For Many Ann, the crisp, Zenlike look of the Astoria is very much in keeping with her own business and personal style. The lobby, covered in mottled-black granite and polished steel and chrome, is both magnificent and austere. A single striking driftwood and lily floral arrangement adorns one wall, a geometric Deco staircase snakes up to a private bar on the other. A café, chic in burnt brown and black, is straight out of a Soho streetscape, not surprising since the hotel structures were designed by the San Francisco-based architectural firm Gensler and the interiors by Ivy and Cynthia Almario.
As you glide up in the burnished metal interiors of the elevator to the waiting suites, the mood is one of calm discretion and quiet efficiency, just the ingredients the traveling urbanite most seeks.
If Zen is serene and minimalist yet functional, then the Astoria is pure Zen. Each of the 41 suites is decorated with clean lines and pristine simplicity. Pale pink walls (so pale at first glance they resemble white) surround you immediately into an enveloping cocoon of soothing non-color – overstuffed settees and armchairs, dining room chairs are covered in the same neutral pale tone. The only relief are black wood accents and stunning overstuffed pieces of modern art. In the bedrooms (a master’s size room and a single-bed, room, both with wrap-around views of Laguna Bay to the south and Manila Bay to the north), modern black and white photographs and artful side desks are the only counterpoint to the relentless whites. For the business traveler, it has the comforting feel of returning home and slipping between a set of crisp, freshly laundered bedsheets.
Towering at the Ortigas Center, the Astoria Plaza is just a stone’s throw away from the country’s premier business establishments (San Miguel Corporation, Asia Development Bank), famous entertainment landmarks (Shangri-La Plaza, SM Megamall) and best schools (University of Asia and the Pacific, La-Salle Greenhills).
For Mary Ann, the Astoria reflects the no-nonsense charm and wall-to-wall functionality that modern travel should be all about. "A full-service residential suite hotel like Astoria offers so much more than an ordinary hotel," she smiles. "We have all the perks of a five-star hotel from the swimming pool and fitness center to our own restaurant – Café Astoria. Its sleek interiors are complemented with the restaurant’s selection of Asian, Filipino and continental culinary favorites, ranging from main entrees to salads. The Astoria also provides a kitchen, with cooking ware and dining utensils. Guests can also order take-out if they prefer and even ask our staff to run out and buy them the groceries, if they prefer."
Like Zen, which is both hundreds of years old and still perfectly 21st century, the Astoria prides itself in being both cutting edge yet full of the trimmings of old-fashioned hotel work. A the heart of the hotel is a state-of-the-art software system and the world’s front-runner in fully computerizing hotel operations, Micros-Fidelio. "Thanks to the system, we can now service – and more importantly – anticipate our guests’ different needs, no matter how unusual," she explains.
As the world’s front-runner in fully computerizing hotel operations, Micros-Fidelio is used in more than 70 properties in the Philippines alone, mirroring its success in over 107 countries worldwide. It is also the same company that is behind the breakthrough use of hi-tech software designed to facilitate resorts and restaurants in maintaining the superiority of its products: guest rooms, public areas and guests services.
The Astoria is, says Mary Ann, all about "giving our guests options." They can opt to cook their own dinners, order out, or dine in the hotel café, for example. "We see to it that we established standards that deliver the efficient services and facilities our guest expect," she adds. With Micros-Fidelio, the guesswork in satisfying these options has been eliminated.