Shoppers’ hotel to rise in Tutuban

Publicly listed Prime Orion Philippines Inc. is opening next month a three-star hotel that will help transform the Tutuban Center area in Manila into a Hong Kong-style night market haven for tourists.

Anna Ting, hotel sales and marketing manager of Orion Hotel, said in an interview that the 41-room, three-star hotel has been completed at the Prime Block, one wing of the Tutuban Center, with an initial investment of P41 million.

The hotel will cater to businessmen, traders and  tourists. Prime Orion group wants to attract these people with night market activities, specially toward Christmas and New Year. Night markets give the surrounding areas of Tutuban Center, which is being operated by Prime Orion unit Tutuban Properties Inc., a festive at     mosphere with nearly 24-hour shopping around the holidays.

“Tourists can go shopping up to 3 a.m. with a nearby and convenient place to stay at a nice hotel. It would be as if they are in Hong Kong,” Ting said. The hotel at the Prime Block of Tutuban Center is connected to the main mall through two entrances. There is also a drop-off spot for those coming and going by car at the A. Rivera Street side.

Conversion of the Prime Block into a hotel started around April. It is expected to be fully operating within the month.

“The hotel was designed with a sort of Zen atmosphere. There is casual dining downstairs and function rooms for events. We can also host exhibitions,” Ting said. Another area for diners would be developed by early 2013, she said.

Prime Orion has been refurbishing and repositioning its Tutuban property to cater to more leisure and tourist activities instead of the traditional mall amenities such as movies, supermarkets and shopping stalls. Tutuban Center, for instance, has replaced its cinemas with a “virtual zoo” that features 3D animal art.

The company has renewed its lease with the Philippine National Railways (PNR) for another 25 years. The next 25-year lease begins in 2014, giving the company until 2039 to transform the Tutuban complex. The PNR train station where Tutuban Center is located is an historical site.

Other new establishments around the Tutuban Center were set to open around 2015 or later, Prime Orion assistant vice president Ernie M. Hilario Jr. said.