I’ve been to many beach resorts here in the country and in many other parts of the world, but I’ve never been impressed as much as I have been with The Bellevue Resort in Bohol. It was not so much its de luxe accommodations, superb cuisine and excellent facilities, but what I found awesome was its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
This five-star resort in Panglao Island has a valuable ace up its sleeve that other components of our Tourism industry may find hard to match. Having discovered that 40 percent of fourth graders in public schools still do not know how to read, The Bellevue Resort, together with Worldwide Familia Mission, put up a small Kindergarten School aptly called STEPS (Specialized Training and Education for Pilipino Students). The school focuses on teaching children Reading and Phonics.
The program was actually established in Manila as early as eight years ago by the Mission but was brought to Bohol only five years ago, with the help of the Resort’s managing company which poured in P3 million of its own funds to build the small school on the 180-square-meter lot diagonally across the Resort.
Currently, the pre-school has 50 pupils mentored by one full-time and two part-time teachers. It also handles a Phonics Course for 80 Grade 1 pupils from various elementary schools in the locality. Its programs follow Department of Education standards through continuous monitoring by the principals of the various elementary schools it is affiliated with.
Tuition is free but the parents are made to sign a commitment that they will participate in their children’s learning process by also teaching them at home. The happy reward that the Resort’s management got is the documented proof that the pupils who go through STEPS rate are among the top 10 in their respective schools when they move on to Elementary grades.
Small wonder why the Resort’s top executives and the school’s Manager, Emmanuel Gamonez, beamed with pride and contentment as they shared with me everything I wanted to know about this important and unique CSR initiative.
As if that was not enough, The Bellevue Resort impressed me some more when I found out that they have their own organic garden at the 1800-square-meter lot adjacent to the school. Established four years ago, the garden grows vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, eggplants, gourd, patola) and culinary herbs (tarragon, dill, parsley, coriander, fennel). Monthly harvest reaches up to 100 kilos of vegetables and about 60 kilos of herbs, all for the use of the Resort.
The Bellevue Resort also takes pride in being environmentally friendly, as it won the ASEAN Green Hotel Award, adopting energy conservation measures to achieve sustainable tourism. The criteria for this award include energy efficiency, water efficiency, air quality management indoor and outdoor, and other hotel policies that preserve the beauty of Mother Earth.
Of course, the Resort banners with pride its luxury accommodations. Every room has a balcony facing the sea and, since my room was on the topmost floor, you can imagine the beautiful view I had, from sunrise to sunset. The facilities are world-class, especially the Spa which became my favorite sanctuary at the end of a long day of fun and frolic.
The superb culinary treats offered every mealtime tasted so much like home cooking, like the delectable dishes my late mother used to prepare for special guests. My friends and I raved about the food, and the choices at the buffet made me feel like I was in a Food Festival every day.
The Bellevue Resort made my recent trip to Bohol definitely memorable. It showed me how a luxury world-class Tourism establishment could also have a world-class compassion for the community it is in…truly beautiful, with a heart!
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