Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila

The Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila is a luxury hotel in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines under the Sofitel hotel chain of AccorHotels.

Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
Hotel logo
The hotel in March 2019, as seen aboard a ferry in Manila Bay
General information
StatusComplete
LocationCultural Center of the Philippines Complex, Bay City, Pasay, Philippines
Coordinates14°33′11.2″N 120°58′49.6″E
Opening1976
ManagementWestin Hotel Company (former)
AccorHotels (since 2007)
Design and construction
ArchitectLeandro Locsin
Architecture firmLeandro V. Locsin & Partners
Other information
Number of rooms609
Number of suites46
Website
www.sofitelmanila.com

History

Construction and opening

The Sofitel Philippine Plaza, was originally built as the Philippine Plaza, one of several hotels rushed into construction at the behest of Imelda Marcos for the 1976 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Manila during the administration of her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos.[1] The hotel was designed by Leandro Locsin of Leandro V. Locsin & Partners, who would be named a National Artist of the Philippines for architecture.[2]

Management and renovation history

The hotel was managed under the Westin brand until the management contract with Starwood hotels ended in 2005. The Westin Hotel Company made renovations on the hotel in 1994 and July 1995.[3] In 2006, the hotel signed a new management contract with AccorHotels.

The following year, after extensive renovation works worth millions of pesos, the hotel was rebranded as Sofitel Philippine Plaza.[4]

Features

In 1994, before the AccorHotels group took over ownership from Westin, the hotel hosted 670 guest rooms.[3] In 2016, it hosted 609 rooms and 46 suites.[5]

The hotel hosts the Grand Plaza Ballroom which can accommodate between 1,000-1,400 people. For smaller functions, the ballroom can be divided into three smaller ballrooms that are given names of the country's three major island groupings: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The ballroom underwent a major renovation in 2014. Some of the ballroom's features designed by Locsin have been kept, most notably the Murano crystal chandeliers, which have been a fixture of all the rooms since the hotel's opening. The hotel management partnered with A. Ilustre and Associates for the renovation, while the architect firm in turn consulted architect Raul R. Locsin who works for the original firm behind the hotel.[2]

References
  1. de Jesus, Sandra (25 June 1987). "Philippine Plaza Hotel could be yours for ₱1B". Manila Standard. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  2. Vergara, Alex (19 November 2014). "Hotel by the bay gets a $5-million facelift–without losing that Locsin touch". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  3. Gagelonia, Gynna (17 June 1995). "A major makeover ups bay area hotel's ante in the tourism game". Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  4. "Deluxe hotel to get a new name". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 5 February 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  5. "Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila". Sofitel. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.