Let’s leave the public places a bit and head into the resort and leisure world. Our next feature is Southern Metro Manila’s secret hideaway, the Island Cove Resort and Leisure Park in Kawit, Cavite. This 12-hectare resort is only about an hour away from Manila via the Coastal Road and is quite a popular out-of-town convention and events venue. See their official website.

Seen from Google Maps are the resort’s main hotel, convention center, various pavilions, and a large pool. Among the amenities of the resort are an 8-lane bowling center, a billiards room, and a videoke bar for the Pinoy crooners. Extending from the north end of the resort into Bacoor Bay are the fishing huts. Also, beside the concrete entrance to the island is a faux pedestrian suspension bridge, though you couldn’t tell from the aerial imagery. Unfortunately, the 3×3 meter giant chess set isn’t visible and is obscured by the trees.

And lest you think that I’m promoting nothing but good for the resort, I’d like to mention that the Island Cove and its owners, the Remulla family, has been involved in a land scam, according to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. It seems that the officials of the province of Cavite and the municipality of Kawit, including former Gov. Juanito Remulla, have illegally reclaimed land from Bacoor Bar (part of Manila Bay) (you can see the reclamation to the northwest of the main resort) and titled what was essentially underwater land in favor of the resort. The case was raised over five years ago and I have no idea what happened since then.

And on a little side note, the official website is using black-hat SEO techniques. The same thing that got MyAyala.com delisted from Google’s indices.

Download KML file (for Google Earth)