Nepalese Billionaire Rebrands Philippine Resort Into A Marriott Property Amid Tourism Boom
CG Hospitality—controlled by Nepalese billionaire Binod Chaudhary—signed an agreement with Marriott International to convert its Philippine wellness center, dubbed The Farm at San Benito, into an Autograph Collection resort.
The property in Batangas province, south of Manila, will be the first Autograph Collection resort to be managed by Marriott in the Philippines. It will open at the end of the third quarter, the companies said in a joint statement, without disclosing the value of the deal.
'With wellness emerging as a key driver of travel decisions, this is a timely and strategic entry for us,' said Rajeev Menon, president for Asia Pacific excluding China at Marriott International. 'The Philippines, with its rich natural beauty and growing reputation as a rejuvenating destination, offers the ideal setting for the Autograph Collection.'
The Farm at San Benito's rebranding into Marriott's Autograph Collection comes nine months after Chaudhary forged an agreement with Philippine billionaire Andrew Tan's real estate developer Megaworld Corp. to jointly build a $208 million township beside the existing wellness resort, betting on a tourism boom.
Megaworld and CG Hospitality will build a low-density wellness community that will have residential condominiums, hotels, shops, along with sports and leisure amenities across 25 hectares of lush greenery in Lipa City, 85 kilometers south of Manila and 90 minutes drive from the capital. San Benito Private Estate, as the project is called, will have access to the Farm at San Benito.
Once converted into an Autograph Collection resort, the Farm at San Benito, which spans 52 hectares, will have 70 keys and feature one-bedroom villas and exclusive two- and four-bedroom private pool villas, the companies said.
The strategic partnership with Marriott will set a new benchmark for wellness hospitality in the region, CG Corp Global Chairman Chaudhary said. The rebranded resort will feature five restaurants, a swimming pool with a bar, a fully equipped fitness centre, a tranquil spa, and a medical wellness centre, the companies said. The resort will also cater to business and social gatherings with a planned 321 square meter of flexible meeting and event space.
Chaudhary's CG Hospitality owns a portfolio of more than 190 properties with over 12,000 rooms in 12 countries. He also holds stakes in Nepal-based privately owned Nabil Bank and CG Foods, maker of Wai Wai instant noodles. With a net worth of $2.0 billion, Chaudhary is Nepal's sole billionaire.
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