Edsa Shangri La, Manila

History

Edsa Shangri-La, Manila, opened on August 28, 1992, the first Shangri-La property in The Philippines. Originally known as Shangri-La’s Edsa Plaza Hotel, it was designed to recreate a five-star resort, such as those in Cebu and Boracay, but within the downtown Manila district of Ortigas Center. The hotel is 99.99% foreign owned.

In 2003 extensive renovations were completed, including the refurbishment of 440 rooms in the Tower Wing, and redesigns by Warner Wong Design and Architecture of Singapore for the Summer Palace and Nishiki restaurants.

In 2006 a US$3 million investment was announced to launch a spa facility, a then unique concept for Manila to have a Cebu-style spa within the city itself. It was modeled on the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort & Spa, Cebu. The following year further renovations at a cost of US$8 million, creating 76 new jobs, saw improvement works on the Garden Wing and the Horizon Club Lounge.

In 2009 Shang Properties Inc. began construction of One Shangri-La Place, a twin-tower condominium that is part of an integrated community including Edsa Shangri-La Hotel and Shangri-La Plaza. The 60-storey structure includes 580 units and is expected to earn P10 billion, with completion of residential units due in 2014. In 2013 the Shangri-La Plaza, part of the Shang Place estate, was extended with the opening of the Shangri-La Plaza East Wing, the retail section of the forthcoming One Shangri-La Place residential tower to be completed in 2014.

Current General Manager Patrick Schaub, who previously worked on properties in Thailand, the USA, and Switzerland, took over from Henry Lee in April 2013.

Design and construction

The resort was designed by Kanko Kikaku Sekkeisha of Tokyo and R. Villarosa Architects, and features two white towers set in a tropical garden amongst the mostly residential Ortigas Center. The floors of the hotel are marble, while the interior includes Asian paintings and floral arrangements. The Tower Wing is coloured brown and red with cityscape views, while the Garden Wing has views over the landscaped gardens.

Interior design was developed by Hirsch Bedner Associates Design Consultants of Hong Kong during the 2006/7 renovations of the Garden Wing. Warner Wong Associates of Singapore renovated the rooms of the Tower Wing in 2003/4, while Leese Robertson Freeman of Hong Kong are currently renovating the same rooms for 2012/3. The hotel focuses on using local supplies and craftsmanship, such as the woodwork in the Summer Palace, designed by renowned Filipino artist-sculptor Claude Tayag.

Features

The hotel is considered one of the landmark buildings in Manila due to it being the first of its kind to create a resort with the urban area of the city. It includes Horizon Club floors located on the 11th to the 14th 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.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has 632 rooms and come in 9 types, including 4 Deluxe Suites, 19 Premier Suites, 2 Shangri-La Suites and 1 Edsa Suite. Rooms in the Tower Wing are colored in brown and red hues to match the cityscape. The Garden Wing rooms overlook the landscaped gardens of the hotel property.

Restaurants

Edsa Shangri-La serves up to one million diners a year at its food and beverage outlets, to both room guests and locals,

The hotel also hosts The Bakeshop, The Lobby Lounge, and, formerly, e’s Bar which is now an event space.

Located on the Lobby Level and with 426 seats, HEAT was unveiled after a five-month renovation by Hirsch-Bedner in January 2006. The ceiling is decorated with the aurora borealis, human torches and lava lamps. Its opening ceremony included an opera performance and was attended by Mandaluyong City Mayor Neptali Gonzales II The layout features 20 interactive sections for open cooking “theatres” – stations offering a wide variety of world cuisines in modern contemporary style, including Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, Japanese and Western dishes. It replaced the previous Garden Cafe.

The hotel’s Cantonese restaurant seats 250 and is known for its cornflake king prawns, and dim sum by Malaysian dim sum chef Liew Soong Meng. The dim sum is served the traditional way on weekends, via a cart pushed by waiters. The Summer Palace’s executive chef is Christopher Chai from Ipoh, Malaysia, who previously led the kitchen of Shang Palace at Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta for four years.

It was opened in 2006, replacing former Japanese restaurant Nishiki, and means “a thousand happiness.” Its entrance uses black tiles around cobblestones, decorated by pottery. The master chef is Kiyoshi Ogawa of Tokyo, who over 30 years has worked in London, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Bora-Bora island, Tahiti.

Paparazzi was refurbished in 2004 with a crisscross pattern façade inspired by Bottega Veneta’s intrecciato woven leather. The sculpted dining table with green and gold mosaic tiles from Bisazza is inspired by a Prada shoe silhouette, while glassware comes from Murano. The uniforms were designed by Filipino fashion designer Rajo Laurel and inspired by Giorgio Armani.

CHI, The Spa

CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La, covering 3,000 square meters and featuring 10 treatment suites, was announced in 2006 with a US$3 million investment. It was opened in July 2007 by then President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Its concept is a “spa-within-a-spa,” located within the Garden Wing and designed to emphasize personal space. Therapies include indigenous and Philippines-inspired treatments such as Chi Balance, Aroma Vitality, Ying Yang Couple’s Massage and Mountain Tsampa Rub that uses techniques drawn from the ancient healing practices of the Himalayan region.

Philippines’ healing traditions used at the spa include the Hilot (a healing massage based on ancient Filipino folk medicine), Dagdagay (a traditional foot massage using bamboo sticks) and Philippine-inspired exclusive treatments such as Hayahay (from a Southern Philippine province term meaning “rejuvenating sea breeze”), a scrub-wrap-hilot treatment, and Cacang Wrap with Gugo Hair Treatment.

Events

The hotel is frequently used for national and international events, such as The National Book Awards and exclusive fashion shows by designers such as Francis Libiran.

It is also used as an informal gathering point for leading journalists, business executives, corporate communications professionals etc., for get-togethers like the Tuesday Club, in which the members have invited special guests to share ideas over breakfast for 20 years.

Awards

Edsa Shangri-La, Manila is a frequent winner of awards for excellence in the hotel industry. In 2012 at the Asia CEO Awards it was awarded, collectively with its partner hotels in the Philippines, with the Ford Quality Excellence Company of the Year, for “core values of humility, selfless sincerity and thoughtful courtesy — ingrained in the concept of being part of a family.” The same year it was recognised Conde Nast Traveler magazine’s annual Readers Choice Awards, and in 2013 it received a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, recognising the best in the hospitality industry. It is currently listed as one of Lonely Planet's "Best places to stay in Manila."

Edsa Shangri-La, Manila has received the following awards from 2009-2013

Embrace: Care for People Project

Edsa Shangri-La, Manila is involved in many projects aimed at improving the environment and the local community. Under the umbrella of “sustainability”, the hotel’s social responsibility program focuses on the element of embrace. “Embrace” focuses on Shangri-La’s Care for People Project, which aims to promote education and health support in underprivileged communities.

For its “Embrace” project, Edsa Shangri-La, Manila operates a day care centre and primary school in Barangay Mauway, Mandaluyong City called Isla de Cocomo. The hotel built the centre in 1996 in association with the Mandaluyong City Department of Social Welfare, who are in charge of running the school. Edsa Shangri-La, Manila is responsible for the school classrooms and general upkeep.

In March 2013 the hotel held a “Children’s Parade of Lights” in coordination with the annual celebration of Earth Hour held worldwide. 100 children from Isla de Cocomo joined the event in the hotel lobby to pull down a “Big Switch,” turning off the hotel lights for one hour from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.