Some hotels from Manila
Sofitel Philippine Plaza - This is home to the Spiral Restaurant, one of the best buffet restaurants in the Philippines and even in Asia. The hotel used to be under the Westin brand but ownership changed in the mid 2000s to Sofitel.
Under the new brand, renovations were done inside, but nothing much has changed in the facade. The facade is still reflective of the time it was built, 1976. That year, the International Monetary Fund had their annual meeting in the Philippines and a number of hotels were built at the whims of Imelda Marcos, including this one.
The Peninsula Manila
Just like the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, The Peninsula Manila was built in 1976 as part of that IMF meeting. I guess back then, IMF meetings were a big deal like the Olympics or World Cup where a third world country has to be extorted to host such events.
Because the hotel was built in the 70s, both wings of the building housing the hotel rooms actually look plain and ordinary. It's saving grace, I think, is the water feature which was added in the 1990s. If the water feature is absent, this building will just look like a generic airport hotel from the outside.
Its hotel lobby is equally beautiful. My friends and I enjoyed having desserts here when I was still living in Manila. They have live musicians playing all sorts of music -- from classical to pop. One time, when my friends and I were enjoying our ice cream, Imelda Marcos came in. The musicians suddenly started playing her favourite song. I guess, they wanted to welcome her and pay homage to a disgrace of a woman who made eating ice cream in a magnificent lobby possible.
Some of the newly built hotels in Manila are bigger and more modern like --
The Conrad
Shangri-La at the Fort
But probably the grand dame of hotels in Manila is the hotel that bears the capital's name --
The Manila Hotel.
The Manila Hotel is built in 1909 and was opened on July 4, 1912 to commemorate some sort of a special day in the USA. If you are not Filipino and do not know the history of those little islands in the Pacific, let me remind you that during these years, the Philippines is occupied by the Americans. Their press release is that they are the "liberators" because they kicked Spain's ass out of the Philippines (and Puerto Rico and Cuba and Guam), but truly what they wanted is to take control of the country after signing some papers in Paris and paying some dollars to Spain.
A taller tower was built behind the original hotel in the 1970s. It was designed by a renowned Filipino architect, so unfortunately, the addition can't just be demolished.
The hotel became the residence of an American general who stayed in the Philippines during the American's war with Japan. He is famous for saying he will return to bomb Manila or something to that effect. He actually wanted to stay in Malacañan Palace, the former residence of the governor generals from Spain / Mexico. However, he did not get his wishes, so instead of giving him a palace, they just gave the penthouse suite of the hotel to him as his residence. One of the suites is now named after him.
A few years ago, the hotel's Presidential Suite was also renovated. Here's how they look right now.
