A luxe weekend at NUSTAR

PERFECT WEEKENDS can exist, and they can be found at Cebu’s ultra-luxury NUSTAR.

Between May 2 to 4, media guests were billeted at the NUSTAR Hotel, the new addition to Universal Hotels and Resorts, Inc.’s (UHRI) nine-hectare development in Cebu. The lobby itself presented quiet elegance with a generous use of marble, as well as an impressive Czech glass installation on the ceiling. Brocade curtains, marble arches, and curved mirrors that mimicked windows completed the look.

Stays in various hotels here and abroad didn’t quite prepare us for the grandeur that was our Seaview King room — the butler who handled our luggage must have seen our eyes bug out. The room, decorated in a glam Streamline Moderne (think of it like naval Art Deco) had blondwood and the same luxurious marbles in the lobby.

The bathroom had a rain shower, a tub, an intelligent toilet, and his-and-hers sinks; the marble stretched out from the floor almost all the way to the ceiling. Blinds in the bathroom, controlled electronically with a button, rose up to reveal a view of the sea from the tub — perfect when you’re lying in it under the tub’s chandelier. Guerlain toiletries were on the sinks, scented with the brand’s Eau Imperiale, made for the Empress Eugenie of France.

Our king bed was of course, comfortable, and it was hard to get up — the discreet button on our bedside controlled the curtains to wake us up with sunlight and the view of Cebu’s waters (poor me!). The smart TV could play music from our phone, while the room’s phone had a button that called our personal butler. Upon asking to be woken up at 5 a.m., the butler was sure we wouldn’t be able to wake up, and called again at 6 a.m. — but not before asking if we would like some coffee with the wake-up call. Their butlers were trained by Heilbron Hospitality, one of the top schools for the profession.

We would have stayed in the room and let the rest of the weekend roll out, but there was work to be done: namely, a sunset cruise, and visits to the resort’s restaurants and shops.

The Mall has jewelry stores like Diagold and Chao Tai Fook (with such goodies as lucky bracelets in 24-karat gold, according to the salesperson), as well as stores like Gucci offering exclusive items (while Manila finally got a taste of Gucci’s summer raffia bags, island locations like Cebu get first dibs on resortwear). The salespeople in the mall’s luxury stores (which include Boss, Versace, Kenzo, Ferragamo, Loewe, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, and Dior) were also noticeably friendlier than most.

As for the restaurants, we’ve written about Mott 32 before (https://tinyurl.com/ynbn44dn), and the breakfast at its sister property’s Fili (a must) but this time we got to try Good Luck Hotpot, which also has branches in Metro Manila. Good Luck offered seafood on ice, black chicken sliced paper-thin, several types of broth simmering on cloisonné tabletop stoves, and cultural Chinese dances (one had a veiled female dancer; the other had a masked dancer who switched masks as if by magic, a staple of Sichuan opera — he did dance to a pop song, however).

Finally, they held a gala night for the media guests and their loyal patrons, as well as a sprinkling of Cebu society, which meant raffle prizes, and performances by Ryan Cayabyab and Basil Valdez.

After every work day, we were pleased to find roses in our bedroom and bathroom — you have no idea how hard it was to go home.

A PREVIEW OF THINGS TO COMERoel Constantino, general manager for hotels at NUSTAR, said during a media roundtable on May 3, “Above all, luxury is about how you feel. That is what we aim for.”

The hotel has 223 guestrooms and suites, and what we had was a preview of things to come — the hotel officially opens on May 8.

The rooms range in size from 52 square meters (sq.m.), while suites go up to 225 sq.m. The room rates start at P17,000, but an opening promo offers them with discounts up to 25% (that’s P12,750++ a night), from May 8 to July 31.

The resort itself has many things planned until the end of 2027, which Katrina Mae de Jesus, assistant vice-president of business development for NUSTAR, states to be the completion date for the whole resort.

Other structures underway include the Grand Summit (a more straightforward accommodation option; it was topped off three days before our arrival) and the Sky Deck. Upon completion, the Grand Summit hotel will increase the number of keys in the property to 971. The pools and gardens of the Leisure Park’s first phase have already been completed, but there’s a water park planned for that, too. The Mall will have more luxury brands, and the fourth floor will have a 3,200 sq.m. wellness spa.

Ms. De Jesus was proud to discuss the resort’s final project, which will bring the property to completion in 2027: the performing arts theater, which will seat 1,700 people. “It will be the first in the Visayas and Mindanao,” she said. “It’s a full-on, high-tech proper theater similar to the ones that you see in Manila.” Until then, foreign performers will have to make do with venues that can’t seat as many, or perform in older theaters with outdated technology.

Added Mr. Constantino of the planned theater: “Which is also to enhance Cebu’s desirability as a leisure destination, also as a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) destination. It’s to strengthen Cebu’s positioning in the region, and add credence to its claim to be the next big MICE destination in Asia.”

Ms. De Jesus explained their plans for UHRI in the next few years: “We do have smaller format casinos in Mindanao, and there will be a project in the North soon.”

NUSTAR’s sister brand Fili, a homegrown five-star brand and the country’s first, is already under construction at Bridgetowne in Quezon City. “Fili by itself is a brand that is also intended to expand across the country,” said Mr. Constantino. “I believe there are several locations across Manila that are in the drawing board.”

So, soon the capital will be able to try out luxurious hospitality, Southern-style. — Joseph L. Garcia