Seda: Home away from home

MANILA, Philippines - For football superstars James and Phil Younghusband, relaxing from rigorous training for the national team Azkals means staying in the city. In fact, even when it’s a long weekend James prefers to stay in Bonifacio Global City.

For writer and model Cat Juan, a favorite staycation hotel was discovered because of a bike race that her husband was joining.

What do these three personalities who live different lives and daily routines have in common when it comes to relaxing? A Seda Hotel. 

The Younghusband brothers like hanging out at Seda BGC, which is not too far from where they train in the preseason, and Cat likes to take her family to Seda Nuvali.

“It’s always nice to come here at Seda BGC and one reason is that the staff are so welcoming and they treat you so well,” says James. “I first came here to the bar with some friends to hang out and I really like the rooftop setting, it feels so cozy and homey.”

 “It’s very simple but modern, elegant and classy,” adds Phil. “It is what it is, it’s not too complicated. When you enter, you automatically feel at home, it doesn’t feel strange. It blends in with the area and atmosphere of the environment.”

“I first heard about Seda through my good friend Patty Laurel,” says Cat. “I was looking for a hotel in Nuvali for a weekend in April because my husband Carlo was scheduled to join a bike race in the area and Patty recommended Seda Nuvali. I’m so glad I took her advice.”

“Seda Nuvali went above and beyond their duty to make us feel comfortable the entire time we were there. They even housed Carl’s bike safely before the race and allowed for us to have a late checkout, which was a must as we had our two little ones with us. We also loved how they were conveniently located beside the beautiful Nuvali Evoliving Center, so we took an afternoon stroll, fed the fish, and had a coffee by the trees. We felt like we were back in Sydney.”

Seda Nuvali has since been Cat and her family’s favorite home away from home — just a little over an hour from Makati and yet a world away from the bustle of city life and a working week.

“Our son Fin loved the view of the boats from the room, it kept him super entertained the entire time,” she says. “We also loved the pool and the beautiful sunsets. The sky in Nuvali would just turn this beautiful shade of orange and everyone would be out either biking or jogging. We definitely plan to repeat our stay there soon.

“My favorite travel destinations in the Philippines would be Palawan, Camiguin, and Danjugan Island. Abroad it would be Turkey, Spain, and New Zealand. My favorite travel companions are my husband Carlo, my parents and the rest of my family. I also really enjoy travelling with my girlfriends (Patty Laurel-Filart, Kelly Misa-Fernandes, Nicole Hernandez-de los Angeles, Bianca Santiago-Reinoso and our little families. We call ourselves the ‘Baby Barangay’ because honestly, that’s what it feels like when you put us all together.”

Phil and James, on the other hand, find comfort in Seda BGC’s more familiar grounds and proximity to their home in Sucat. Like this year, instead of going out of town for Holy Week, they opted to staycation at Seda BGC with friends.

“We travel for football all the time and sometimes we just want to spend time with family and friends to relax,” James says. “Our schedule is not normal, it’s not 9 to 5. Football’s always in the evening and my little sister Keri is in school during the day. What I like to do to unwind is to spend time with her and just hang out.”

“We love football but sometimes you need to take your mind away from it so when you come back you have a clearer mind,” says Phil. “For me it’s still doing something active whether it’s playing tennis or going to the gym or having dinner with friends — it’s mentally relaxing.”

The brothers, as everyone knows, grew up in London (Staines-upon-Thames or what David Beckham called “just down the road” during the presscon after the Azkals-Galaxy match in Manila  — “but it’s not really, it’s actually on opposite ends of London,” says Phil.) and used to spend their summer vacation in the Philippines with their Filipina mother and English father.

“We’d come here for four to six weeks and ride the jeepneys and we always wanted to hang out at the back of the jeepney but our mum and dad wouldn’t let us, they were very protective. Now I think we’re too big to do that,” says James with a laugh.

And I’m pretty sure everybody will just give up their seat for them because even in the remotest towns in the country where they conduct football clinics, they are recognized. Kids shout out “Azkals” or “Younghusband” to them, and when they play beach football in places like La Union where they go surfing, they attract a big crowd. And, more importantly, because the Younghusbands have helped to make football a real sport here — in a country that knew and followed only basketball for the longest time — and are helping train the next generation of footballers with the Younghusband Football Academy, which they started at the end of 2009.

Indeed, football fans here are very unlike the typical fans around the world where they get angry at players for losing a game. Every time the Azkals lose a game, everybody is heartbroken instead of angry, and every time they win we just go crazy.

“That’s why I like it here. I really mean it when I say the biggest reason we moved here is that the people are so welcoming, everyone’s very positive and supportive. Football is a long process and win or lose they always support us,” says James.

Phil says that for longer vacations like Christmas, he and James (they were born exactly 11 months apart with James being older) and their younger sister Keri now go to England for vacation. “So it’s reversed now that Manila is home. We visit my dad’s brother and sister, our cousins and friends.”

The Younghusband brothers are so disarmingly humble and articulate talking about their family life and love of football and how they want to develop it in the Philippines. And how grateful they are for the overwhelming support of their fans — even though one or two have been a tad crazy.

The attention is something they both enjoy (“I’d be lying if I say I didn’t,” says Phil) and their popularity — which they both describe as a “combination of tough work and a blessing that we’ve come to embrace” — has also in many ways connected them back to their growing-up years in London, when they were young boys who worshipped David Beckham and spent their bonding time with their father cuddled up to him and watching all sorts of sports on TV, including golf and cricket. They are now doing that with their sister Keri, whom they are jointly raising as both their parents have passed away.

“We grew up idolizing Beckham and Ronaldo and wanted to be like them,” says Phil. “When we were nine and 10 we were copying his hair and everything he was doing in his personal life. Then 15 years later, we happened to play with him on the field in the Azkals vs. LA Galaxy match.”

Now, they’re just like Beckham — inspiring a generation of kids to want to take to the pitch and creating career pathways for them. “It’s an honor and it makes you feel really good inside,” says Phil.

The fans, says James, “are really cool. They give you that extra push when you’re playing football.”

As for their biggest dream, it still has to do with football, to “help develop it in our mother’s country.

James and Phil, Cat and her family — between their crazy schedules — find that the best feeling comes from spending time with their families and friends. And whether it’s at Seda BGC or Seda Nuvali, it’s a place they’ve come to call their home away from home.