20-story hotel first purposely-built Holiday Inn in PH

NATIONAL Artist Abdulmari Imao’s painting and sculpture at Katrtini Asia’s Art Exhibit

The Makati skyline is ever-changing, with new building developments and commercial establishments sprouting up. The newest hotel on the block is the Holiday Inn & Suite that was officially launched last week.

Located at the heart of the Ayala Center and with direct access to Glorietta Mall, the 20-story hotel is the first purposely-built Holiday Inn in the Philippines. With an energetic and contemporary vibe, it appeals to corporate and leisure travelers alike.

The Holiday Inn & Suites welcomed corporate partners, friends from the media and executives from other IHG hotels all around the Asia-Pacific region last week, blessed with wonderful, cool June weather. Ayala Corp.’s Jaime Zobel de Ayala, IHG’s Shantha de Silva and Holiday Inn’s GM Christian Pirodon were on hand to greet all the guests as they arrived.

Variety of rooms

HOLIDAY Inn and Suites Makati

The Holiday Inn has a simple mantra—to make the basic hotel stay done excellently. In this regard, the Holiday Inn & Suites Makati offers a variety of rooms to suit every guest, including generous 48-square-meter Junior Suites, large 63-sq-m Executive Suites and even a 93-sq-m Makati Suite. All rooms feature thoughtful touches, such as chocolate eggs and character-themed juices inside the mini bar and activity kits for children.

The Executive Suites are perfect for families. Each has a separate bunk bed area for two children, as well as a king-size bed for the parents. It has a spacious living room with two LED TVs and a kitchenette with induction cooker and sink. The hotel’s Makati Suite boasts two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchenette.

Doing business in and around the hotel points to peace of mind. Even the hotel’s function rooms have safety deposit boxes and keycard access, making it a safe and ideal venue for meetings.

FLAVORS Restaurant

Dining spots

The top of the Holiday Inn has the Oz Bar, the only skybar in the heart of Makati City. Guests enjoyed the views of the city from the bar, with its excellent drinks and bar chow right beside the swimming pool. Elsewhere in the hotel, there are two other dining spots—the Flavors Restaurant and the Citron Lobby Bar.

Flavors is an all-day dining restaurant on the fourth floor. True to its name, the menu offers five flavors: spicy, sweet, creamy, fresh and savory. On the same floor, the Citron Lobby Bar offers a menu based on one’s blood type.

POOL

Holiday Inn & Suites Makati has all the important techie must-haves from free high-speed Internet access and a media panel for handheld gadgets in all rooms to a 40-inch LED TV.  Each of the hotel’s 348 rooms has pleasant work spaces fitted with ergonomic furniture.

Ongoing art exhibit

DELUXE room

In another hotel just a few meters away from Holiday Inn, Dusit Thani Manila Hotel has an ongoing art exhibition called “In Celebration of Asian Art,” presented by Kartini Asia. Log on to www.kartiniasia.com for details.

The art exhibit, which runs until July 7, pays tribute to the immense talent of world-renowned Filipino artists in creating compositions that are truly Asian in spirit.

The exhibition showcases a collection of masterpieces in paintings and sculpture by National Artist Abdulmari Imao, National Artist Jose Joya, Tony Mahilum, Manuel Baldemor, Norma Belleza, Larry Memije, Mayie Delgado and a collaboration of paintings by Vietnamese Truong Tuan Kiet.

Abdulmari Asia Imao is the first and only Muslim to be honored as National Artist of the Philippines. Kartini Asia applauds and supports Imao’s passion for sharing his talent and resources to talented Filipinos in poor and indigenous communities.

The exhibit also celebrates the poetic vision of artist Mayie Delgado’s photography. Judging from his work, Delgado is no doubt a photographer with a painter’s eye and artist sensibility. His series of works on “reflections” gleam not only with vibrant mirror images but startle with multiplicity of light directions, lending his works with the pleasurable complexity of abstract images.

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