Hotel as home away from home

MANILA, Philippines - For over a decade, the Linden Suites has provided more than just hotel accommodations to travelers. Its unique combination of hotel features and home comforts has practically set the standard for others to follow.

As what its chairman Carlos Dominguez tells us, building a service apartment-type of establishment was something new back in the 1990s.

“When we acquired this piece of land where the Linden Suites is standing right now, I noticed there were no service apartments in the country. I had seen some of them in Singapore and thought that a market exists for them,” Dominguez says. The project was intended to be totally different from their other hotel, Marco Polo Davao.

“The idea was to create a home away from home. It was meant to appeal to guests who prefer a quiet home-type environment. No busy lobby, just reasonable rates,” he says.

Thus the Linden Suites was born. Its difference is already apparent once a guest enters the premises. It has none of the fuss of a typical lobby. In its place is an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere. Once the guest gets to his room, the arrangement proves to be homier.

Instead of a cramped room, the suite is noticeably larger than an ordinary hotel’s. The suite is furnished with a microwave oven, a range top, a toaster, and a rice cooker. Since these are available, what should stop the guest from bringing his own ingredients and cooking his own meal?

Room entertainment is never wanting. There is cable TV and a DVD player. One can inquire about available titles from the hotel’s library. The Wi-Fi-compatible rooms are ready for guests in the mood for high-tech gaming.

While a work area in the suite provides the busy executive with his own space, the hotel also has a business center housing workstations with computer and Internet facilities, seven office suites, and meeting rooms.

A couple of years ago, the Linden Suites expanded by connecting an additional building to the existing main structure.

“We expanded because we noticed that, around 2006-2007, the occupancy here has been going up. So we were able to extend our services and open to new markets. So far, everything has worked out right,” Dominguez shares.

It also greatly helps that the Linden Suites boasts of the most professional associates and crew. Its general manager Carl Isaac says, “Ours is a very family-oriented setup. That is the best way to keep the hospitality. When the hotel people are happy, they succeed in translating that to our guests. That is our winning factor.”

Just recently, the hotel staff shared their blessings by sponsoring an orphanage, the Tahanan ng Pagmamahal, where they donated necessities for the less fortunate.

Dominguez adds that their staff members embody the qualities of the hospitality business: personal, personable, and professional.

“Proof of that are the feedbacks we get: how glad the guests were whenever our staff remembers their names, the kinds of pillows they like, what time is most agreeable for them to have their rooms cleaned,” he says.

Isaac mentions that the Linden Suites has an ongoing Perfect Room Program. He explains: “We continuously upgrade and touch up the rooms on a workable schedule. By doing so, we do not have to shut down the hotel just to make improvements. There are times when two rooms are being perked up. That is how our high standard of maintenance works.”

Its location likewise makes it a top choice. It is near business districts and commercial centers. Truly the perfect place for work and play.

Even within the Linden Suites premises, amusement and relaxation are offered at the heated indoor swimming pool, the Jacuzzi, the sauna, the massage parlor, the wellness and skin center, and the gym. Consider, too, the food being offered here.

Dominguez and Isaac chorus that it is the Linden Suites’ ability to roll with the punches that has enabled the establishment to excel and offer outstanding service to its guests. As what they tell us, more than a decade of existence is just the beginning of bigger things ahead.

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The Linden Suites is located at 37 San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For more information, contact (63-2) 638-7878, e-mail at reservations@lindensuites.com or visit its website at http://manila.swiss-belhotel.com/.