Crimson Hotels & Resorts, the luxury brand of Filinvest Hospitality Corporation, marked its 15th anniversary on Monday, Nov. 9, with Rendezvous, an intimate celebration at Crimson Resort & Spa Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. The resort is the brand’s flagship and where the Crimson story began.
Highlighted in the celebration are the “The 15 People of Crimson,” honorees whose stories are tied to the brand’s own.
Fifteen years and two islands
Crimson Resort & Spa Mactan marked Filinvest Development Corporation’s (FDC) entry into the hospitality industry. The 6-hectare beachfront resort sits minutes from Mactan-Cebu International Airport. According to Filinvest Hospitality, it is the only property in the destination with private pool villas.
The resort added experiences over the years, the company said. AUM Spa came first, described as an award-winning wellness sanctuary. Azure Beach Club opened in 2014 with beachfront dining. Enye by Chele González followed in 2017, offering Spanish dining shaped by local ingredients.
Crimson also expanded beyond Mactan. A Crimson hotel opened in Filinvest City, Metro Manila, in 2012 and has since been rebranded as Quest Plus Conference Manila. Crimson Resort & Spa Boracay opened in Station Zero in 2017.
Honoring the people behind the brand
Mrs. Josephine Gotianun-Yap, Vice Chairperson of the Board of FDC, was honored as “The Woman Behind Every Crimson Rendezvous.” Asked when she knew Crimson had become something special, she credited its people.
“Crimson has really come a long way. At the end of the day, it’s really the people behind Crimson. It’s really the heartfelt service and the loyalty, dedication, and commitment of all the Crimson team, our partners as well as our guests,” she said.
Gotianun; Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC) Vice Chairperson of the Board Mrs. Josephine Gotianun-Yap; former Philippine Ambassador
and Filinvest REIT Corp. (FILRT) President and CEO Joseph M. Yap; FDC Vice President Michael Edward T. Gotianun; SharePro Inc. Vice President
and Special Projects Head David Gotianun; Filinvest Hospitality First Vice President for Hotel and Restaurant Operations Ria Sarrosa at the 15th
anniversary celebration of Crimson Hotels & Resorts held Monday (Nov. 9) at Crimson Resort & Spa Mactan.
Filinvest Hospitality President and Chief Operating Officer James Montenegro and Chief Executive Officer Francis Gotianun were honored as “The Dreamers & The Visionaries Behind Crimson.”
Gotianun said the story of a Filinvest Hospitality property begins with the destination.
“The story first takes place obviously with the location and what it has to offer, right? So we’re just creating a nice setting for people to enjoy what’s already there. So reframing, repackaging, recontexting, and really delivering something like a new vision of it,” he said.
Montenegro called the chance to find land and build a hotel a rare privilege. “When you build a hotel, not many people have the opportunity to look for land, see the land, and build something special. And I’ve been given that privilege, and that’s very important,” he said.
Other honorees included:
- Chef Nickolai Stoyanov, who has overseen every plate at Crimson Boracay since it opened
- Didier Belmonte, General Manager of Crimson Mactan for eight years and Crimson Boracay for two
- Filipino fashion designer Rajo Laurel, who created Crimson Mactan’s first uniforms
- Partners HanaTour Service Inc., Bluwater Studios, the Philippine Red Cross, and Agoda
Guests were recognized as well. Karla and Rico Ammann met at Crimson Mactan and married at Crimson Boracay. Queenie and Horst Ammann were present for all 15 years. The Tan family has celebrated milestones at Crimson across three generations.
Hon. Erick Mellana and Dr. Malinda Vasquez hold the most lifetime stays, and Christian Guy is Crimson Mactan’s most frequent diner.
Awards and a three-restaurant dinner
Crimson Resort & Spa Mactan recently won Best Landscape Architecture & Garden Design at the Condé Nast Johansens Awards for Excellence 2027, the company said. The resort has been in the MICHELIN Guide Hotel Selection every year since MICHELIN began recognizing Philippine hotels in 2024. Crimson Resort & Spa Boracay joined the list this year.
Enye was named a MICHELIN Selected restaurant in the first MICHELIN Guide Philippines in 2026 and kept its place in the 2027 edition.
Guests spent the rest of the evening at three Crimson Mactan restaurants:
- Enye by Chele Gonzalez: General Manager Mia Singson-Leon, Chef de Cuisine Javier Garcia Amador, and Chef Chele Gonzalez served a degustation tracing the restaurant’s journey since 2017, pairing Spanish technique with Philippine ingredients.
- AKA: Executive Assistant Manager Branimir Radosavljevic and Japanese Chef Masahiro Kinoshita presented a menu guided by the restaurant’s philosophy, Defined by Season, Perfected by Skill.
- Saffron Café: Chef Andrew Simpson hosted a feast of regional Filipino cuisine with live stations. Michael Gapin, General Manager of Quest Plus Conference Center, Clark, offered a taste of Recado by Carlos Villaflor, Quest Clark’s newest restaurant, which serves what it calls “Bold & Fresh Filipino” cuisine.
Filinvest Hospitality said the milestone is shared by the group, which was established in 2015 and runs four hotel and resort brands: Crimson, Quest Hotels & Resorts, Timberland Highlands Resort, and Grafik Hotel Collection. Looking ahead, the company said Crimson will carry the same promise across its two island destinations: stays rooted in Filipino warmth, where days rarely go as planned, in the best way.
More information is at the Filinvest Hospitality website.
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