By Margarita Medrano-Tupaz
CHOOSING the right hotel is always a trying task, especially with all the available promotions, deals and programs out there. It can be quite overwhelming when most hotels have web sites full of captivating photos and inviting captions. How can you tell if a hotel will live up to its own hype? A personal indicator for me is how well-received and patronized it is by the locals and the number of repeat guests.
Operating since 2003, The Bellevue Manila is the premier business and leisure venue south of Metro Manila. The hotel now houses 456 rooms with modern communications equipment and exceptional banquet facilities. It started operations in 2003, when the Main Wing opened. In 2005 the Grand Ballroom (a two-story structure with an 800-person maximum capacity with Oriental motif, sculptures, artwork and elegant colors of black lacquer, silver leaf and gold are complemented by the special design and onion-inspired pendant lighting) was inaugurated. In 2009 Tower Wing provided leverage for the hotel with its Asian-inspired design mixed with postmodern interiors, which evoked a sense of beauty and timelessness.
Guests can also delight in the array of dining options at Bellevue Manila. Café D’ Asie features an array of international favorites and is best known for its breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet services. Hatsune serves authentic Japanese cuisine. Vue Bar is a restaurant and bar that is better known as a party destination in Alabang that offers an almost 360-degree panoramic view of the city skyline. The Pastry Corner makes fresh homemade cakes, breads, pastries, sandwiches and other merienda favorites. My family’s absolute favorite is the Phoenix Court, which serves authentic Chinese food. This huge restaurant is frequented by locals coming from all parts of Metro Manila. Regardless of the traffic situation, this restaurant is always packed. The hotel also has its own wellness facilities—the Azurea Spa, Options Studio, state-of-the-art gym and beauty salon, which ultimately brings to reality the vision of ultimate comfort and convenience.
Each of the hotel’s deluxe and suite room has been meticulously designed to cater to the needs of the most discerning business or leisure traveler. The hotel’s amenities and dining facilities have also been carefully planned to ensure that the needs of the guests are satisfied. As if all those were not enough, the hotel has launched Signature Club, an exclusive lounge available for those guests who want more perks during their stay. Conceptualized as a hotel within a hotel, Signature Club aims to redefine the standards of executive accommodations. Beyond the lounge, guests can enjoy their stay at The Bellevue Signature Club rooms. And as one can expect from The Bellevue, the Signature Club floors has exceptionally well-appointed rooms that evoke modern elegance at its best. The immaculate bathrooms are equally as spacious, complimented with the luxurious bath and beauty products from Italian prestige brand Acca Kappa.
All told, The Bellevue Manila inspires an overwhelming sense of classic elegance that only finds equal in the superior level of hotel service that is both personal and gratifying. Guests often comment most favorably about the hotel’s polite, helpful and competent staff. As a result, guests return to The Bellevue. And many do return to experience The Bellevue’s pampering all over.
The B Hotels
An outstanding hotel can make all the difference, particularly to business travelers. They need a hotel that will accommodate the demands of their work away from their offices, so a brilliant hotel is as important as a flawless laptop or a productive office staff. But beyond offering long distance telephone services, and high-speed Internet access, the best business hotel is one that understands exactly what travelers need from the minute they step in the door.
Thankfully, B Hotels, a subsidiary of Bellevue, located in Alabang, Muntinlupa and in Quezon City, have taken the guesswork out when looking for value-for-money accommodations for business travelers. The brand is creating a steady fan base of satisfied guests for its impeccable brand of personalized service. With a distinguished reputation for providing the ultimate in personal attention and services, B Hotel redefines the business-hotel category by seamlessly combining form with function, high technology with subtlety, and urbane elegance with unmatched efficiency. “A business hotel is no longer just for travelers conducting business. It is also for pleasure,” said Ryan Chan, managing director of B Hotels. “A great business hotel should go beyond the basics. We believe that pampering is the new business amenity,” he added.
Beyond just offering convenient locations in both the northern and the southern areas of Metro Manila, the B Hotels have restaurants, state-of-the-art facilities and modern amenities that make them compelling choices among frequent flyers and business jetsetters. The guest rooms are bright and cozy, with super-sized windows and beds that are just heavenly. The uncluttered floor layout and the subtle décor are designed to maximize tranquility. Meticulously decorated with simple yet elegant fabrics, furnishings and amenities, each room welcomes its guests with unrivaled grace. With their sleek design, the spacious rooms feature flatscreen TVs, and complimentary high-speed wireless Internet access to keep busy travelers connected.
Yet, what truly sets the B Hotel brand apart is its personalized service, which speaks of the hotel’s eagerness to create experiences, not merely to play host. Chan said the hotels achieve a level of incomparable personal care, because of its well-trained staff, which is backed by an innate understanding of a busy traveler’s needs. “Our expert staff members dedicate themselves tirelessly to the wishes of each of our guests,” he said.
Credit goes to Chan’s fast-forward thinking and approval of the architectural and interior-design proposal of multiawarded architect Edward Co Tan for the hotels. The main concept behind the B Hotel in Quezon City was based on “Brutalism,” a profound movement in architecture—a modernist style prominent from the 1950s through the 1970s. Monolithic, geometric sometimes jarring, blocky in appearance, fortress-like—these mostly describe this concrete-based style of architectural design. The Cultural Center of the Philippines and the the Philippine International Convention Center, both designed by the late National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin, are perfect examples. Essentially, brutalist architecture is a no-nonsense style—plain, no mystery, no romanticism. At B Hotel Quezon City, one will get to see walls of fair-faced concrete, cogwheels at the elevator lobby, and signage made of raw black iron sheets with allen bolts. Modern furniture, the use of wood and glass complements, carpets of striking colors and patterns, and red-painted walls, however, add a touch of warmth and buoyancy. B Hotel Alabang is distinctly inviting compared to other business hotels in the area. With its understated, modernist aesthetic appeal, it creates an inviting feel for guests to lounge around and relax with coworkers and friends. Each of the guest rooms is bright and cozy, with super-sized windows and beds that are just heavenly. The uncluttered floor layout and the subtle décor are designed to maximize tranquillity. Meticulously decorated with simple yet elegant fabrics, sleek designs, furnishings and amenities, each spacious room welcomes its guests with unrivaled grace.
The measure of an outstanding hotel experience dwells not only in the appreciation of its outward beauty, but in its brand of personalized service. The distinct focus that the B Hotels give toward superior guest experience and satisfaction is the new business amenity.