Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is a chance to travel to more than a far away place from the metro, it’s a chance to travel back to Old Manila, as it is a new home of restored Spanish-Filipino casas which showcases the best of Filipino heritage and culture. With each casa being owned by an elite or a notable person back in the day with its own story to tell, marvel the magnificent Filipino craftsmanship as Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar bridges the rich history of the Spanish colonial era and the contemporary luxury and comfort of a modern hotel.

If all that wowza is not jaw-dropping enough, then here are five more things  that would make you find your jaw on the ground!

1. It’s owned by a self-made millionaire. José “Gerry” Acuzar, the owner, came from humble beginnings as he was once a seller of ice drop back in the day to be able to add some more to his allowance. The young José “Gerry” Acuzar was already a great business savvy as what he would do to have more income was that he would buy bottles with his earnings from selling ice drop and then he would sell the bottles to bote garapa shops, making his money double. More on the young José “Gerry” Acuzar, his love for houses may be connected with his dream to give his parents their own house and lot as they were once sent packing after finding out that the house they built and was living in stood on a lot that turned out to be not theirs.
2. Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is housed by 400 hectares of land. However, only a portion of that land is currently being used so there’s more to get excited about as they are to add more houses and more activities to enjoy! Also, don’t worry, there are jeepneys roaming around the area for easy transportation. You can also rent golf carts and bicycles at their activity center if you want to be able to roam the place at your own time.
3. Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is self-sustaining. When you go avail their Workshop Tour, you’ll be able to see how they make their materials. From the bricks that they traditionally make, to their walls, to their tiles, to their sculptures – everything! Everything is made from scratch, manually, by trained artists. Plus all that they do inside Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar are for their use only, because they want their products to not only be exclusively made, but exclusively for them only.
4. You can rent an island for Php 250,000. With a huge vast of land, José “Gerry” Acuzar decided to build his own island; and so Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar also offers what they call “Islas” if you want to have your own private pool. They currently have Isla Dos and Isla Tres. Isla Dos has three original houses (one from Nueva Ecija, one from Bataan, and one from Bicol), full butler service, standard cocktail, free-flowing of coffee and cookies, breakfast, Hermès toiletries, and your own private pool. Almost the same goes with Isla Tres, just a different batch of three houses. You can make this as your wedding reception, have a private pool party, or you know, just have a casual brunch with your friends.
5. You can rent a ballroom for Php 1,000,000. Oops! Before you start putting your cash down, let’s first show you how grand and picturesque Hotel De Oriente is. This one is a replica of the considered first luxury hotel in the Philippines. The façade was designed based on the actual Hotel de Oriente, but the interiors are all new, exceptionally created to feature stupendous craftsmanship of Filipino locals – from floor to ceiling wood and tile mosaics that some are inspired from the murals of National Artist, Carlos “Botong” Francisco; hundreds of grand sculptures such as goddesses, angels, eagles; and with a centerpiece inspired from the famous, enormous painting of Filipino Arts Master, Juan Luna, the Spoliarium. You can also tour this ballroom slash convention center just to see how amazing it really is.

And so, there you go, those are 5 reasons why you should definitely check out Las Casas FIlipinas de Acuzar!

Oh, wait, I have two more bonus fun facts: Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is the only property in the Philippines that is a part of Historic Hotels Worldwide! Plus, it is also the Asia Awards of Excellence winner for Asia’s most excellent destination for 2017!

This means this heritage resort is truly a world-class hotel that you surely don’t want to miss out!

All photos are from @mrfoodtography, check him out at MrFoodTography