A hotel by two national artists

The series of articles a few weeks ago led me to organize all the aerial images I had in my 750-gig external hard disk drive (in preparation for a move to a new one-terabyte machine). Some of the images I found are of the Philippine Plaza Hotel with our famous Manila Bay in the background.

The hotel is a masterpiece by National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin. In fact, the hotel grounds, resort pool, and gardens were designed by another National Artist, Ildefonso P Santos. The hotel is one of those classic collaborations between the two famed designers that have stood the test of time and continue to delight visitors and guests.

My family and I were guests recently as we spent a summer weekend at the facility. The hotel is now run by the famed Sofitel company, the French group that has done a fantastic job in upgrading the rooms and facilities, as well as keeping the architecture of Lindy Locsin and the landscape of IP Santos fairly intact and true to the original well-served intent.

This intent was clearly summarized in Nicholas Polites seminal 1977 book on Locsin’s architecture. He said, “The Philippine Plaza reaches out toward the sea on the shore of the (then) recently reclaimed land that cuts dramatically into Manila Bay. The hotel is so oriented as to give its…rooms a singular view of the bay or Metro Manila itself, and of the gentle curve of Roxas Boulevard. Given its tropical setting, (the hotel) was conceived as a high-quality, modern, informal resort hotel with an atmosphere suggesting the Filipino propensity for celebration.”

Sofitel has maintained this high quality and modernized the hotel in terms of rooms and amenities. For a French twist, a grand spiral staircase was added to serve as the focal point of the large split-level lobby. The aptly named Spiral Restaurant is the site of a daily buffet, reportedly with the widest range of culinary delights in Asia. We went crazy over the Japanese, Indian, European, Filipino, and Chinese fare, the roast beef, and the seafood sections. On Sundays, you can have a champagne brunch buffet!

The restaurant has also been extended outdoors, an addition that is blended well with IP Santos’ original garden and resort pool. The new Sunset Bar is a welcome addition with large all-weather throw pillows spread out in the adjacent knoll at sunset to better enjoy the view and cocktails.

The free-form “lagoon” pool is intact and quite popular with the kids. A children’s playground was recently added to make the hotel even more kid-friendly. An indoor playroom complete with video games, movie screenings, and other programmed and monitored activities are welcome additions. If they get tired of the play, then SM’s Mall of Asia is just minutes away (you can enjoy the mall’s fireworks display from your hotel balcony).

The original Siete Pecados — now 7Pecados — has been enhanced to cater to night owls, and a clientele (like me) who can trace patronage of the place when it first featured artists like Kuh Ledesma, Nonoy Zuñiga, Music and Magic, and the rest of the OPM gang. I also enjoyed them at the hotel’s huge ballroom, which is still a favorite venue for conferences, functions, and shows. Sofitel has added a tent to expand its capacity. Back at the lobby level, you have LeBar, a bistro-lounge-patisserie. There is an extension also via a deck right beside the porte cochere.

One of the most recent enhancements is the hotel’s spa. LeSpa is tucked at the end of one wing. For more active pampering, there’s SoFit, the hotel’s fitness center.

No other hotel in the metropolis can boast 180-degree ocean views, one of the largest tropical pools of any resort, lush tropical gardens, tennis and even golf (try driving floating balls into the bay!). The resort hotel has 690 rooms — all with a view — and four five-star restaurants, over three hectares of gardens and pools, designed by two National Artists, in a singularly magnificent tropical setting.