With room rates starting from around AUD 250 a night, the Shangri-la hotel in the city of Makati is like an oasis in the vast Manila conurbation, and, considering its facilities, extraordinarily good value for money.
The feeling you’re going to be pampered, rested, relaxed and well-fed in five-star comfort descended on me as I walked into the hotel’s lobby to check in one warm afternoon recently. A marble lobby space extended into a cavernous lounge, with towering windows overlooking lush gardens and cascading waterfalls. A classical pianist was playing quietly, providing unobtrusive entertainment for guests having a late lunch and small groups having meetings. Immaculately dressed, smiling staff moved among the tables. Luxury!
This was a highlight of a recent trip to the Philippines, where well-heeled Makati is arguably the ritziest business and cultural hub in the country’s capital. This Shangri-la, one of more than 100 hotels and resorts owned, managed and operated by the Shangri-la Group in 78 destinations, is one of the oldest at 30 years.
“[Our hotel] has become a fixture in the community, with 696 guest rooms and suites,” says Alfonso Carlos Mendoza (pictured left), its young events executive. “And it’s an excellent venue for conferences because we’re in a heavily developed urban area with many companies, restaurants and entertainment outlets, and much business activity, in close proximity.”
Indeed Makati’s sprawling “Green Belt” shopping and dining precinct is adjacent to the hotel and much appreciated by meetings and events attendees, says Alfonso.
For meeting space, they’re spoiled for choice. The Shangri-la is home to the largest pillar-less ballroom in Makati City as well as a secondary ballroom for more intimate events. It holds the biggest inventory of guestrooms among five-star hotels in Makati City, and has eight restaurants and bars, says Alfonso.
“Corporate clients always come back,” he says. “In addition to the main ballroom which can hold up to 990 people in a round-table set up, we’ve got a big variety of smaller meeting spaces, for which, in many cases, the attendees choose to stay in the hotel.
“We had one such meeting yesterday, for example, an education group who flew in from China and were accommodated in 86 of our rooms. They came in three buses and we planned our check-in procedures very carefully, so it all went smoothly.”
Manila and the Philippines generally offer bargain prices in relation to accommodation – and food, especially, he adds. “We have many international-standard local chefs who can cater to any palate in the world and we can adjust menus to anything you’d wish for. The same applies to our MICE guests – any food or requirement, you just need to ask.”
Guests can find just about everything they need in the hotel complex, from a pool, renovated spa and gym to venues for meetings, meals and to socialise.
“Of course there are plenty of [entertainment] places outside the hotel that are very accessible, and many malls,” says Alfonso. “In Makati at weekends the roads are closed off so people can stroll and ride bikes round the town. Our international guests especially appreciate this.”
The hotel has a club offering, the Horizon, with dedicated floors for rooms and an exclusive lounge in which guests can get fed three times a day and have cocktails in the evening as part of their package. (I opted for this and it was a classy experience, made all the more so by excellent staff.)
The wood-panelled rooms have comfortable beds, air conditioning that works well, chocolates and fruit to snack on and much else. The reservations people will easily arrange car or limo airport transfers.
Venues like this may help explain why last calendar year was a huge one for the Philippine tourism industry, which welcomed almost five and a half million international visitors, recording more than PHP480 billion (AUD 13 billion) in receipts, according to the country’s Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco. The new record was around 650,000 higher than the target of 4.8 million international visitors for the year.
Meetings package from AUD 115
The Makati Shangri-la presents a variety of meetings packages. For instance one whole-day corporate option for PHP 4200 (AUD 115) per person has plated and buffet lunch options, and the inclusions you’d expect like coffee, tea, flipcharts, public address systems and so forth. Reasonably priced open-bar package options from one to three hours are also available.
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