PUERTO Galera, a top diving spot and tourist magnet in Oriental Mindoro, will soon have its first upscale beach resort with the opening of Fridays Boquete Island, Muelle Bay first week of November.
The new resort will be on par with five-star Fridays Boracay Resort Hotel, according to Jill Miranda, sales manager of Fridays Boquete Island. Both resorts are owned by publicly-listed Boulevard Holdings.
Under construction near the UNESCO-protected Muelle Bay and just behind the white-sand Boquete Beach, the resort will bear Fridays’ trademark tropical, rustic feel. It will also offer luxurious and modern amenities, 43 premier suites, a restaurant that can be converted into an event area, and a huge swimming pool, among others.
Miranda said that from Manila’s international airport, guests would be shuttled to a private welcome in Batangas, a province south of Manila. From Batangas, they can be transported to Fridays Boquete Island either by helicopter or private ferry, the latter taking two to three hours.
She added the resort would cater more to leisure travellers, with up to 20 per cent of business from corporates and MICE. Half of the resort’s guests are targeted to come from abroad, such as from Australia, North America, Japan and South Korea.
Fridays’ presence in Oriental Mindoro is a big coup for the destination which, although near Palawan and boasts pristine beaches and coral reefs, has not developed as fast. It has no airport, has not attracted top brand hotels, and has yet to reach its target of one million tourists.
