Green Canyon EcoPark

More than a resort, a showcase of stunning furniture and woodwork!

A new and unique resort just opened in October of 2014 near the Clark Freeport.

Though it sits on nearly 30 hectares of land, only 13 hectares have been developed. There's a 47-room three storey hotel, a restaurant called Palette, a mountain trekking trail, a hanging bridge, an infinity pool, to name a few.

Though it is in the heart of Pampanga land, home of some of the finest traditional Filipino cooking, its kitchen in Palette proudly boasts of fusion Filipino dishes created by young, innovative chefs.

Though it's already been the venue of choice of several storybook and picturesque weddings, its management still believes that it is going to be even more ideal for team building and other company outings and events.

The name is Green Canyon EcoPark.  It was built by the Jose family, most recently of Aero Industries, phenomenally successful merchants and vendors of aviation parts and equipment.

The surprise behind this resort is in the preponderance of woodwork and woodcraft showcased adroitly and most opportunely in the decor, the accessories, the hotel, and the function rooms.  From the minimally framed woodcarving, to the wooden handle of the glass door, to the banister, to the dining tables, to the bar. How beautiful the look, feel, and smell of this natural resource!

Turns out that Jose C. Jose the Father has always had an artistic bent of his own, and a fervent love for the possibilities of wood.  Turns out that Jose the Son, aged 28, by the name of Niccolo, inherited the dad's creativity and fondness for wood, and together, father and son are responsible for some stunning pieces of functional and display art in the resort.

My myopic periscope caught sight of quite a handful of exquisite examples that just must be shared with the world.  Each piece is a testimony to extraordinary Filipino creativity. Each piece is a mirror to a heightened respect for nature's own organic resources.  Each piece is a reflection of unparalleled artistry and workmanship, happily blending unique design with perfect balance and keen proportion.

The moment you enter the lobby of the hotel, you are greeted by a simple round clock of burnished wood, resting atop a glass table that itself sits on an artfully fluid three legged wooden frame.  On the right is something called the butterfly chair, that incredibly holds up any subject, even though it looks so fine and fragile.  On the left is an enormous arm chair and foot rest set called THINK BIG. Further left are several furniture pieces individually made yet put together to form interesting sets. Just some of the work of Niccolo the Son, who has since had a couple of one man exhibit sales of his intrepid creations.

All over the hotel on the walls, stand framed artworks of wood, carved and inlaid, depicting famous profiles, women, the human anatomy.  In the rooms are marvelous wooden bed frames, writing desks and chairs, divans and settees.  As if to prove what else can be done to artistically showcase wood, there are wooden boards which have been sketched, burned, and cleaned to show delicate petals of roses, incongruent and dark science fiction characters, among others.  And all by Niccolo still.

And atop the atrium hangs a magnificent chandelier made of used bottles hung on radiating iron racks. This is, the staff say proudly, the work of Jose the Father, that has inspired the son in all his woodworks.

However, because the resort is new, its operations bear watching and need some fine tuning.  Food took long to be served in the restaurant, and the servers, though polite and friendly, were not well briefed on how to handle customer inquiries and complaints.  The resort is not friendly to walk ins, preferring to cater to guests who have reserved and are listed, initially denying entry to the hotel premises to anyone who is not registered as a guest!  And on this very sunny Sunday, there were no tents to shield the guests from the heat and the glare in the open air event set up.

But to the peripatetic weekend tourist otherwise burnt out by the hectic metropolis, Green Canyon EcoPark is worth the hour and a half ride through good NLEX and SCTec roads, even the snail like pace of the tollways, to discover yet another reason why it's more interesting, and perhaps more fun, to roam around in the Philippines countryside!!!