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Aqua Resort caps transformation
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Posted on May 15 2005
The crème de la crème of Saipan’s high society converged at the Aqua Resort Club Saturday evening to celebrate the formal unveiling of the hotel’s renovated facility—a night where wine flowed and guests danced the night away to the swinging music of a Latin jazz band flown in from Guam for the special occasion.
The event was highlighted by the donation made by the Aqua Resort Club of $50,000 to the Junior Statesmen program, which would go toward defraying some of the costs that will be incurred by students participating in the summer program when they go to the U.S. mainland.
Gov. Juan N. Babauta and Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente accepted the donation on behalf of the JSA from Ken Corp. president Kensuke Tanaka and Ken Aqua Hotel & Resort Inc. Mark M. Murai. JSA program coordinator Christi Omengabar was also present and gave a brief background of the program.
As part of the celebration, Babauta led Tanaka, Murai, Japanese consul Takeo Saito and ARC general manager and F&B director Ramon C. Cabrera in a sake breaking ceremony that had everyone scrambling for the unique wooden cups used to distribute the sake as souvenirs.
The cocktail reception itself, held at the lobby of the resort hotel, fairly crackled with electricity as Saipan’s glitterati mixed and mingled, entertained by the Caliente band and a couple of production numbers performed by Aqua Resort staff. The open bar was kept busy all night long, while the buffet had to be constantly refilled to keep up with the demand.
Guests included government officials, ranking executives of various major companies on the island, officials of different hotels, diplomats, and the media, among others. Hans Mickelson of Verizon acted as the evening’s master of ceremonies.
The $3.5 million-plus upgrade of the hotel’s facilities showed, with the discreetly arranged lighting showing off the new rattan furniture imported from Bali, the area rugs echoing the lobby’s tropical theme, and the lobby itself exuding a more expansive and inviting air.
