We want people to celebrate their milestone events here, the way that we did over the years,” said Camille Tantoco-Ng.
“We want them to come and spend the whole day here, do a lot of things, all while enjoying the natural surroundings of this beautiful place that our grandparents built for 20 years,” added her twin, Nicole Tantoco-De Los Reyes.
Camille and Nicole are talking about Lakehall, a new event space nestled within Sta. Elena Golf and Country Estate, which was built by their grandparents, Rico and Nena Tantoco. It is the first phase of Nena’s Sanctuary, a lifestyle destination that is the brainchild of their parents, Donnie and Crickette Tantoco, as an homage to Donnie’s parents.
The twins, their brother Christian, as well as Nicole’s husband Miko De Los Reyes and Camille’s husband Tim Ng, are all involved in shaping the latest addition to the family’s sprawling estate in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
“It’s a new venture for our family,” Nicole told Lifestyle. “Our parents wanted to pass down something new to us, to do with them. It’s something that they’ve never done before, and we’re all doing it together so it’s been really exciting.”
For the second phase of Nena’s Sanctuary, the family is set to open a restaurant called Rico’s Café later this year.
As Nena’s Sanctuary is a family affair, isn’t it difficult to embark on such a project with their parents and brother?
Camille admitted that there are challenges. It’s a matter of knowing how to collaborate with and complement each other. “For example, my brother and sister are very much into the creatives, but I’m more about the numbers, admin and deadlines. That’s how we balance each other out,” she explained.
They see to it, though, that they don’t bring work to the family dinner table. “We make sure that when it’s family time, it’s family time. And when it’s time for work, that’s when we concentrate on work,” Camille added.
Venue for milestones
The sisters feel lucky to be mentored by their parents. Nicole acknowledged that they have the advantage of learning from them, who have years of experience building businesses. Donnie is the president of Rustan Commercial Corp.
Nicole added, “We children also have experiences working with the other businesses of our family, so we also bring that to the table.”
Lakehall, a 1,859-square meter event space, is designed to host weddings, birthdays, conferences and even corporate events. Aside from the capacious banquet hall which can accommodate 360 guests, there’s also a courtyard, two bridal suites, gardens, an extended terrace and deck which overlooks the lake.
The banquet hall can be partitioned into three rooms for smaller events. The bridal suites are overnight accommodations which could be rented by those holding a wedding or an event at Lakehall. There’s also a fully equipped kitchen as well as two prep kitchens.
The architectural design was by the British firm Cardy Papa Interior and Architectural Design Studio, while the interiors were by Cyndi Fernandez of Moss Manila. The banquet hall’s palm leaf-inspired chandeliers were by Pampanga’s Venzon Lighting and Objects. The wall accents, which bear supersized peonies, dahlias and irises, are by The House of Precast.
“We focused on flowers because our Lola Nena used to run the Rustan’s Flower Shop,” said Camille. She described her grandmother as the “Martha Stewart of her time in terms of homemaking and home decorating,” doing event styling way before it was even a thing.
Pop-ups
Camille and Nicole pretty much grew up in Sta. Elena. They recalled how they had been spending time here since they were 10 years old. “All our relatives got married here. I got married here,” Camille said, adding that they would like other people, especially those their age and younger, to experience what they’ve been enjoying at Sta. Elena over the years.
The estate is a bird sanctuary and is home to over a hundred species of birds. Their Lolo Rico, who is known for spearheading reforestation projects back in the day, designed the golf course with a lot of lagoons and lakes that serve as natural water reserves that maintain the golf course.
“People from the city are always looking for new experiences, whether it’s new restaurants to try out or a beautiful new space to check out,” said Nicole. “We saw that there is a strong market for this, and we decided on an event space where we would build exciting, creative and never-been-done-before experiences.”
Lakehall is hosting market pop-ups, restaurant takeovers and exhibits that are open to the public until June 30.
“Everyone is welcome to come here and enjoy the restaurant, go shop or go around. You can come at different hours. There’s something to do at every hour of the day,” said Nicole.
Lakehall at Nena’s Sanctuary is at Txokolate Road, Sta. Elena Golf and Country Estate, Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Book a visit via their website, nenasanctuary.com.
