I FIND that, when travelling, one of the greatest conveniences is to be able to stay in a hotel that directly connects to a shopping mall. My first taste of such a travelling convenience was ages ago when my dad and I joined my aunt, uncle and cousin on a trip to Taiwan and stayed at the Asiaworld Hotel, which had a department store and supermarket right beside it. I felt the same “high” when I got to stay at Swissotel The Stamford in Singapore during a fam tour because the mall, complete with a supermarket, was right beside it.
It’s the same kind of convenience that Holiday Inn & Suites Makati affords its guests because it has risen right beside Glorietta in Ayala Center, Makati, and has direct access to it.
Holiday Inn & Suites was the third and final stop in the two-day, three-hotel Holiday Inn Experiential Tour that my husband Raff and I had the privilege of being a part of recently. From a hearty breakfast at Holiday Inn Manila Galleria in the Ortigas Business District, the group, composed of media people proceeded to Holiday Inn Clark at Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Pampanga, where we stayed overnight and enjoyed the food at its two dining outlets, and then headed back to Manila and straight to Holiday Inn & Suites Makati for lunch at Flavors Restaurant, its all-day dining restaurant.
Holiday Inn & Suites, the newest among Holiday Inn properties in the Philippines, is conveniently located at the Glorietta shopping complex in Makati City, which is just 20 minutes away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), 10 minutes away from posh Bonifacio Global City, and only a short walk away from the Makati Central Business District. The 20-storey hotel has a total of 348 guest rooms and suites with generous spaces including a comfortable work space, connecting rooms and two-bedroom suite options. Each room is equipped with both wired and wireless Internet access, 40-inch LED TV, IDD/NDD telephone, and thoughtful touches such as child-friendly options inside the mini bar and activity kits for children.
The hotel has nine function rooms that offer flexible configurations for various conference, meeting and event needs. Guests may also choose to stay in the Executive Club floors, which gives them access to the Executive Club Lounge and its privileges, including express check-in and check-out, complimentary breakfast, high tea and cocktails plus a breathtaking view of the city.
Food is never a problem at Holiday Inn & Suites Makati. Not only are restaurants, coffee shops, dessert places and fast-foods conveniently located in Glorietta mall and the nearby Greenbelt mall. The hotel itself is mighty proud of its Flavors Restaurant, which offers buffet dining from breakfast to dinner.
During the recent Holiday Inn Experiential Tour, we headed straight for Flavors Restaurant for lunch from our trip from Holiday Inn Clark. Well, we didn’t exactly have lunch at Flavors Restaurant, because it had been booked on that day for a special function. Holiday Inn management, with director of communications Teri Flores making the arrangements for us, had prepared a special buffet lunch in one of the function rooms near the restaurant.
We had our own buffet set-up, with appetizers including Apple, Celery and Walnut Salad, Tofu and Beansprouts Salad, and Shrimp Papaya Salad with Lime and Cilantro.
For the main course, the chafing dishes offered Nasi Goreng, Stir-fried Beef in Black Peppercorn Sauce, Corned Beef Hash Stuffed Baked Tomatoes, Peanut Butter French Toast, and Fritto Misto with Pickled Aioli.
Dessert came in the form of Tropical Fruit Granola Parfait and assorted cakes and pastries. There was also a choice of cakes in glass jars, which could be “dressed up” with different crumb toppings. I picked a Red Velvet Cake in a jar and sprinkled the top generously with Oreo crumbs. Aside from Flavors Restaurant, Holiday Inn & Suites Makati also has other dining facilities, including Citron lobby lounge and bar and the ultra-trendy Oz Bar located at the hotel’s roof deck.
Holiday Inn & Suites Makati completes the triumvirate of Holiday Inn hotel properties in the Philippines, and all three uphold the global brand objective of providing today’s business and leisure travelers dependability, friendly service and modern facilities at a good value for money. Lunch at the hotel also completed the two-day, three-property Holiday Inn Experiential Tour, which succeeded in giving members of media a good, well-rounded experience of what Holiday Inn’s brand of hospitality is all about – and I happen to like it.
(Holiday Inn & Suites Makati is located at Glorietta 1, Palm Drive, Ayala Ave., Ayala Center, Makati City; with telephone number 909-0888.)
