It’s hard not to crack a smile at all the staff manning the fort at the wee hours of Saturday, with their enthusiasm that was outright contagious. With their right hand over their left chest, they bid us good night as we called it a day and retired to our room.
Tired and sleepy that I was, I knew that our weekend was off to a great start.
Discover hospitality
The 18-storey Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown brings to Cebu that unmistakable Filipino brand of hospitality that will easily leave a lasting good impression on its guests as it did on us. Couple that with well-appointed rooms that are fully equipped with essential amenities, an impeccable customer service, unique offerings, and a twist on your favorite Filipino dishes courtesy of its young executive chef, and you have a destination that, in itself, is well worth your itinerary.
“Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown is a business type of hotel where we want our guests to have both comfort and luxury within a relaxing space. But beyond this cozy vibe is our unique brand of hospitality that makes us stand out. The service you will get from us is the highest possible service you can imagine,” she said in an interview.
“If you noticed, we have these gestures when you come in—right hand over the left chest. For us, it’s about discovery and experience: you experience our service, you experience the township, you experience Mactan. But you just don’t leave it here, we want you to bring us with you close to your heart, even after your stay here at the Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown has ended. That’s our goal,” Bartolome explained. “We want to be the primary choice of hotel in Mactan. That is why we have made it a goal to deliver beyond our guests’ expectations through our brand of service, and I believe, this is one of those things that sets us differently.”
Choice offerings
With its 547 spacious guest rooms and suites, the P1.7-billion Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown is reportedly the biggest hotel in Mactan Island in terms of room inventory, and the second largest for the entire Cebu province. While this is Megaworld’s first hotel in Cebu—located inside The Mactan Newtown, a 30-hectare township being developed by the property giant—it is already the third under the homegrown Savoy brand.
For instance, an easy way to unwind is to take a short walk to the beach which is a mere 900 meters from the Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown. Here you get to laze around, sink your toes in the warm sand, enjoy some fresh air, soak in some much needed sunshine and, if you’re the more active and sporty type, engage in water activities like snorkeling in nearby islands, taking the jet ski for a spin, or braving the bumpy ride aboard a banana boat.
While the beach is yet to be fully developed, we were told that Megaworld is also investing P1.5 billion to put up the Mactan Newtown Beach Walk, which will offer a fresh mall concept to complement the beach lifestyle experience in this township. The mall will reportedly have a gross floor area of 30,000 sqm and will feature a 1.4-hectare man-made lagoon, which could host water sports activities upon its completion in the future.
Should you decide to stay in the hotel, you can enjoy its amenities including a swimming pool, a paved sunbathing lounge, a fitness center, and a flower garden.
However, if you’re looking for more adventures outside The Mactan Newtown township, the hotel’s concierge will happily arrange your tour for you.
“We have a one-stop-shop in our concierge. If you want to find a tour, we have it for you. If you want to rebook your flight, we can also do it for you. We have partnered with travel agencies in Cebu because some tourists just come to Cebu without any plans yet. We want to go beyond your expectations so we made sure that everything you need will be here, or at least we have partners whom we can tap for such services. We want to have the solutions for you,” Bartolome said.
This personalized touch of service, according to Bartolome, makes Savoy Hotel a clear standout.
Satisfying the palate
Of course, a trip to Cebu won’t be complete without immersing yourself in its incredibly rich dining scene and Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown, surely, won’t leave you wanting.
Within Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown alone are five food and beverage (F&B) outlets namely the Savoy Café for breakfast and all-day dining (literally 24/7); Lobby Café for coffee and pastries; Zabana Bar at the lobby area for cocktails and drinks; the Pool Bar at the third level; and the Patio, an outdoor dining area located at the second level.
We had the privilege of being treated to a uniquely pleasant gustatory experience —from a formal type of dining as we did for our lunch on Saturday, to a more relaxed setting as our Coachella-themed dinner that same day.
Our young executive chef whipped up some mouthwatering dishes that perfectly hit the spot. Among my favorites were the Crispy Chicken Halang Halang Salad, which is crispy chicken, pickled papaya, lettuce, potato crisps and adobo coconut dressing all neatly plated; Blue Crab with Coconut and Herbed Pumpkin Puree; and Spanish Style Roasted and Seared Pork Belly—all a mouthful, both literally and figuratively.
As it is, I’m already looking forward to my next visit as I plan to try out some intriguing dishes, particularly the Chicharon Crusted Squid Relleno. Even our welcome treats had a unique twist too: a sampler of corned danggit chips, dried mango chimichurri, danggit confit, and a homemade mango chutney
Should you fancy the traditional, authentic Cebu fare, you can walk to the Mactan Alfresco, a Singaporean hawker style of dining destination where you’ll find homegrown restaurants, while a few of your well loved fast food houses can also be found within The Mactan Newtown.
Indeed, our two days here —with its packed itinerary and a chockfull of activities to enjoy—proved to be too short to fully savor what Savoy Hotel, The Mactan Newtown, Mactan Island and the rest of Cebu have to offer. And Bartolome was right: that personalized touch fondly lingers in one’s memory, making you want to stay even longer and dive into more adventures that’ll surely be one for the books.