Seda Hotels expands footprint

Property giant Ayala Land’s homegrown hotel chain Seda Hotels has unveiled the second tower of its hotel in BGC, the first and the flagship property, which will jack up its room inventory to 521.

Riding on robust demand from business and leisure travelers in BGC where Seda was a pioneer in the hospitality space, the original Seda hotel has been expanded from its original room count of 179 when it opened in 2012.

“Seda BGC was expanded to keep pace with the surging demand for premier accommodations and facilities in the area,” said Andrea Mastellone, senior group general manager and an Italian hotelier who opened the hotel seven years ago.

With the addition of its second tower, Seda BGC now offers a ballroom that can seat 300 and a restaurant, Misto, that can accommodate 220.

The 521-room inventory consists of guest rooms, suites and serviced residences.

Contemporary art pieces by Filipino artists such as Ayala chair emeritus and photographer Jaime Zobel de Ayala and Ann Pamintuan’s familiar art pieces spruce up the property.

Misto—which means “mixed” in Italian and indicates an international selection that can be enjoyed on its daily breakfast and lunch buffets—features a show kitchen plus a private dining room for 10 persons and a semi-private area for up to 30 persons.

“Misto is one of the new building’s highlights,” said Mastellone, who stated that the expanded restaurant can now accommodate six times the original capacity.

The ballroom, on the other hand, can accommodate up to 420 persons, if using a theater-style format. It also offers a spacious prefunction area.

It is divisible into three smaller function rooms. Nearby are four meeting rooms that can accommodate from 12 up to 50 persons. All these have increased the number of function facilities to a total of 11 from the two towers combined.

Mastellone said that some facilities and amenities would soon be transferred from the original to the new tower.

These include the Club Rooms and Club Lounge, Straight Up roof deck bar, the gym and pool.

Seda Hotels now has 10 properties in key capitals of the country, including Bacolod; Cagayan de Oro; Cebu; Davao; Iloilo; Nuvali, Laguna; Makati; Lio, El Nido, Palawan; Quezon City, and BGC, Taguig. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA