Recently, I reunited again with my one true love, General Santos City. Wherever we may go, nothing beats the comfort of home and for me, it always feels great to come back to the place where I was honed to become the person that I am now. The one week vacation I had was definitely well spent with family and friends. Of course, it gave me sometime to discover the changes that happened for the past 2 years that I was away. One of these was the former Le Jardin Arnevel now called Venue 88.
For those who are looking for a place in Gensan to beat the heat, then it's time to take a look at this simple yet elegant resort and events place. The first time I came here was back in 2009. The look of the place before was more of native Filipino style because their cottages were built of Nipa huts and the place was sprawling with Bermuda grasses and a couple of trees. After 4 years, voila! A transformation has took place. It's now better and more pleasing to the eye. The two pools are still there. One for adults which I guess is about 4feet or more and one for kids. The pools offer a shade at each side to avoid sunburns for those who want to take a dip. The place is cleaner and the cottages are elegantly designed in a simple way. Also, you can book one of your special events here. When I went there with friends, we got to see a nice and short display of fireworks thanks to the bonggang event that was currently happening in their event's hall.
Entrance fee will be Php50 for those who come in the morning until 2:30pm(use of the pool will be till 10pm). For those who come in from 2:30pm onwards, it would be Php75. Cottages are available at Php500 and Php250(common). There's also a corkage fee for drinks.
How to go there?
One can simply hire a public tricycle from the downtown proper to Mabuhay Road. It will take less than 30minutes to reach there. If you're 4pax and up, one can pay Php10-15 depends on your haggling skills.
You can click the link to check their facebook page for contact information: Venue 88