Midas' Touch

This edifice is perhaps one of the few remaining buildings on Roxas Boulevard (like the iconic San Juan de Dios Hospital) that has kept its original façade and structure — a pyramid with a flat, rather than a pointed, top. Once known as the Hyatt Regency, it was where I had my Junior prom.

I so loved walking into its lobby and passing by its floor-to-ceiling glass windows, which were beside a man-made waterfall, on my way to the popular Tempura Misono, where the lovable late Albert Seeland reigned, or to the coffee shop overlooking the pool. I remember listening to music at the Kalesa Bar and dancing at the Circuit disco as I watched lighted ships go by on Manila Bay.

The Hyatt Regency (originally the Savoy) was inaugurated in 1967 and became one of the most prestigious addresses in the country. It closed down in 2006, like an aging movie queen gone to pasture. An icon to a generation, a virtual unknown to another.

It made an unequivocal comeback in December 2010 as the Midas Hotel, under new management, and a totally new look. Its new name — Midas — evokes good fortune.

And perhaps the Midas’ touch is going to turn many dining and rooming experiences in the hotel into golden moments — golden like the famed Manila Bay sunset on the hotel’s doorstep every day.

We were welcomed recently into the hotel by Miguel Cerqueda, head of Genesis Hotels and Resorts, the firm that manages Midas and its sister hotels, and the hotel’s new GM Angel Kanapi, the former executive assistant manager of the Hotel InterContinental. Over a sumptuous international buffet at the Midas café, Cerqueda, the former GM of the Manila Hotel, told us that Midas will not only have an exclusive women’s floor, it will also have the first non-smoking casino (run by Pagcor) in the country. Of course, for gaming enthusiasts who smoke, there will still be smoking floors with a special exhaust system.

The special attention to detail is part of Midas’ touch. With 227 rooms and suites, Midas will inaugurate its exclusive women’s floor this September (in time for the Miss World Philippines beauty pageant). For the women’s floor (the 8th floor), there will only be female attendants, butlers and room service waiters. Kanapi is also arranging for female engineers to attend to maintenance-related concerns that the lady guests might have — like a busted light bulb or a leaking faucet. The all-women’s floor is a clamor from women travellers, more and more of whom go on business trips these days. Some are just particular that the facilities they use have been previously used — and occupied — only by women.

Midas has the world-class feel of a five-star hotel and the intimacy of a boutique hotel. There seems to be attendants ready to guide you to where you’re going the minute you walk into the lobby — as if they knew your name and were expecting you. This, of course, made me feel like a VIP.

I also like the modern interiors of the hotel — Hermes orange is the accent color at the lobby. The deluxe floors have hand-painted images on their walls, so what you have are murals instead of framed paintings. The murals are light and easy on the eye, with lots of refreshing green leaves (banana leaves and gabi leaves — the latter a special request by the Bicolano owner Elizaldy Co) amid a backdrop of cream. There are also birdcages hand-painted on the walls and wooden birdcages hanging from certain panels for that unique Oriental touch.

“The Midas’ touch,” explained Kanapi, “is subdued elegance surrounded by comfort, luxury and personalized service by a warm and friendly staff.”

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I mentioned to Kanapi that since the Midas was very near a hospital, that he could capture the bantay market. I remember that when my late father was operated on at the USC in Los Angeles, my mother and sisters and I were billeted at a nearby hotel that had a shuttle service to USC. Apparently, non-LA residents who had kin confined at the USC had great need for an affordable and comfortable hotel near the hospital.

Kanapi said that indeed, Midas has had long-staying balikbayan guests who had relatives confined at the nearby San Juan de Dios Hospital. They would just walk to the hospital and walk back at night for a restful sleep. And then maybe just cross over to the Mall of Asia for some shopping in between their bantay shifts.

Kanapi says the hotel’s structure is in good shape despite years of not being operational because its former owners had the foresight to retain the building’s engineers. The result? A well-maintained, presentable building with more than just a touch of class — truly Midas’ touch.

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