Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

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Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar
Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar logo.svg
Heritage Houses-2, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, Bataan.JPG
View of the hotel grounds
Philippines location map (Luzon mainland).svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Luzon
Philippines location map (square).svg
Red pog.svg
Location in the Philippines
Type Heritage beach resort
Location Bagac, Bataan
Coordinates 14°36′09.6″N120°23′06.9″E / 14.602667°N 120.385250°E / 14.602667; 120.385250
Area400 ha (4,000,000 m2) [1] [2]
OpenedJanuary 2010;15 years ago (2010-01)
Founder Jose Acuzar
Operated byMarivent Resort Hotel Inc.
Website lascasasfilipinas.com

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (Spanish for "Acuzar's Philippine Houses") is a beach resort, hotel, convention center and heritage destination in Bagac, Bataan, Philippines. [3]

Contents

History

Jose Acuzar, the owner of New San Jose Builders, Inc., started to rebuild Spanish colonial-era mansions in Bagac in 2003. In January 2010, the area was opened to the public as the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, [4] although the area was already being used as taping location of the GMA Network series Zorro ten months earlier by March 2009. [2] It was placed under the management of Genesis Hotels and Resorts Corporation. [4]

Las Casas Filipinas temporarily closed in early 2020 due to community quarantine measures imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic but eventually reopened in July 2020. [5] [6]

In November 2021 it was named the "Best Historic Hotel in Asia and the Pacific" by the Historic Hotels of America, citing it as one of the hotels that "best celebrate its history in the guest experience and provide exceptional customer hospitality and service." [7] [1]

Aside from Zorro, it was also used as a filming location of Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral , [8] [9] Heneral Luna , [9] Maria Clara at Ibarra , FPJ's Ang Probinsyano, Widow's War and the upcoming movie The Last Resort . [10] [11]

Features

Las Casas Filipinas covers an area of around 400 hectares (990 acres) [1] [12] in Bagac, Bataan. For its lodging facilities, Las Casas Filipinas has 128 guest rooms and 63 "elite casas" as of January 2021. [12]

Heritage houses

The main attraction of the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is its heritage houses, which were transplanted from outside Bagac, Bataan. The houses are disassembled from their original location and reconstructed inside the premises of the Las Casas Filipinas. Damaged structures are meticulously reconstructed by a team of skilled artisans and laborers; using the same original source of raw materials and using the same construction methods of the time. This included using old methods for manufacturing components like Spanish mission tiles, bricks, grills, mosaics, stone and wood carvings, and so on. [13] [4]

This method of heritage conservation has been contentious among conservationists since they believed that their original communities could have benefited from the structures had they been restored on site. [14]

However, the heritage park's founder, Jose "Jerry" Acuzar, stated that this was done in order to save the structures. Heritage conservation gets little to no funding by the government, and the structures had been neglected and decaying in their original communities. [4] Acuzar, a draftsman and a real-estate magnate, was inspired to do the project after traveling around Europe and witnessing preservation efforts on heritage architecture. His son being an art history graduate also played a part. [13]

The heritage park was lauded by the Department of Tourism in 2021 under Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat for its preservation efforts. [12]

Houses included in the Las Casas Filipinas are evaluated for their historical, cultural and architectural value. Most structures dates back to the Spanish colonial era, but some buildings were built later such as the Casa Lubao which was built in 1920 during the American era. [4] The heritage park also include a torogan, a Maranao royal clan house from Lanao in Mindanao. [15]

Among the notable houses transplanted to the heritage park are: Casa Bizantina, Casa Hidalgo, Casa Jaen I, and Casa Unisan.

Other structures

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar also hosts a small church known as the Sanctuario de San Jose. [16] Other features include the Napiya Spa, a swimming pool. [17] The Tulay ni Lola Basyang is a bridge that crosses the Umagol River and is a replica of the old Puente de España in Manila. [18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Why Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar should be in your next itinerary". Philippine Star. December 21, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Dimaculangan, Jocelyn (March 27, 2009). "ON THE SET: Zorro in Bagac, Bataan". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  3. ↑ "...a New San Jose Builders project". Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Orejas, Tonette (April 29, 2012). "Where memories, heritage line the streets". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar reopens" . The Manila Times . June 16, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar to reopen doors in July after 3-month lockdown". The Philippine Star. June 16, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  7. ↑ Lim, Ron (November 16, 2021). "Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar named Best Historic Hotel in Asia". GMA News . Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Las Casas revisits past through biopic film 'Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral'". BusinessMirror. September 28, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Iconic Locations Inside Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar To Cure Your "Goyo" And "Heneral Luna" Hangover". Metro Style . ABS-CBN Publishing. September 16, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Bea bumalik sa lugar na nag-propose si Dominic" (in Filipino). Abante Tonite. May 16, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Courtesy Call of 'The Last Resort' Production | RTVM". May 21, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 Quismorio, Ellson (January 31, 2021). "DoT chief cites Las Casas' way of preserving local historical sites". Manila Bulletin . Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  13. 1 2 "For Jerry Acuzar, restoring the heritage houses in Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar took a village". GMA News Online. No. 19 June 2025. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  14. ↑ Ranada, Pia (November 3, 2012). "The tragedy of Bahay Alberto". Rappler . Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Art installations inaugurate art space at controversial Acuzar 'heritage resort' in Bataan". Inquirer Lifestyle. May 26, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Las Casas perfect for shoots and weddings" . Manila Times . October 5, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Tales of love, lust, and murder at Las Casas Filipinas". GMA News Online. January 4, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  18. ↑ Tugade, Edgardo (June 30, 2016). "Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar: Restoring the lost glory of old Filipino houses". Manila Standard . Retrieved March 7, 2021.
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