Manager Johnson Del Valle, and with him is a fantastic team of warm people behind first-rate services.
Talk business tourism and Belmont Hotel Mactan is all geared up for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE). The hotel has four function rooms of different seating capacities — two smaller-sized functions for focused group discussions and two more that are mergeable into a ballroom with a 100-seat capacity theater-style with technical, lighting, and audio-visual equipment.
“Because we want to address the need for Mactan to be MICE-ready, we have also built facilities specifically for MICE events, team buildings and intimate corporate events,” added Ms. Cleofe Albiso.
Expect all that from a hotel that won Gold at the 2022 Property and Real Estate Excellence Awards by FIABCI Philippines under the Hotel Category.
Belmont Hotel Mactan brought Cebu’s hotel portfolio to a total of 1,100 room keys, making Megaworld the largest hotel operator in the province. It is just one of the properties situated in the booming 30-hectare township.
The Mactan Newtown Township itself boasts some firsts for Megaworld. It is the first township development outside Metro Manila and the first with its own beachfront. With some coastal developments in the pipeline, the place will soon be filled with young contemporaries basking in a live-work-play-beach lifestyle concept.
“We are very proud to say this kind of experience is something that cannot be found anywhere else on this side of Cebu,” said Ms. Cleofe Albiso.
It also features about 81,000 square meters of leasable spaces in eight office towers, and other essential outlets are within walking distance. The place will see more growth, including a convention center, a museum, and more mixed-use developments.
Its very own academic institution under the supervision of the La Sallian Schools of Supervision Office (LASSO), Newtown School of Excellence offers educational programs from preschool to grade 7.
The township’s one-kilometer main avenue, Newtown Boulevard, is lined with over 250 mango trees, a feature inspired by Cebu’s Mango Festival in May. Along it is the Mactan Alfresco, a hawker-type dining destination offering authentic local delicacies and a lechon pit to remind you of another fête, the Lechon Festival, held every August.
Mactan Alfresco is a hawker-type dining destination at The Mactan Newtown Township.
Immerse yourself with tours to nearby attractions such as the Mactan Shrine, Sto. Niño de Cebu-Mactan Parish, and Alegre Guitar Factory.
Only 20 minutes away from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and a ride away from downtown Cebu City, home to about 80 percent of the country’s domestic shipping companies. The Mactan Newtown Township is a strategic place for those in the Queen City of the South, either on a work grind or to get away from it all.
Find world-class guitars made by Cebu’s finest luthiers at Alegre Guitars Factory.
The biggest of the four function rooms has a 100-seat capacity theater-style, with technical, lighting, and audio-visual equipment.
Tsoko Specialty Drinks, Cebu’s original handcrafted artisan drink experience.
Pusô, Cebuano for “heart”, is rice cooked in a woven pouch made of coconut leaves that resembles the shape of a heart.
The Newtown School of Excellence offers educational programs from Preschool to Grade 7.
If the place has already drawn you in, it is home to 1,655 residential condominium units from three existing properties. And by 2024, it will be home to 12 condominium towers, including three soon-to-rise developments. There is no such thing as overstaying your welcome!
The Mactan Newtown Township was hailed “Best Mixed-Use Development for Visayas and Mindanao” at The Outlook Awards 2019 by Lamudi Philippines and bagged the Gold Award (Masterplan Category) at the 2018 Property and Real Estate Excellence Awards by the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI Philippines)./PN
