fairy tale hotel
IF YOU WANT TO WAKE UP IN THE WORLD OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND OR BREAKFAST WITH GULLIVER ON HIS TRAVELS, MADELEINE ENSOR SUGGESTS PONCE SUITES, WHERE AN ARTIST AND HIS MOTHER HAVE BROUGHT TO LIFE A UNIQUE HOTEL EXPERIENCE
This is a story about a magical hotel. So settle down, children, and prepare to enter the realms of fantasy and imagination. Davao residents might have heard the name and already visited Ponce Suites. To ignite their imagination, children from nearby schools are often taken there on field trips. For a hotel with a difference, check out Ponce Suites – but just make sure you leave your expectations halfway down the street.
Perched on the corner of a residential subdivision, the angle from which you approach the building will determine your first impression. It might be the “Ghost Crab” that greets you – a man’s head and upper body emerging from a golden crab shell; or perhaps you’ll see the “Soulmates” sculpture, a man and woman morphed together back-to-back, long hair flowing as they clasp hands. The artist’s funky black jeep, looking like an animal with perfect white spots, could be the first thing you spy; or maybe you’ll reach the 20-foot eagles that guard the entrance before you suspend your disbelief and look again at everything you had taken for granted.
UNCOMMON ART
Run by University of the Philippines (UP) graduate Min Ponce and designed by her son, Kublai, the 30-room Ponce Suites hotel is a physical manifestation of this local artist and semi-celebrity’s imagination.
From the giant sculptures outside, molded by hand from concrete, to the mural of numbers and letters in the lobby, it is clear that Kublai has quite an imagination. Three hundred and sixty five giant ants march across the ceiling from top to bottom of the hotel’s four-floors. Pictures of geometric shapes, line drawings in frames and 3D paintings of enormous faces made from everyday household objects fight for attention.
There’s a toothpick, there’s a hose. Vivid photographs sit next to vibrant poetry. There’s a picture made using hair. There is not a wall, a corner, or a ceiling that is not smothered in Kublai’s art, and you get a sense of a fevered soul, desperately trying to keep up with his own thoughts and metaphysical questionings. There is just too much in his head for him to relax.
Local journalist, Amy B. Cabusao declares in the Mindanao Daily Mirror: “Ponce Suites is definitely not for the faint-hearted.”
And it’s true. To absorb Kublai’s work in this setting is to redefine your own parameters of what is attractive and what is ugly; what’s artistic and what’s messy; when is a chair not a chair.
The beauty of this art gallery is its interactivity. You can stay overnight and take your time to make your way around the walls.
It stimulates your imagination. Being inside the artist’s mind broadens your horizons to make you feel like anything is possible.
FORESIGHT FOR THE FUTURE
This is also a story about the woman behind the magic and Min Ponce has her finger on the pulse.
At first sight, she is an unlikely entrepreneur. Tiny and energetic, the ever-youthful Min is a charming throwback to a more chivalrous time. But a coquettish air belies her determination and the strong business sense that has seen her go from wife and mother to independent business owner.
She struck out on her own nine years ago, picking carefully the building that is now Ponce Suites and choosing the location with an eye on the future. When Min first started, the area was purely residential, but – as she predicted – has become a thriving commercial district: the excellent Victoria Mall is five minutes away and the town center a 20-minute stroll.
With Ponce Suites, the resourceful Min is crossing boundaries to create her own niche market. The rooms are offered at very competitive prices; a single room costs PHP469 per day and – though basic – is well equipped with its own bathroom, air-conditioning and TV. Some of the double rooms and suites have a table, chairs and a fridge.
The prices attract backpackers, but the standards endear it to families. The art, of course, brings its own intrigued clientele. Ponce Suites also does a lively trade in corporate and company seminars, so successfully, in fact, that they are now the life-blood of the hotel.
ART IN THE AIR
A roof terrace serves delicious meals, including hearty breakfasts, and good company over bottles of chilled San Miguel. Up here, Kublai’s art has room to breathe and the space to stretch its considerable legs. He has teamed up with eco-architect Ed Viacrucis to create a two-tiered hangout, connected by stairs in the shape of a giant Harlequin-patterned lizard.
Clamber onto a giant table and chairs to loll on the cushions, or enjoy the views and a daring drink with your friends, in one of the suspended iron bubbles that protrude over the street four stories below. Little windows and nooks ’n’ crannies lead to other private spaces, blending architectural ingenuity with artistic energy to make a space that wouldn’t look out of place in New York or London.
Step into Kublai’s world. While few artists have an entire hotel to use as their personal playground, few kids know from such an early age that they are different.
“The whole place grew organically. It’s an answer to a long-time question from when I was young. I had grown up in the provinces and was looking for a model and an inspiration. I designed the hotel for children, to inspire them.”
INSPIRING THE KIDS
Since graduating from UP with a degree in Fine Art, Kublai has been making a name for himself around the province, and his incredible works can be found in some very prestigious places.
There is his Durian at Davao airport, which contains curled up children instead of seeds to signify the harvest. He has also built a house, yes – a house – on the hills leading up to Mount Apo.
“I built it and dedicated it to the ancestral owners of the land. I want to do cultural tourism to encourage people to come over, so the region will be more understood,” the artist explains.
His most massive work is an 85-foot Christ above a church in Lanao del Norte. Members of the congregation walk up Christ’s arms and into his heart for the service. Kublai put a star on the statue’s head so that Muslims in the area would also accept it.
“I make a lot of monuments for Muslims and Christians, as well as for the indigenous people. People need to be acknowledged for who we are,” says Kublai.
Though the sentiments are not new, they sound anything but trite coming from Kublai. His latest work is to decorate a new park in the center of Davao. He is working again with architect friend Viacrucis.
“The park is for kids. Everyone should benefit, and in my sculptures, there are representatives of all the different people in the Philippines.”
There is also a play on the traditional doves: one of his sculptures is an eagle holding the flag of laurel leaves. In the years between creating some of his early work and poetry on display at Ponce Suites that cried out for more time and more light to create, Kublai has changed from the artist possessed, into a more contented sculptor working in the park with a team of apprentices.
“I’ve relaxed into it now. There was one stage in my life where I always had a ballpoint pen, a flashlight and some paper next to my bed because even in my sleep, I used to chase the dream. So instead of asking to find it, I am the medium for a higher creator,” he explains. “I want to be transparent and not hide the dark process of creation. I did a lot of searching, asking and cursing before I got here. Now I’m boring and conventional! I speak of joy, love, oneness.”
LIKE MOTHER LIKE SON
And so does his mother. Determined to help others, Min dedicates her time to worthy causes. She is a representative of Habitat For Humanity (HFH), the international housing group for whom she is currently helping to set up a branch in Davao with Margie Moran, the former Miss Universe and HFH national representative. Min will help arrange fund-raising dinners, concerts for the underprivileged, and recruit members.
In addition to the hotel, Min owns townhouses on the same street as Ponce Suites. From her enjoyment in life (“I love hunting for ‘previously enjoyed’ clothes!”) to her ambitions for the future and lively imagination (“I’d like to do dinner theater with a friend who’s a playwright.”), it is clear that Min Ponce has found her calling.
Kublai too combines this blend of fulfillment with the desire to do more.
“I think I have a purpose here. Art is something that, if it is not necessary and just plain esthetics, I’d rather sit and do nothing. I listen hard to what’s tasked of me. I believe I have a specific assignment. Art is equal, fun and attractive. People release in paint instead of through fighting. I’m saying, ‘Let’s have some peace!’”
ADDRESS
Corner Roads 3 & 4, Doña Vincenta Village Bajada, Davao City 8000, Philippines
Tel: +63 (82) 227-9070
Email: info@poncesuites.com
www.poncesuites.com
PRICE
• Single Room — PHP469++/day
• Matrimonial — PHP590++/day
• Twinshare — PHP690++/day
• Suite — PHP1,490++/day
• Extra Bed/Person — PHP200++/day
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