‘London calling’

The annual media appreciation party of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts in the Philippines was recently held at Makati Shangri-La’s Rizal Ballroom. This year’s spy theme was dubbed “The London Calling” with guests coming as their favorite spy characters.

Working on a theme that centered on espionage, particularly the James Bond series, renowned event stylist Jo Claravall decked the ballroom in stark black and white like a tuxedo, inspired by the elite agent’s choice of wardrobe. A bar in the middle of the ballroom, courtesy of Moët Hennessy, was the focal point throughout the evening. Served that night were cocktail drinks reflecting the theme, including inspirations from James Bond, Mission Impossible’s Ethan Hunt, Austin Powers and Sherlock Holmes. Makati Shangri-La’s area executive chef Paul Lenz created different culinary stations inspired by the locations in the recent James Bond movie, Skyfall.

Guests had their fill from the different culinary stations such as the Paris station with breads and nine different types of European cheeses; the Hashima Island station that served authentic Japanese dishes and a range of sushi and sashimi selections; the London station served roast rib prime beef, baked potato and Yorkshire Pudding; the Shanghai station served Shanghainese noodles; the Istanbul station had Turkish shawarma; and the Venice station served asparagus risotto and pasta ravioli. For the desserts, Makati Shangri-La’s executive pastry chef Romain Renard prepared a whole table of saccharine creations from his new pastry collection at the Monaco station.

The event was hosted by Eri Neeman, coupled with live entertainment from The Executives band. The general managers of each Shangri-La hotel in the Philippines started off the program with a surprise entrance while they were dressed as iconic spy characters. Makati Shangri-La’s area manager/general manager Reto Klauser came as James Bond, EDSA Shangri-La’s general manager Patrick Schaub as Mission Impossible’s Ethan Hunt, Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa’s general manager Amit Oberoi as Sherlock Holmes and Traders Hotel, Manila’s general manager Gordon Aeria as Austin Powers.

A number of prizes were raffled off, starting with dining and room accommodations, courtesy of the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts in EDSA, Makati, Boracay and Mactan, and Traders Hotel Manila. Major prizes included complimentary stays at Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Traders Hotels and Kerry Hotels in key Asian cities such as Bangkok in Thailand; Beijing and Shanghai in China; Hong Kong; Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Penang and Putrajaya in Malaysia; Jakarta and Surabaya in Indonesia; Singapore; Dubai; and Muscat in Oman.

The evening culminated with the announcement of the grand prizes — a two-night stay with buffet breakfast for two at Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard in London, with two Business Class round-trip tickets, compliments of Philippine Airlines. The country’s flag carrier recently launched direct Manila-London flights to be inaugurated next month. To cap the program, a surprise draw was held for a three-night stay at Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri in Abu Dhabi with Premium Economy round-trip tickets, also courtesy of Philippine Airlines.

The event’s major sponsors also included Fedrigoni and Mini Cooper.

(Visit www.shangri-la.com/Makati.)

All systems go for Flight 001

Flight 001 (called “flight one”), the world’s premier travel store, opened its third and biggest store at the East Wing of Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong City as part of its aggressive rollout plan in Asia. The world’s only travel lifestyle brand is an all-inclusive retail experience that addresses every travel need with style and comfort. The name was inspired by Pan-Am Flight 1, the world’s first round-the-world flight. 

Co-founder of Flight 001 John Sencion said,  “Flight 001 is quickly becoming a global brand, which is a vision Brad John and I have had for the company from the start. And we are particularly excited and passionate about our latest expansion in the Philippines.”

In line with Flight 001’s existing locations, the interior of the new store is designed to model the look and feel of 747 Jet fuselage. Complete with curved walls, wood paneling and a retro-modern ticket counter, the store is reminiscent of the glamorous jet-set era of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

This one-stop travel store was conceived in 1998 aboard Air France Flight 023 somewhere between New York and Paris. John Sencion and Brad John, two business travelers who had spent far too much time preparing for their trip, envisioned a travel store as streamlined as the flight itself. Luckily for travelers of every kind, their mid-air detour resulted in a jetsetter’s dream: an all inclusive, retro-modern retail experience that satisfies the frequent traveler’s every need.

Along with the concept stores, Flight 001 has its own brand of highly functional travel products. The Spacepak packing system maximizes cabin-size luggage space by compressing the air out of two weeks’ worth of clothes. On the other hand, the Go Clean collection helps keep you organized with versatile mix-and-match bags that range from laundry to shoes, beachwear to gym gear.

Be sure to check out the Flight 001 store at the East Wing of Shangri-La Plaza Mall. There are many more innovative travel solutions in store for you.

(Visit www.facebook.com/Flight001Ph or www.flight001.com.)

A celebration of health & charity

Celebrity cager Chris Tiu held an outreach activity for health, youth and sports development to help celebrate the success of one of the country’s leading pharmaceutical companies. Tiu and the volunteers from his Charis Foundation trooped to Nueve de Febrero Elementary School in Mandaluyong City. Together with top executives and staff of Pharex, the country’s most prescribed uni-branded generics medicine, they organized a medical mission, basketball clinic and leadership seminars.

“I am proud to lead this first major activity for my newly founded Charis Foundation, which focuses on youth development, integral service, scholarships and grants and media and research,” said Tiu.

Pharex, led by president and CEO Tomas Marcelo Agana III and vice president for sales and marketing Timmie Guillermo, provided free medicines and deployed volunteer doctors and staff members to help conduct the activity. Most of the attendees from nearby areas sought relief from cough, colds and other respiratory illnesses, as well as lifestyle diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.

Tiu also facilitated a basketball clinic for around 40 Grades 5 and 6 pupils of the school, while Charis Foundation volunteers, led by executive director Oliver Tuazon, conducted leadership seminars for students and teachers.

Guillermo added, “As a company committed to improving Filipinos’ access to healthcare, Pharex is very honored to be part of this community outreach activity. We see it as a most fitting way to celebrate our 25th year of delivering affordable and high-quality medicines.”