By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE Malaysia-based Kuok Group’s sixth hotel property in the Philippines finally opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, with about 70 percent of its initial 120 rooms already occupied by both foreign and local guests.
The constant stream of hotel guests since 4 a.m. on Tuesday indicates the “high anticipation and excitement” for the new Shangri-La at The Fort in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Lesley Anne Tan, the hotel’s director of communications, said in a media briefing.
Underscoring the property’s uniqueness, Shangri-La at The Fort is the “first mixed-used development in the country under a single management,” John Rice, hotel general manager, stressed in a separate interview with the BusinessMirror.
“Manila, particularly the Fort Bonifacio area, is one of the emerging corporate developments in Southeast Asia. It has one of the highest growth rates. It’s also a 24/7 lifestyle destination, in the sense that you can work, you can sleep, you can eat, you can play, you can do whatever you want in that whole [area],” he said. “So Shangri-La [Hotels and Resorts] saw an opportunity to enter that niche in the market with a mixed-use complex.”
Compared with other Shang properties in the country, Tan, for her part, added, the BGC property “exudes contemporary luxury and has a young vibe. It is a lifestyle complex with the following components: the hotel, with 576 rooms; 97 Shangri-La Residences, for extended stays; the dedicated recreation club of Kerry Sports Manila; 98 residential homes called Horizon Homes, for private investors; and a two-level retail podium, with 40 shops and restaurants.”
Aside from the 120 guest rooms, the only open outlets for now are Kerry Sports, which features an NBA-grade basketball court, fitness machines, tennis courts and a swimming pool over 8,000 square meters of floor space; one of two grand ballrooms with a 1,800-seat capacity; and the High Street Café, which offers the most affordable lunch buffet among city hotels at P1,550 net.
Tan explains that the hotel is offering a competitive lunch buffet rate to fit the profile of the BGC market, one of the most vibrant business and residential districts in Metro Manila, with an array of similarly priced food establishments in the area. “So it wouldn’t make sense to price our buffets like the usual hotel buffets, which run to about P2,000++; this won’t make the people come to the hotel when there are other restaurants in the area to choose from.”
The hotel will be fully open by July this year, Tan said. Construction of the hotel began in 2011, with an initial investment of $250 million (P12 billion). The building was designed by the US-based Handel Architects, while rooms and interiors were made by Hirsch Bedner Associates.
The key markets the hotel is attracting are tourists from Singapore, Hong Kong, the Middle East, Australia, the US and Japan. Tan added that many of the “views” on its web site, as well as other selling partners, like TripAdvisor and Agoda.com, are from mainland China, as well, “so we have set up a business development office to cater particularly for that market.” Most local hotels have been pinning their hopes on the Chinese market, the fourth-largest source of tourist arrivals in the country, with the residents growing purchasing power and penchant for overseas travel.
Of the 19 accommodations available in the BGC area, Shangri-La at The Fort is the third hotel to open after F1 Hotel Manila and Seda BGC—the rest being serviced residences—and the only hotel in the luxury category.
Aside from its deluxe rooms, reputed to be the “largest lead-in guest room sizes in the city, starting at 45 square meter, Shangri-La-at the Fort also has 41 premier suites (90 to 92 sq m); four specialty suites (135 to 141 sq m); and the Shangri-La Suite (235 sq m).
Its private residential homes are almost completely sold, Rice said.
Horizon Homes defies most residential-development categories: “We’re unique, in the sense we’re not calling them condominiums, we’re not calling them apartments; we’re calling them homes. We’re calling them homes, for the simple reason that they’ll have a lot of longevity. You know, when you set yourself a family home, you’re able to pass
it from one generation to generation. It doesn’t follow a trend, it doesn’t date, and people will always love it.”
Future residents can choose from units ranging from two to four bedrooms, in homes measuring 250 to 417 sq m, depending on their needs, each equally designed to be extra spacious and comfortable.
The largest home is 797 sq m for the penthouse units (“we have three of those”), which sit on top of 250-meter-high structure. “It’s literally your home in the sky,” Rice enthused. Turnover of the Horizon Homes will be at the end of the year.
Horizon Homes, Rice stressed, puts a premium on privacy, with only five units per floor serviced by their own private elevators, and exclusive basement parking area. “There are luxurious floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic views of the city, with a spacious open-floor layout. [There are] views to the north, views to the south, views to the east, views to the west; uninterrupted water views; views of the Makati skyline, Laguna de Bay, Manila Bay —fabulous! Depending on where the home is, you have a sunrise or sunset [view]. It affords home-owners the luxury of staying in their own private Shangri-La.”
A Horizon homeowner will also have access to private amenities and entertainment areas, ’round-the-clock security and personal concierge services. “You can take a leisurely swim in the pool, have a sumptuous meal delivered by any of the hotel’s food and beverage outlets, then head on to Kerry Sports Manila to enjoy more facilities. Homeowners can enjoy the luxury of staying in their own private Shangri-La,” he underscored. Homeowners, likewise, are able to tap the property’s engineering, maintenance and housekeeping services.
And because of its unique location at Shangri-La at The Fort, Horizon Homes residents can walk comfortably to nearby shopping areas, explore nature, the arts and science, as well as other food and beverage outlets. Moreover, they can easily access the domestic and international airports, international schools, a world-class medical facility and other exclusive leisure clubs, Rice said.
The penthouse units are no longer on the market, Shangri-La sources indicated, with a long line of prospective buyers currently being entertained by management.
Kerry Sports Manila, an integrated gym and sports facilities brand also owned by the Kuok Group, is the first in the Philippines and will also operate its own spa. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is the hotel property arm of the Kuok Group.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes