Darunday Manor: A City Surprise

By Paul Vistal, Bohol Chronicle - October 8, 2006

A new landmark has risen in the heart of Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Its name is Darunday Manor.

The three-storey pension house, the latest in the city, is not notable for its height. There are many structures that dwarf it in this growing metropolis. And there are just as many that are more colorful.

But one cannot ignore it as one passes along J.A. Clarin St., heading to the CPG Avenue intersection. Darunday Manor is a head-turner. Every time you pass by it is like the moment a beautiful woman enters a room and, whether you mean to or not, you can't help but have a second look. It has presence, as only a landmark should. And in every facet, from the accommodations to the service, a thoughtfulness that warms the heart radiates.

The Darunday Family had it built to honor their late father, Cirilo Karaan Darunday Sr., and their mother. Mrs. Abundia Dumagan Darunday, who just turned 100 years old last August.

Without and within, an old world charm fills Darunday Manor, and one feels as if he or she were at home, with family and friends. Traditional Boholano accessories accent the rooms and the corridors. An Aztec motif in light shades of yellow and green subtly pervades all over the building. Airy balconies overlook the highway. Clay tiles imported form Portugal line the roof. Tribal designs woven by the Eskaya adorn the headboards and cabinet doors. The rooms are cool and breezy, even with the air-conditioning turned off in the middle of the day. And to say that the rooms are spacious too may seem cliché but here it is almost an understatement.

This early, Darunday Manor has already been booked for weeks to come. And it is no surprise. The pension house also promotes Boholano culture and the arts. It features the works of such local visual artists as Glenn Lumantao, Weewee Seloterio, Tatting Soliva, and Yano Manalo. Featured, too, are the paintings of an artist who is considered to be the dean of Boholano visual artists, Madam Nene Lungay.

The Darunday Family also envisions the pension house as a venue for naturally processed foods and other organic products. In the first floor, a coffee shop to cater to walk-in customers will open soon on October 17.

Darunday Manor will have its formal blessing at four o'clock this afternoon. It will be blessed by Msgr. Cirilo Darunday Jr. and Fr. Val Darunday, SVD. It is a gift made by loving children to their doting parents. And, in a way, it is also a gift from the Darunday Family to Tagbilaran City.