The Manila Hotel is a 570-room, historic five-star hotel located along Manila Bay in Manila, Philippines. The hotel is the oldest premiere hotel in the Philippines built in 1909 to rival Malacañang Palace, the official residence of the President of the Philippines and was opened on the commemoration of American Independence on July 4, 1912. The hotel complex was built on a reclaimed area of 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft) at the northwestern end of Rizal Park along Bonifacio Drive. Its penthouse served as the residence of General Douglas MacArthur during his tenure as the Military Advisor of the Philippine Commonwealth from 1935 to 1941.
The hotel contains the offices of several foreign news organizations, including The New York Times. It has hosted numerous world historical persons and celebrities including authors Ernest Hemingway and James A. Michener; actors Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and John Wayne; publisher Henry Luce; entertainers Sammy Davis, Jr., Michael Jackson and The Beatles; U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden, and other world leaders.
The hotel tower built in 1977, surpassed the Philippine Plaza Hotel (now Sofitel Philippine Plaza) in Pasay City. It remained the tallest hotel tower in Manila Bay area.
History
When the United States took over the Philippine Islands from the Spanish in 1898 after the Spanish-American War, President William McKinley began Americanizing the former Spanish colony. In 1900 he appointed William Howard Taft to head the Philippine Commission to evaluate the needs of the new territory. Taft, who later became the Philippines' first civilian Governor-General, decided that Manila, the capital, should be a planned town. He hired as his architect and city planner Daniel Hudson Burnham, who had built Union Station and the post office in Washington. In Manila, Mr. Burnham had in mind a long wide, tree-lined boulevard along the bay, beginning at a park area dominated by a magnificent hotel. To execute Burnham's plans, Taft hired William E. Parsons, a New York architect, who envisioned an impressive, comfortable hotel along the lines of a California mission but grander. The original design was an H-shaped plan that focused on well-ventilated rooms on two wings, providing grand vistas of the harbor, the Luneta, and Intramuros. The top floor was, in fact, a large viewing deck that was used for various functions, including watching the American navy steam into the harbor.
First renovation
During the start of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935, President Manuel Quezon hired Paris-trained Filipino architect Andres Luna de San Pedro, son of painter Juan Luna, to take charge of the renovations of the Manila Hotel. The hotel would serve as the residence of General Douglas MacArthur when he became the Military Advisor of the Commonwealth. Luna converted the hotel's top floor into an elegant penthouse and expanded the west wing northward – creating the air-conditioned annex - and designed some key public rooms like the Fiesta Pavilion, then the biggest function room of the hotel. The hotel was the site of festivities during the inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth government in November, 1935.
World War II
During World War II, the hotel was occupied by Japanese troops, and the Japanese flag was flown above the walls for the entirety of the war. During the Battle for the Liberation of Manila, the hotel was set on fire by the Japanese. The shell of the building survived the blaze and the structure was later reconstructed.
Under Martial law
During the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, in accordance with Presidential Decree no. 645, the old Manila Hotel Company was liquidated and the government took over its ownership. The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) was given the mandate to form a new subsidiary corporation that would restore, renovate, and expand the Manila Hotel. In the following two decades, Mr. Marcos's wife, Imelda, could frequently be seen at the hotel restaurants. During her visits, a red carpet and garlands were put out and the air was sprayed with deodorant. Under Imelda's patronage, the hotel reaped international recognition and awards. It was the place to go and be seen during the martial law years.
1975 renovation
The hotel was remodeled in 1975 and expanded to 570 rooms with the addition of the high-rise hotel building behind the original five-story structure. The renovations were headed by National Artists for Architecture Leandro Locsin and Ildefonso Santos with Patricia Keller, partner in the international interior design firm of Dale Keller & Associates. Guest amenities were updated including executive services, language translation, a business library and color television and closed circuit movies. The hotel’s spartan interiors in simplified Mission style gave way to more lavish furnishings. Inauguration and formal reopening ceremonies of the Manila Hotel was held on October 6, 1977.
Transfer of ownership
Around 1995, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) called a bidding to sell the property. The tender went to a Malaysian firm, the Renong Berhad and ITT-Sheraton combine over Emilio Yap, a Chinese Filipino billionaire tycoon and owner of the Manila Bulletin, the country's largest newspaper by circulation. Yap went to the Supreme Court of the Philippines and won by matching Rehong's bid and citing the Constitution's Filipino First policy in the ownership of a 'national patrimony'. Fifty one percent of the ownership was awarded to Yap's Manila Prince Hotel Corporation (MPHC), while new owners joined on April 25, 1997 as 49 percent shareholder. Yap signed a check for ₱673.2 million and the MPHC took over the property on May 7, 1997. One of the first things Yap did was to pull down the three brass chandeliers in the lobby, upon recommendation of a feng shui expert, and replace them with five.
Centennial
In 2008, the Manila Hotel underwent a series of renovations in time for its centennial celebration in 2012. All of the hotel’s rooms were refurbished and renovated and equipped with modern facilities and amenities. The rooms windows were enlarged. The hotel also opened a Health Club next to the Manila Hotel Health Spa.
On January 17, 2008 the Manila Hotel Tent City, located west of the original structure was opened. The performance/conference hall could accommodate 2,500 guests for wedding receptions, anniversaries, conventions, and exhibitions. Its high ceilings allow even the most complex of venue set-ups and design. The Tent became the center stage when the hotel celebrated its 100th anniversary with a Centennial Ball on July 4, 2012 with President Benigno Aquino III as the guest-of-honor.
Political events
Through the years, Manila Hotel have been the scene of historic events in the country. The Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1970 was held at the Fiesta Pavilion of the hotel on November 10. The convention attended by 320 delegates was called to change the Philippine Constitution that has been in existence since the start of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935.
The political party of Ferdinand Marcos held its convention at the Manila Hotel before the February 1986 presidential election and Corazon C. Aquino delivered a speech at the hotel that was a turning point in her presidential campaign. Marcos's rule ended in February 1986 after the 1986 EDSA Revolution.
On July 6, 1986, a group of military officers loyal to deposed President Marcos took over the Manila Hotel and declared Arturo Tolentino, who was Marcos's vice presidential running mate, as president. However, the coup did not last long, they surrendered two days later.
The hotel received international attention in 1999 when Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady, celebrated her 70th birthday in this hotel. More than 1,000 of Manila's elite turned up in the event.
Features:
Lobby
Measuring 125 feet (38 m) long by 25 feet (7.6 m) wide, the lobby is lined with white Doric columns. The floor is Philippine marble; the chandeliers are made of brass, crystal and seashells; the furniture is carved out of Philippine mahogany, which is used throughout the hotel.
Suites
The three-bedroom MacArthur Suite was the residence of Gen. MacArthur while living in the country. The suite is located at the 5th floor of the original structure.
The Penthouse, the most expensive suite with its private swimming pool on the 18th floor, has a view of Manila Bay, Rizal Park and the 16th-century Spanish walled city of Intramuros opposite the hotel. Like the Presidential Suite, the penthouse is decorated with rare paintings, Asian antiques and Filipino crafts. Th MacArthur, Presidential and Penthouse Suites provide 24-hour butler service.
Facilities and services
The hotel's guest facilities and other services include limousine and luxury car rental, a helipad on the roof deck, airport transfer and transport assistance, medical clinic, a Business Center with Internet access, 24-hour full menu room service and concierge, laundry service, a delicatessen, a hair salon and souvenir shops.
Recreation
The Manila Hotel Spa is located by the bay offering massages and other therapies. Guests could use the outdoor pool and the Health Club.
Restaurants
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Manila Hotel Through the Years
The Manila Hotel which opened in 1912 and extensively remodeled in the 1970s, is a Philippine landmark, home to high society and often a scene of historic events.
1898- Judge William howard Taft issued of the first decrees of the Second Philippine Commission to create an urban plan for Manila. Architect and the city planner Daniel Hudson Burnham drafted a wide and long tree-lined boulevard that would begin at the park and at the spit's end of the bay, a boulevard that would be dominated on one end by a hotel.
1908- William Parsons was appointed to continue where Burnham left off. He supervised the design and construction of Manila Hotel and was completed four years later. Soon, a magnificent, white, green-tile-roofed California Missionary-styled edifice emerged housing 149 spacious ang high- ceiling rooms. Since then, it is a hotel that commands the best westward view of Manila's fabled sunset, the fortress of Corregidor, the poignant ruins of the medieval fortress that was Intramuros, and the palm-lined promenades of Luneta Park.
July 4, 1912- On the commemoration date of the American Independence, Manila Hotel was inaugurated and officially opened. With the hotel garbed in full regalia, four hundred handsomely groomed and elegantly attired guests were ushered in for a dinner of American roast, Philippine lobster, and French Champagne.
1912 to 1935- Manila Hotel was visited by some of the most prominent and notable personalities.
1935 to 1941- Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon invited General Douglas MacArthur to build the Philippine army in 1935, Gen MacArthur responded to the request of his long confidant and sailed back to the Philippines. During his tenure as the Military advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines, Gen. MacArthur, his wife Jean and son Arthur made Manila Hotel their home.
Quick fact: To handle the cost of MacArthur's suite, he was given the honorary title of "General Manager". He attended the monthly meetings. He, however, ignored the figurehead status and instead took control of hotel management. MacArthur's favorite food at the hotel was lapu-lapu, a grouper fish native to the Philippines, wrapped in banana leaves.
1941 December- Manila Hotel became the command post at the onslaught of the Japanese invasion. But MacArthur and his men were unable to hold off the advancing forces and he and his men withdrew to Corregidor.
Quick fact: When World War II broke out, Gen. MacArthur made Manila Hotel his command post. On the height of the war, the Japanese occupied Manila hotel and Gen. MacArthur was forced to leave. On his memoirs, he told of joining the patrol to recapture the hotel from the Jpanese High Command, writing, "I was anxious to rescue as much as I could of my home atop the Manila Hotel".
1942-1945- Japanese flag flew over the hotel during occupation in WWII.
1945- MacArthur returned and was eager to rescue his home atop Manila hotel as it was reported to him that the penthouse was intact. Upon reaching new Luneta however, they were pinned down by machine gunfire coming from the hotel. Suddenly, they saw that the penthouse blazed into flames consuming MacArthur's military library, his souvenirs, and other personal belongings.
1946 July 4- Manila Hotel was graced by the likes of Bob Hope, Marlon Brando, Tyrone Power, Secretary John Foster Dulles, Senator Robert Kennedy, Sir Anthony Eden, Charlton Heston, Burgees Meredith, the Rockefeller brothers, John Wayne, Publisher Henry Luce, Vice President Richard Nixon, President Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson, and notable personalities.
1966 July 4- The Beatles stayed at the Manila Hotel
1966 October- Manila Hotel's Fiesta Pavilion was the venue for the ASEAN Summit Meeting. Six leaders discussed the worsening situation in war-torn Vietnam.
1970- Philippine Constitutional Convention was held at the Fiesta Pavilion which was led by the political party of Marcos. Among the 320 delegates were the former Presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Carlos Garcia.
1974 January- In accordance to Presidential Decree 645, the old Manila Hotel Company was liquidated and GSIS was given the mandate to form a new subsidiary corporation which will restore, renovate, and expand the Manila Hotel.
1976- The Manila Hotel was remodeled.
1977 October 6- Inauguration and formal reopening ceremonies of Manila Hotel.
1970s-1980s- In the last two decades, Imelda Marcos could be frequently seen at the Hotel. when she visited restaurants, a red carpet ang garlands were put out and the air was sprayed with deodorant.
1986 July 6- A group of military ofiicers loyal to the deposed President Marcos, takes over the Manila Hotel and declared Arturo Tolentino, who was Mr. Marcos's vice presidential running mate, as President. They surrendered two days later.
1987 October 20- Cory Aquino delivered a speech at the Hotel that became the turning point in her campaign.
1988 December 7-11 - The 19th General Assembly of the World Veterans Federation was held at the Hotel. Distinguished personalities who attended the event were then Secretary of National Defense Fidel V. Ramos; Mr. W. W. Ch. J. M. Van Lanschot, President of the World Veterans Federation; Col. Emmanuel V. De Ocampo, President of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines and Chairman of Hosting Committee; Gen. Ernesto Gidaya, Administrator of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office.
1995- Supreme Court blocked a takeover bid by a Malaysian company using "Philippine First Policy". Fifty one percent of the ownership was awarded to Manila Prince Corporation.
1997 April 25- New owners joined as 49 percent shareholder.
1998- Their Majesties King Juan Carlos de Bourbon and Queen Sofia of Spain were in the Philippines for an official visit.
1999- His Serene Highness Crowne Prince Albert of Monaco was in the Philippines for an official visit.
2000- Visit of Norodom Ranariddh, Prince of Cambodia, and Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan.
2001- Visit of Indonesia President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
2002- Visit of Romania President Ion Iliescu.
2004- Visit of His Excellency Dr. Saleh Abdullah Bin, President of Saudi Arabia.
2005- Visit of South Korea President Roh Moo-Hyun.
2008- Original members of the legendary American band Earth, Wind and Fire came to Manila for a one night concert at the Philippine International Convention Center.
February 2010- Manila Hotel joined the ranks of the world's hotel elite group and became a member of Prestige Hotels of the World.
November 20, 2010- Former US President Bill Clinton visited the country for a speaking engagement on his insights and views on global issues and concerns. The conference, with the theme Embracing Our Common Humanity Seminar, was held at the Manila Hotel Tent.
March 24, 2011- Irina Bokova, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director General, was in Manila for bilateral meetings with government officials to discuss the participation of the Philippines in UNESCO.
April 14, 2011- Members from the European Union had a luncheon at the Presidential Salon. The annual seminar of the EU discussed, among others, the findings of the evaluation of the EU aid programme with Philippine stakeholders.
May 10, 2011- Bb. Pilipinas 2011 winners led by Bb. Pilipinas Shamcey Supsup had a lucheon at the Champagne Room.
-wikipedia
