VIRGIN BEACH RESORT CEBU
"a tropical paradise"
History of Virgin Beach Resort Cebu
Fe and I were pen pals in 1989 and exchanged more than 100 letters (snail mail) during our 5 months of writing before I came to the Philippines in January of 1990 and met in Manila. After meeting Fe's parents in Bogo, Cebu, we were married at the Municipality in Bogo on January 29, 1990. Mayor Dy was one of the sponsors (Ninong). Fe came to the U.S. in July of the same year and we have been hapily together ever since. I began offering tours to Cebu for American men to meet thier pen pals in 1991 and visited the property now known as Virgin beach Resort Cebu in March. We purchased the property later that year (almost 2 hectare for P12.5 per square meter) and began construcion in November of 1993. Fe's brother, Eden Alarde, was hired as Construction Manager of the Virgin Beach Resort Cebu project.
Our first project was the natural stone fencing that surrounds the nearly 2 hectar (almost 5 acres). We also completed the south sea wall by early 1994. The stone fence is approximately one meter high, 18 inches wide at eh base and about 9 inches wide at the top. It is about 420 meters (1/4 mile) long. More than 100,000 stones were used in its construction. The sea wall is 40 meters into the sea and is more than 2 meters tall, one meter wide at the top and 3 meters wide at the base. The facing is mostly coral stone. Each sea wall contains abouit 100,000 stones. The second sea wall was begun later in 1994 and the private road to Virgin Beach Resort Cebu 4 meters wide and 420 meters long was purchased from three owners and cement road was constructed. The only piece of equipment used for any construction at Virgin Beach Resort Cebu was a jack hammer. The plane area where the main lodge is located was smoothed by a bull-dozer. Two kioskos and a club house were completed by August of 1994 as the beach was cleared and we hadd our first group use the resort for a beach party August 13, 1994. The guard house was finished late in 1994 and the Bougainvillea Hotel was built in 1995. The kitchen building was finished in November of 1995 and the Tangke (water tank kiosko) was completed in Frebruary 1996.
We opened for our first overnight guest in August 1995 and had our ground breaking ceremony August 27, 1995 for the Orchid Hotel. We had a special blessing ceremony in September 1995. Fe's two brothers, Junior and Bobby Alarde (and their wives) came to work as the hotel staff in August 1995. Construction of the Orchid Hotel actually began in March 1996 and completed in early 1997. Other improvements have been ongoing since construction began in November 1993...too manhy small projects too numerous to mention. Electricity was brought in August 1994. The deep well was begun in February of 1994 but never used as it proved brackish (salt sea water intrusion) and we relied exclusively on rain water in cisterns untill the barangay water project was completed in 2002. Landscaping was begun in early 1994 and continues today.
The first large duplex cottage was built in 1998 and the second one the following year. In 2000, we bagan the first small duplex cottage and added anther in 2001. We started the swimming pool in 2002 and finished it later that year. By the way, we never did dig the pool, we used a low area in the rolling terrain and built a retaining wall and back filled to make it look like it is today. We fill the swimming pool with rain water. In 2003 we finished another small duplex cottage and started the basketball court. Then in 2004 we built the 3rd small duplex cottage. We built the water slide in 2006 and finished lots of other projects the following year . We started the conference room the end of 2008 and completed it December of 2009 along with our first Barkada Lodge.
We have lots of other projects to complete and our future plans. We plan to build 3 more large duplex cottages on the north side of the Orchid Hotel. We want to finish the excavating of the now small limestone mound east of the swimming pool and add a water feature for kids and another club house by the pool for venue for parties etc. We hope to add fish ponds starting near the pool on the south side and continue in steps down to the club house by the sea. We also want to add 2 more barkada lodges near the basket ball court, cover the basket ball court and add a stage and seating (mini bleachers on the side) plus a covered portico at the back of the hotel for covered parking etc going to the kitchen. Last project on our list is a suite multi-story hotel between the guard house (managers house) and the Bougainvillea Hotel on the west side of the property which will bring the total number of rooms at Virgin Beach Resort Cebu to 42.
We will keep you posted on our projects in the "Latest News" page (link on left side bar).
ENJOY SOME OF THE VINTAGE PHOTOS OF THE RESORT!
Feel free to add your comments here if you have stayed with us at Virgin Beach Resort Cebu
1 Comment
-
#1
We've had groups coming to Virgin Beach Resort since 1994. Please leave your comments here and let us hear from you.
-
#2
Contact Us or Make a Reservation
Virgin Beach Resort, Sitio Suba, Barangay Malbago, Daanbantayan 6013 Cebu, Philippines.
Cell/Txt 0915-455-6990
Phn/Fax 032-437-0106
Your Hosts, Ron & Fe Perry
1542 E. Glenwood Ave.
Tulare CA 93274
Cell/Txt 559-736-0401
Phn/Fax 559-688-4835
To contact us with questions or reservations,
simply send us an email.
Time at Virgin Beach
Virgin Beach Blog
Greetings from Virgin Beach Resort Cebu. Please check here daily for a new blog about Virgin Beach Resort, The Philippines, Cebu and any interesting related subjects about our unique place.
Welcome to Daanbantayan (KANDAYA)! Located at the northernmost tip of the Province of Cebu, the Municipality of Daanbantayan as of December 3, 2008 is now a 1st class municipality composed of 20 barangays (2 island, 13 coastal and 5 inland) with a total land area of 10,455 hectares. It has a population of 78,452 as of profile year, whose main source of livelihood is farming and fishing, owing to its mostly agricultural and coastal areas. It is 128 kilometers from Cebu City, with about 3-4 hours travel time.
According to pre-Hispanic history, Daanbantayan was believed to be once ruled by a local chieftain or Datu called Datu Daya who was known for his good deeds and bravery by
driving away invading foreigners and marauding moros. To help strengthen his defenses, he built strategically placed watchtowers dubbed as “bantayan” which is
constantly manned by the natives/residents keeping watch, or in the dialect “daang bantayan”, and so the present name “Daanbantayan” originated. But before the town
took on the name Daanbantayan, it was then called Kang Daya, in brief Kandaya, named after Datu Daya or Datu Daya’s, in his honor. Not much
has been known as to the actual date of the town’s establishment but as was the custom during the Spanish times, the friars or prayles decided to construct the church, now the Sta. Rosa de Lima
Parish Church way back in 1886, hence the establishment of the church marked the establishment of the town as well, being at the center of most settlements at that time.
The town was formerly known as Kandaya – from the name of the leader of the first Malayan settler, Datu Daya. Kandaya was changed to Daanbantayan when the area was recognized as a municipality.
Daanbantayan was originally a visayan term for an old watchtower located in Brgy. Tapilon, which used to serve as a lookout for Moros marauding the coastal towns in the Visayas during the early Spanish times.
There are no definite records to indicate the exact year of the founding of the town of Daanbantayan. However, from the book called “Reseñas Historicas de los Dioceses de Cebu” published in the year 1886 it is mentioned that a certain priest, Rev. Juan Protacio Gallares, had been doing periodic inspection in the parish of Daanbantayan. The parish was inaugurated on August 10, 1858. Due to the fact that during the Spanish regime, the church and the state were more or less one in essence, it is logically assumed by many that the establishment of the town was made to coincide with the date of the inauguration of the parish.
The first municipal building called Tribunal was constructed by the Spanish authorities. Highly knowledgeable residents before the Second World War revealed that the Spanish authorities with the help of the Capitanes Del Pueblo constructed the first Municipal Tribunal or Municipal building to serve as seat of Power of the Local Officials at the side of the present parcel of land owned by the late Severino dela Peña.
The first Municipal building was made of wooden materials and bamboos with cogon grass roofing. The Capitanes ruled the municipality using the Tribunal as office of the previous town executive.
The late Municipal President or Mayor Don Pedro Corro constructed the first concrete Municipal building of Daanbantayan on its present location in 1916 as shown by the engraved markings on the front
side of the said building.
Right after the Second World War, the late Mayor Braulio M. Arriola Sr., constructed the two stories wooden buildings annexes, one at the southern side and another in the northern side of the old
concrete building to meet the growing demands for expansion due to the increasing number of employees.
Former Mayor Lamberto Te demolished the two story wooden building annexes constructed by the late Mayor Braulio M. Arriola and replaced them with a more durable concrete two story buildings after the wooden materials began to deteriorate.
Not to be outdone, then municipal mayor, now Vice-Mayor Ma. Luisa Loot, ventured to construct the present two story concrete Legislative Building, thus forming now a complete square concrete Municipal Building, where the people could easily go around the various offices, either in the first floor or in the second, without the trouble of going up and down to complete all the papers needed.
Haladaya Festival, Daanbantayan, Cebu
St. Rose of Lima Church, Daanbantayan, Cebu
Print
Recommend this page