MANILA, Philippines — Among the hotels that dot the beachfront of the famous island destination, old and new Boracay visitors would undoubtedly take notice of one brand that they will come across when they walk the stretch of Stations 1 to 3.
Henann is arguably the most recognizable hotel chain in the island paradise with seven hotels taking up prime lots along the beachfront, and the long-time Boracay brand is set to add more hotel resorts in the years to come.
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First luxury branded hotel
Henann is planning to have its first luxury branded resort that could rival Shangri-La Boracay.
Vice president Karl Hendrik Chusuey confirmed the plan to Philstar.com in an exclusive interview.
"We will have our first luxury brand here in Boracay. It will be called Anali. It's actually my mother's name, based on Anna Lissa. That would be our first luxury brand since Henann, we position it as premium," Karl said.
Henann is derived from his parents' names, Henry and Anna Lissa. Dr. Henry is the outgoing chairman of Henann Group of Resorts. He started his first hotel resort in the island, then called Boracay Regency, in 1998.
Former Aklan governor Florencio Miraflores also confirmed this plan during his speech at the 25th anniversary last September 25 held in Henann Regency Resort and Spa, formerly Boracay Regency.
"Just this morning, we had a groundbreaking ceremony at the far end of the White Beach where the former Boracay Terraces was located. That will be the luxury hotel of the Henann Group of Companies that will compete with Shangri-La of Boracay," the governor said.
More to come
At the same event, it was announced that Dr. Chusuey is retiring from his post in the board. He is letting his children take the rein.
Like Karl, his siblings work for the company. His older brother, Alfonso Louis, is the president and handles the development of resorts, while their youngest and only sister, Christina Ann, is the head of accounting.
New Henann properties are set to rise in other popular island or beach destinations like Mactan in Cebu and Malcapuya Island and Coron in Palawan. Bohol will have two more properties apart from Henann Resort Alona Beach and Henann Tawala Resort.
Currently, Henann Group of Resorts' Boracay properties include Henann Prime Beach Resort, Henann Park Resort, Henann Lagoon Resort, Henann Crystal Sands Resort, Henann Garden Resort and Henann Palm Beach Resort.
According to Karl, a 350-room resort will be built in the Bulabog Beach area. Henann Garden Resort will have a new convention center.
Bohol's new Henann will be called Henann Premier Coast Resort and another 500-room resort will rise in Panglao Island.
Henann also plans to build a 1,000-room resort in Mactan, Cebu; a 350-room property in Coron and another resort in Malcapuya Island in Palawan.
"With all the Henanns, we have the rooms with direct pool access, which is available in all Henann resorts, not just in Boracay but Bohol as well. It's unique but I think we do it very well. So that's one of the key standards that we have. Other ones are, we have a lot of pools. Other people love swimming pools so we make sure we have a lot of swimming pools and the best ones, whether it be on the ground or the sky pool like some of our resorts have," said Karl.
RELATED: Henry Chusuey retires as Henann Group of Resorts chairman