Pamper mom for P1.5 M

If you want to give Mom more than roses and a day at the spa, The Peninsula Manila has the perfect Mother’s Day treat.

Mom’s Ultimate Fantasy is an over-the-top pampering package that includes the mandatory champagne, flowers and chocolates, two nights at the fabled Peninsula Suite, an eight-course dinner and champagne breakfast—for two, of course—and shopping sprees at jewelry and designer boutiques, all for the handsome price of P1.5 million.

The Peninsula Manila’s marketing director Rouel Guanzon says this is their way of "spoiling" mothers on their special month. And spoiled Mom certainly will be, when she’s picked up by one of the hotel’s brand new fleet of Mercedes Benz S-class limousines, and welcomed to the hotel with champagne, fruits and cheese, flowers, and chocolates from the Pen Exclusivities boutique.

The Suite itself is a 372-square meter apartment that features a foyer adorned with a gold fresco, a living room, a dining room that seats 12, fully equipped kitchen, a study, solarium, guest room with private bath, and a luxurious master’s bedroom and bath suite with jacuzzi, all around rain shower and a television embedded in the wall. The suite features Tang Dynasty objets d’art and Swarovski chandeliers, and dedicated butler service. At a regular rate of $2,000++ a night, the suite has played host to sheiks and superstars, presidents and billionaires.

It has private access to a helipad, but a helicopter doesn’t come with the room, even for P1.5 million.

Also part of the Mother’s Day package, on offer for the whole month of May, are private shopping sessions at Jul B. Dizon Jewelery at the hotel’s upper lobby, with a P500,000 gift voucher that can get Mom a few fancy blings, and the Louis Vuitton boutique in nearby Greenbelt 4, where the P200,000 voucher can add a couple of handbags and a couple of pairs of shoes to Mom’s wardrobe, with some change left over perhaps for a tie for Dad.

The hotel also throws in an eight-course dinner for two at Old Manila and champagne breakfast in bed the next day, and a salon session at Emphasis with a vanity basket from the La Prairie Caviar Luxe collection.

The Pen’s public relations director Mariano Garchitorena will only admit that there have been "half a dozen or so inquiries" about this super-pampering package but declined to confirm if indeed one lucky mother will experience this extraordinary Mother’s Day gift.

He quickly points out though that the hotel has other Mother’s Day special offers that may cost a lot less, but will nevertheless show mothers how special they are.