PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan -- Family-owned construction company Dataland Corporation ventured into the hotel business 10 years ago, as it foresaw an uptick in the local tourism industry.

Three years ago, the company opened the 160-room Best Western Ivywall in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. The name, Ivywall, comes from a local plant in Palawan that commemorates the corporation's first hotel project.

With the success of the Ivywall, the group’s hotel management subsidiary has taken the name and hopes to replicate the Puerto Princesa hotel’s success with other developments.

For one, the group behind the four-star Ivywall is really bullish on Visayan tourism. Since there is no more space to expand the hotel, they have set their sights on Napsan Beach, west of the city, where they are currently building an integrated development with hotel, residential, and retail components.

They are also building another Best Western Plus on Panglao Beach in Bohol. Like the Ivywall, that hotel will be the only 4-star internationally affiliated hotel on the island.

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Having a Best Western marque has its advantages. Cluster general manager Nam Keong Yeoh acknowledged that “there are many good local hotels in Puerto Princesa" that are not part of an international chain. "But having that name that gives you that additional assurance that you know you are probably staying in a hotel which has certain standards to offer,” he said.

So far, the response to the Best Western Ivywall, which recently celebrated its third anniversary, has been very positive having been awarded the “Best Performing Hotel in Palawan” in 2018.

The hotel may not seem that expansive at first. However, entering the lobby shows that the Ivywall extends deep into the property as it utilized clever techniques to make the most of the narrow space.

For instance, on the ground floor, floor to ceiling windows dominate one side of the wall letting in natural light. On the mezzanine is the hotel’s business center, while deep into the property is one of the island’s biggest ballrooms that can comfortably accommodate 250 people.

On the room floors, the corridors have alternating full-sized windows letting in light. This makes the hotel feel open and not at all claustrophobic compared to bigger hotels that have no windows at all.

The rooms themselves are beautifully flooded with natural light during the day. The hotel is surrounded by trees and on the lower floors, the sun streaming through the greenery is a really nice sight to wake up to.

The hotel also has a spa, an adequately sized fitness center, and a pool on the second floor. The pool has a bar that is open until late at night.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

In charge of the kitchens is chef Rex Ceasar Joseph Tomen, a native of Pampanga and a protégé of celebrity chef Sau Del Rosario. Del Rosario developed an Asian flavors-inspired second menu for the hotel. Tamon worked as the corporate chef for Del Rosario’s Pampanga restaurants 25 Seeds, Café Fleur, and Taqueria Frida and was offered the executive chef position at the Ivywall.

A challenge for Tomen is depending on local sources for his recipes as importing ingredients from Manila would make prices prohibitive. He has found partners for mushrooms, seafood and tropical fruits from farmers around the island.

The hotel has two restaurants, each with its own culinary personality. Anibong is the all-day dining restaurant, while Balayong, with its own open-air tropical structure, is the hotel’s bar and grill that comes alive when the sun goes down. Anibong features international flavors, while Balayong offers Filipino flavors that are more laid-back.

Palawan is known for its seafood. What better way to start than sampling the local catch simply seasoned and grilled, letting the seafood’s flavors sing.

Anibong’s kitchen takes the morning catch straight from the Puerto Princesa market and cooks it in tomato sauce to make this hearty Fisherman’s Stew.

Tomen pays tribute to the original Boston clam chowder. This is just as rich and creamy but uses huge fresh Palawan mussels instead of clams. Add a squeeze of calamansi for some acid to cut through the rich coconut cream.

An Anibong favorite is the Skewered Bacon Wrapped Salmon. It’s like Surf and Turf on a stick with Asian barbecue sauce on the side.

Tomen takes a page from mentor Sau Del Rosario’s Thai cookbook with this Green Chicken Curry making the green curry paste from scatch. Adding pumpkin adds a nice sweetness to complement the heat.

Absolutely beautiful desserts at Absayon with the Tropical Fruit Trifle, a a dessert inspired by crema de fruita using banana bread as a base, and the Tocino Del Cielo, a richer version of leche flan topped with sugar floss.

In Balayong, start off with a healthy salad with pako, watermelon, salted egg, onions and tomatoes, making the salad’s flavors more varied than the usual pako salad.

Ube is added to the wrapper in Balayong’s lumpiang ubod. The ube is a nice note to the vegetables inside the lumpia.

Mushroom parcelle is made with Puerto Princesa oyster mushrooms cooked in coconut milk inside banana leaves. This is Tomen’s version of 'pinais' that uses shrimp instead of mushrooms.

What’s a grill without BBQ? Balayong’s versions of pork and chicken barbecue are just perfect company to a bottle (or two) of beer.

Tomen’s chicken palapa recipe comes the Maranao region. This chicken dish is cooked in a house-made curry made with coconut, turmeric, lemongrass and other secret spices.

Mango and ube mousse are part of Balayong’s eye-catching desserts.

Finally, Balayong’s signature dessert Flaming Halo-halo can be quite a spectacle. This is served with a glass of flaming vermouth. The ritual is like pouring liquid blue flame onto your halo-halo turning up the heat on an otherwise cool dessert.