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WHEN the
Italian Andrea Mastellone assumed the post of general
manager of Traders Hotel Manila, he steered the
once-staid establishment by the famed Manila Bay into a
highly appealing place for leisure and business
travelers.
“Anything he touches turns into gold,” enthuses Lourdes
Arrieta, the hotel’s communications manager. “Even the
lowest income-generating outlet turns in a profit.”
Since
Mastellone took the helm last year, the hotel has
“rescued” the Miss Earth 2006 candidates from being
homeless, converted the Lobby Lounge into a cozier
drinking bar, made the Traders Club floor classier, and
transformed the lobby into a more inviting area.
“Being
at Traders is a very good experience for me. I’m amazed
at the commitment of the hotel staff to look after the
customers,” says Mastellone, a seasoned hotelier. “They
smile with sincerity, not the usual, stereotypical hotel
smile. In the Philippines the smile is sincere and
original, and the customers can feel that.”
In his
continuing effort to make the Shangri-La-managed hotel
shed its stodgy image, Mastellone commissioned Kaye
Tagle, a fresh interior-design talent, to totally rework
Traders Café and create a new one, to be called
Latitude.
Why such
drastic change to a familiar dining destination?
“Traders Café is an old, matured name. We want to
change. Latitude is the launching pad. It will
revitalize the dining concept in the minds of the old
clients, as well as to attract new customers,” explains
Mastellone, who has a master’s degree in hospitality
management from the Libera Università Internazionale
degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli, more popularly known
simply as LUISS University, in Rome, and a Swiss High
Diploma in hotel management from the International
College of Hotel Management.
Latitude, like the maritime term that inspired it, will
provide the hotel with a geographic identity among
travelers. When one thinks of the restaurant, he will
immediately think that its location is at Traders Hotel,
in close proximity to cultural citadels, SM Mall of
Asia, the airport and the seaport.
Taking
its cue from Parallel 14, the latitude where the
Philippines is, the restaurant will offer an
international menu from countries that share our
location, such as Mexico, Guatemala, India, Thailand,
Cambodia and Laos, among others. The beverages will also
be derived from these nations.
“With
the opening of Latitude in early August, Traders now
offers a complete experience for our customers,
“Mastellone says. “It goes from aperitif at the Lobby
Lounge, dinner at Latitude, then coffee at the
coffee.com café.”
It’s
heartwarming to witness how a foreigner’s face lights up
when he expresses his pride about his Filipino staff.
“The people here are very hospitality-oriented. They are
happy and easy-going. Most especially, their hospitality
is in the heart. They make the customers feel something
that they have never felt anywhere else.
“And the
beauty of the country is spectacular. It’s second to
none,” continues the Sorrento-born Mastellone, who still
goes to the Alps to ski and wishes to one day scale
Mount Apo. “Manila is so vibrant and exciting. It’s the
perfect tourist destination.”
Mastellone hopes, too, that when in
Manila,
visitors would stay at the strategic Traders. “The
success of the hotel is not only because of the manager
but because of the staff. We offer value for money,
which is the real scope of our brand; the excellent
quality of our accommodations and services but not at
the inflated rates [of the more expensive hotels].”
Then
there is its latest come-on, Latitude. “I am 120-percent
positive that this restaurant will succeed. We don’t
have any option,” Mastellone, ever the master optimist,
says. |
