The Manila Hotel

The date was chosen with intent. The Manila Hotel opened on 4 July 1912, American Independence Day, on reclaimed land at the mouth of the Pasig River, built as the showpiece of Daniel Burnham's plan for the colonial capital. William E. Parsons, Burnham's consulting architect in the islands, drew a white building in the California mission manner with a green-tiled roof, deep verandahs and a lobby of Philippine hardwoods. More than a century later the hotel stands at One Rizal Park, between Intramuros and the bay, with the same address and much of the same purpose.

History

In the 1920s and 1930s the hotel's Fiesta Pavilion and dance floor set the tone for Manila society, and its guest book filled with names that still carry weight: Ernest Hemingway, Douglas Fairbanks, visiting governors and senators. In 1935 Douglas MacArthur arrived as military adviser to the new Commonwealth and took the penthouse as his home and office, a post that came with the title of General Manager of the hotel. He left in 1941. During the Japanese occupation the hotel housed the military command, and in February 1945 the Battle of Manila gutted it; MacArthur himself watched the penthouse burn. Rebuilt and reopened, it declined through the 1960s until the government commissioned a full reconstruction. Leandro Locsin, the architect of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, led the work, and the hotel reopened in 1977 with a new 18-storey tower behind the original block, in time to house delegates to the IMF and World Bank meeting. The Beatles stayed in 1966, the visit that ended in the famous snub of Imelda Marcos. Since 1995 the hotel has been owned by the family of the publisher Emilio Yap.

Architecture and design

The 1912 building carries the hotel's identity: the arcaded facade, the tiled roof, the lobby with its chandeliers, carved Philippine mahogany and floors of marble laid in a chequerboard. Locsin's tower is plainer and holds most of the rooms, but the public rooms kept their scale. The Archipelago Ballroom and the Fiesta Pavilion were rebuilt in the 1970s.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has around 570 rooms and suites across the old wing and the tower. Bay-facing rooms watch the sunset over Manila Bay, which the city treats as a nightly event; park-facing rooms look over Rizal Park towards Intramuros. The MacArthur Suite, decorated in the general's memory with period furniture and photographs, is the house's famous apartment. The facts file lists eight suites in all.

Dining

The Champagne Room, with its glass-tree chandeliers, is the formal dining room and has been for decades. Cafe Ilang-Ilang, named after the native flower, serves the buffet across several kitchens. Mabuhay Palace is the Chinese restaurant. The Tap Room is the bar, with live music most evenings and a long tradition as the city's after-work meeting point. The Lobby Lounge serves merienda and afternoon tea beneath the chandeliers.

Wellness

There is an outdoor swimming pool in the garden between the wings, a health club with a gym, and a spa offering Filipino hilot massage among other treatments.

Weddings and events

The Fiesta Pavilion is the largest room and a traditional Manila wedding venue, hosting banquets of several hundred guests. The Champagne Room and the garden are used for smaller weddings and the hotel has a long record of society weddings dating back to the 1920s. The facts file records eight event spaces in all, serving conferences, government functions and corporate dinners; the hotel hosts both weddings and meetings.

Location

The hotel sits at the north-west corner of Rizal Park, facing Manila Bay, with the walled city of Intramuros, Fort Santiago and San Agustin Church a few minutes away on foot. Ninoy Aquino International Airport is around 30 to 60 minutes by car depending on traffic. The Manila Bay sunset seen from the Tap Room terrace is the reason many guests choose this luxury hotel in Manila over the newer towers of Makati.