Makati Shangri-La, Manila

Makati Shangri-La, Manila
General information
Status Complete
Type Hotel
Address Ayala Avenue Corner, Makati Avenue, Makati City 1200, Philippines
Coordinates 14°33′17″N 121°01′28″E / 14.554729°N 121.024445°ECoordinates: 14°33′17″N 121°01′28″E / 14.554729°N 121.024445°E
Opening April 27, 1993
Owner Shangri-La Hotels
Management Alain Borgers
Technical details
Floor count 28
Design and construction
Architect

Kanko Kikaku Sekkeisha, Yozo Shibata & Association (Tokyo) &

G. Formoso & Partners (Manila)[1]
Other information
Number of rooms 696
Website
Makati Shangri-La, Manila - Official Website

Makati Shangri-La, Manila is a 5-star luxury hotel located in Makati City, Philippines and one of the three hotels managed by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts located in Metro Manila, Philippines. It opened on April 27, 1993. The hotel has 696 rooms and suites, including Horizon Club floors located on the 22nd to the 25th floors, an outdoor pool, a 24-hour gym, spa, outdoor tennis courts, function and banquet halls that can accommodate up to 1,200 people, and a number of restaurants and bars.

Called an “Oasis in downtown”,[2] it is renowned for its service and hospitality that sees it frequently appear on world’s best hotel lists, as well as being considered the number one hotel in the Philippines 20 years after its opening.[3]

History

When it opened, the Shangri-La Makati was “one of the first international five-star properties at a time where few large chains were present in the Philippines capital”. It was developed by the Ayala family with an aim to keep the area as Manila’s luxury address.[4] Originally it opened with 703 rooms over its 28 floors, at a cost of $118 million.[5] It was the first new hotel in Makati in 17 years and featured the largest meeting spaces in the city.[5]

The hotel has undergone several renovations over the years to keep it fresh, including 3 restaurant overhauls and the refurbishing of more than 200 rooms in 2001 in order to make the hotel more technically savvy, with finer optic cabling and broadband internet. The cost per room of the renovation was around $30,000.[6] The entire renovation, which continued until the end of 2002, cost $130 million.[7]

The Rizal ballroom was renovated in 2009.[8] A second ballroom named “Isabela” opened in November 2013 with an aim to provide a modern event space with interchangeable furniture and audiovisual technology.[9]

In 2010 the hotel embarked on a program called “Green Housekeeping” in order to reduce the use of chemicals and improve cleanliness, with initiatives like low-temperature washing and lower electricity use.[3] The same year it was the first hotel in the Philippines to equip its concierge team with iPads.[10]

The hotel turned 20 in April 2013, but after several upgrades and renovations maintained its standing as the city’s best hotel.[11]

In 2013 the hotel joined its partners from the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts in the Philippines to launch a radio show titled “Inside 5-Star“ on Radio High 105.9 FM. In the show, which ran every Friday at 8 to 9 p.m., from 5 April to 19 July 2013 over 16 episodes, topics included spa essentials, tips for traveling with families, healthy eating paired with a healthy lifestyle, five-star fitness challenge, how to care for a marine sanctuary, vacation tips for any season, destination weddings etc.[12]

The hotel achieves an average 80 percent occupancy, most of which are corporate clients such as the American Embassy.[13]

The current manager is Alain Borgers, from Belgium, former manager of the first Shangri-La in Europe, the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris.[14] He was also the GM of Makati Shangri-La in 1999.

Design and construction

The hotel was designed by Kanko Kikaku Sekkeisha, Yozo Shibata & Association (Tokyo) & G. Formoso & Partners (Manila),[15] both companies of which have designed multiple Shangri-La properties. During the 2002 renovations, General Manager Richard Riley directed and designed the amenities. The design team included specialists from the US, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, including Bilky Llinas, Leese Robertson Freeman Ltd., Warner Wong, Wilson Associates, BUZdesign, Adam Tihany, and Alan Chang.[7]

Features

Rooms and suites

The hotel has 696 rooms and come in 8 types, including 46 Deluxe Suites, 3 Specialty Suites overlooking Ayala Avenue,[16] and 1 Presidential Suite, which measures 312 square meters.

Restaurants

Makati Shangri-La has four restaurants and a range of cafes and bars. It also has an in-house deli bakery, Sinfully Circles, located within the all-day dining outlet, and a satellite patisserie in nearby Greenbelt 5, “Sinfully by Makati Shangri-La". The patisserie features designer chocolates, cakes and macarons, as well as a live chocolate room.

Past the grand staircase at the lobby is Lobby Lounge, led by German Filipino Chef Dirk Fiedler. The 14-piece Maria S. Esteban Orchestra plays live standards in the lounge every afternoon. The venue was noted in 2013 for leading a popular phenomenon in Manila for people to drink British afternoon tea in the summertime.[17]

Makati Shangri-La was judged the overall winner in the professional division of Chefs on Parade in 2011, the longest cooking competition in the Philippines, and awarded the COP Presidential Trophy.[18]

The hotel's other outlets includes the Japanese restaurant Inagiku, Red, a fine dining outlet, the hotel's Pool Bar located at the fourth level, and formerly, Conway's, the hotel bar.[19]

Located on the Lobby Level and with 320 seats, the hotel's all-day dining restaurant features a daily Eastern and Western buffet with different themes for dinner, led by executive chef Franco Brodini. The café's open-theater kitchen stations feature a selection of specialties, ranging from cold appetizers to seafood, prime cuts and desserts. It also offers a dedicate halal station, the first of its kind in Manila. In 2012 venue was used for “Superhero Chefs”,[20] in which seven of the hotel’s chefs competed each night in front of a panel of judges.[21]

With 320 seats and located on Level 2, Shang Palace offers regional Cantonese cuisine within contemporary interiors. The restaurant has a main dining hall and 11 private dining rooms. The restaurant also offers a popular Dim Sum Plus menu from Mondays to Saturdays, featuring unlimited dim sum and other dishes. The restaurant also invites visiting chefs, such as Singapore’s Sam Leong of Tung Lok restaurants.[22]

With 153 seats, the Chef Hino Yusuke-led[20] Inagiku is decorated with Japanese-themed memorabilia, including taiko drums and a 24-karat-gold silk kimono by Katsuyuki Shioyama. It includes a sushi bar, teppanyaki table, and a regular dining area.

Red was renowned for its ambience, including high-back chairs and dimmed lighting.[23] It was announced in June 2013 that Red would close along with Conway’s, to make way “for another exciting restaurant concept".[19]

Events

The hotel has multiple ballrooms and event spaces, and continues to add more, including the Isabela, named after Spain’s Queen Isabela, in November 2013. The Isabela includes works of art by Filipino painter RH Lascano, and is designed by Hong Kong-based LRF Design.[14]

The hotel frequently holds events such as launch parties for brands like Brequet,[24] and sports events like the Clear Dream Match.[25] It also hosts some of the world’s leading musicians, including the New York Philharmonic on multiple occasions.[26]

Awards

Makati Shangri-La, Manila is regularly recognised as one of the leading hotels in Asia. In 2013 it was the only hotel in the Philippines to be included in the Expedia Insiders’ Select list, the fourth consecutive year it was recognized.[27]

It has received the following awards from 2007-2013[28][29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fast Facts". Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  2. ↑ "Makati Shangri-La, Manila". Conde Nast Traveler. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lester Gopela Hallig (2010-02-28). "Shangri-La upbeat in 2010 & beyond". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  4. ↑ Luc Citrinot (2011-11-07). "The Philippines remains a priority market for Shangri-La". ETN. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Shangri-La upbeat in 2010 & beyond". South China Morning Post. 1993-05-26. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  6. ↑ Michelle Marcos (2001-04-28). "Refurbishing "Heaven"". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tanya T. Lara (2002-03-02). "Elements of modern style at Makati Shangri-La Hotel". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  8. ↑ Pepper Teehankee (2009-07-31). "And they came to the relaunch of Rizal Ballroom". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  9. ↑ Johnny Litton (2013-11-21). "Isabela: Your next venue of choice". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  10. ↑ "Makati Shangri-La launches first concierge iPad service in the Philippines". The Philippine Star. 2010-05-216. Retrieved 2013-11-19. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ↑ "Singapore to the Philippines: How to have a cracking Manila stopover". Expat Living Singapore. 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  12. ↑ "Shangri-La launches Inside 5-Star radio show". Sun Star. 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  13. ↑ Marge C. Enriquez (2013-11-09). "Hotelier keeps Shangri-La in top shape". Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Anna A. Jambora (2013-11-02). "A belle of a ballroom". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  15. ↑ "Projects: Hotels". GF & Partners. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  16. ↑ "Luxurious suite with views of Ayala Avenue". 2013 Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  17. ↑ Karen Galarpe (2013-05-05). "Even in summer, there's time for afternoon tea". GMA News. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  18. ↑ "Makati Shangri-La dominates 'Chefs on Parade'". ABS-CBN. 2011-03-03. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Makati Shangri-La to close Red, Conway's". ABS CBN. 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Micky Fenix (2012-08-02). "Seven chefs in superhero costumes, presenting their super creations". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  21. ↑ Amy A. Uy (2012-08-02). "Makati Shangri-La’s Superhero Chefs stage culinary showdown". GMA News. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  22. ↑ Micky Fenix (2011-06-09). "Cooking effortlessly like kung fu". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  23. ↑ Micky Fenix (2011-09-25). "Not ready to part with Red". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  24. ↑ Maurice Arcache (2011-08-19). "Swiss National Day launches fine Swiss watches". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  25. ↑ Rama Co (2013-09-05). "Legends of the field". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  26. ↑ "Home is Where the Music is". The Philippine Star. 2002-10-13. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  27. ↑ "Makati Shangri-La only PHL hotel named on Expedia Insiders' Select list". GMA News. 2013-09-05. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  28. ↑ http://www.shangri-la.com/manila/makatishangrila/about/awards/
  29. ↑ http://www.shangri-la.com/manila/makatishangrila/press-room/press-kit/
  30. ↑ "Makati Shangri-La voted one of the best hotels in the world". The Philippine Star. 2011-02-06. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  31. ↑ "Makati Shangri-La Manila". World Travel Awards. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
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