Te - Balikbayan Magazine

Philippines eater in Diliman,
Quezon, where the humble
Ecuadorian beauty, Olga Mercedes
Álava Vargas, gained the Miss
Earth 2011 title, a rst for her
country.
DYNAMIC GRANDEUR: THE
OLD AND NEW IN HOTEL
PONTEFINO
When traveling to Batangas
under a clear sky, passing through
wide farms and lone nipa huts, one
can’t help but be lled with positive
visions of a relaxing vacation.
Instead of the rough roads most
faraway provinces are notorious for,
the land trip towards Batangas is
short and enjoyable, much thanks
to the new Star Tollway.
Just a few minutes from the
Batangas City rotunda stands an
elegant row of Neo Victorian-
themed townhouses—the Ponte-
no Residences. Many balikbayans
from the US can’t help but remember seeing a similar view in
San Francisco, where many houses were renovated to follow the
Neo Victorian style. Each one of the thirty four existing Ponte-
no homes is decorated with intricate woodwork nished o with
a charming array of vibrant colors.
Not surprisingly, almost all of the three- to four-storey townhouses
were already sold.Apart from the fully furnished setup of the
units, the management also oers a protable rental agreement to
homeowners and investors, helping them earn monthly by renting
`/ balik!"#"$ February – March 2012
out their unit to Ponteno Hotel’s clients while they’re out of
the country.
A stone’s throw away from the residences is the hotel, a behemoth
of wood, steel, and concrete elegance structured in a way
that redenes the typical R&R with a twist of the old stepping
right beside the new to provide a place for serenity.
Housing sixty rooms for guests, a number of the hotel rooms
are sold as “condotels”—a mix of a condominium and a hotel.
“You buy the unit, lease it back to the hotel, and the hotel