IT SEEMS everything multimillionaire hairdresser-businessman Ricky Reyes touches turns to gold, including Golden Sunset in Calatagan, Batangas ? his accidental foray into the resort-restaurant business.

For almost two years now, the resort, a vast fishpond which took Reyes close to two years to redevelop, has been attracting carloads of families from Metro Manila and beyond who enjoy the attractions Reyes whipped up himself ? a butterfly sanctuary, aviary and outdoor museum of pre-colonial earthenware and porcelain pieces dug in the area. (Batangas has been the site of various diggings through the decades.)

Considered as the first in the country, the museum has several glass cabinets on stone pedestals displaying Chinese and pre-Spanish pieces on loan from the National Museum.

?My partner Cris [Aquino] and I knew next to nothing about managing a resort,? says Reyes, ?but we seem to be doing a good job based on the number of repeat guests. You should have seen how business was during Holy Week.?

Rather than send guests back to Manila, the staff had to set up tents to accommodate walk-ins. Rooms were also fully booked two weeks ago as Golden Sunset played host to the candidates of Miss Philippines-Earth.

Even a section of the Reyes home in the resort, cottages adjacent to the main house, and KTV rooms had to be rented out to guests.

Situated in Barangay Kay Tomas, the 7.7-hectare attraction boasts several swimming pools with water slides, two giant Jacuzzis, karaoke rooms and restaurants, including Cusina de Oro and Chow Express, serving home-cooked style Filipino and Chinese dishes.

The coffee shop, Café Veranda, serves only cold drinks and its luscious halo-halo. To save guests from the hassle of bringing money or credit cards as they explore the huge resort, Reyes and company have set up a prepaid, non-transferrable ?passport? system to be used for food and drinks.

?We?ve lowered our food prices to discourage guests from bringing food,? says Reyes. ?What?s the point of stressing yourself when you?re here to relax??

Guests who want to stay overnight can choose from 70 rooms, including two-bedroom family suites, barkadahan suites, and honeymoon villas with secluded pocket gardens for romantic dinners.

Recharge

At the end of a long, hot day, bone-tired travelers can recharge in the open-air Serendipity Spa, which gives a scenic view of South China Sea and its golden-yellow sunset.

Massage therapists do Shiatsu, Swedish, Thai and the resort?s signature Golden Touch and Indulgence massages. The place doubles as a foot and nailcare salon and a hair and scalp treatment center.

Or, guests can choose to go fishing, boating, biking or playing beach volleyball. They can also play billiards or mahjong and bingo.

?I?ve had a number of media friends over and they had a blast fishing for their food with their families,? says Reyes. ?You can catch bangus and tilapia and have them cooked the way you want them.?

Weekends, there are shows, including the lunchtime ?balsa show? featuring costumed performers dancing on a floating raft to Hawaiian and South Pacific songs. Then there are the ?Lola Divas? composed of costumed gay impersonators.

Investment

It?s hard to imagine that the place, when it was first offered to Reyes four years ago, was almost barren. Even Aquino, himself a seasoned businessman in the travel industry, discouraged Reyes from buying the property.

After much hemming and hewing, Reyes finally bought the place as investment. He had no idea what to do with it, but the price of the property was too good to refuse.

?The owner, a good friend, was badly in need of money,? he says. ?When I got the place, I had no inkling I could turn it into a resort. To begin with, I?m not fond of the sea.?

He had part of the property cleared to make way for a family rest house. Since the place was sandy, very little vegetation grew. Part of the work involved trucking in tons of soil for Reyes? garden.

It didn?t take long for the couple to see the property?s potential. Reyes once invited a friend to stay over for the weekend. The guy, who obviously had a good time despite the spare attractions, hooked them up with a company in search of a secluded venue for team building.

?They kept asking me to open up the place if only for a weekend,? says Reyes. ?They were willing to pay and asked us for a package for board and lodging.?

Reyes finally agreed. He and his family had to vacate their own rest house one weekend to make way for ?guests.? He even had to hire temporary cooks and mobilize his household staff.

?When the last guest had left, we were left with a P70,000 profit,? he recalls. ?Not bad for a weekend work. That was when the businessmen in me and Cris kicked in.?

Not since the opening of his salon chain had Reyes embarked on one of his biggest projects: turning a generic, desolate series of fishponds into ?my paradise.?

2 years in making

For almost two years, Reyes and Aquino spent their weekends and most of their free time overseeing the construction and landscaping of a resort that had no master plan.

?Everything was in my head,? says a proud Reyes. ?I?m not ashamed to say this resort is an extension of me. I even chose the plants.?

Reyes is one businessman who also doesn?t believe in waste. He had several of his old stuff dusted off, repainted and given new use.

?You see those chairs? They were used in my old salons which had a garden theme before they had a makeover,? he says.

He also doesn?t seem to know when to stop. Just when work on Golden Sunset has finally died down, Reyes acquired an adjacent property, 6.5 hectares in all, in Pulong Bakaw, a neighboring barangay.

?I?ve already lined up attractions for Golden Sunset?s phase two,? says an excited Reyes. ?One is to open it to public diggings. This place still has historic artifacts.?

More than the revenues, Reyes takes pride in the fact that he remains the only property owner along the Calatagan coast to open his sprawl to the public.

?It?s heartening when people come and tell me they enjoyed their stay,? he says. ?It more than makes up for all the headaches we have to endure running the place.?

Call Golden Sunset?s Manila office at 6752159 and 6722160, or visit www.goldensunset.ph.