I have always wondered what “savoy” really means ever since I worked for the Hyatt Regency Manila along Roxas Boulevard (now the Midas Hotel), which used to be the Savoy Hotel and eventually closed down to give way to the hotel chain I worked for. This was around four decades ago. Now that Savoy Hotel Manila opened, I finally decided to take a closer look at the word’s meaning.
Initially, I was stunned to find out that the word meant a kind of cabbage, a wrinkly one at that, but digging deeper into its etymology, I found out that Savoy was the name of a noble family from a kingdom in the southeast France near the border of Italy. The name, after all, is associated with nobility and royalty.
With this knowledge in mind, I was ready to discover the new Savoy Hotel Manila, one of the new hotels that recently mushroomed in Newport City, and I hasten to add—this discovery was filled with pleasant surprises.
First of all, with its 684 beautifully designed rooms, spread over 11 floors, with suites as big as 50 square meters, it is now the largest hotel in the country. Large enough for me to complete my targeted fitness regimen of 5,000 steps daily—when I did my ocular of the entire property in the pleasant company of the hotel’s hardworking and efficient Concierge Manager, Charles Brown.
This hotel really surprised me because I didn’t even know it was under construction in that corner of Newport City. It opened its doors to the public June of last year and its owner, Megaworld, has announced that this will be one of three Savoy properties in the country—one has already opened in Boracay and another one is now being built in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu.
Another interesting and unique feature Savoy Hotel Manila has is its “The Squares,” found on every even-numbered floor. This is a lounge right outside the guest rooms, stretching along the entire length of the floor, where guests can entertain visitors and order some snacks in the Food and Beverage counter right next to it. Hotel guests can also use this lounge for themselves when they want to work or just watch TV and don’t want the feeling of being cooped up in their rooms all the time.
The hotel’s location is definitely a big plus for repeat travelers. It is right next to Runway Manila Bridge, an air-conditioned walkway connecting to NAIA’s Terminal 3, making it very easy for hotel guests to be on time for their flights without having to tackle the metro’s traffic woes.
Cebu Pacific passengers may even check-in for their flight at the Travelers Lounge in the nearby Newport Mall, which can easily be reached by hotel guests through the continuously available air-conditioned shuttle.
And, more importantly, the service I got from the Rooms Division staff and from the Food and Beverage team was exemplary, not only because a lot of them were my former students. Even with those that were not, I could easily feel their sincerity in doing what they can to give me a comfortably enjoyable stay and a most memorable experience, be it in the lobby, or in the restaurant, or even in the shuttle service. I’m happy to say that this hotel’s brand of Filipino hospitality is impeccable!
Lest I forget, their guest rooms are so well designed that any weary traveler would immediately feel relaxed once he/she gets inside any of them. I had the Runway Suite which, of course, overlooks the NAIA runway. It is functionally designed so that, working on my laptop on the study table facing the wall made it easy for me to focus on what I was doing, as such layout prevented me from being distracted.
The panoramic window is beside the living area and the bed, giving me a choice of whether to watch TV or gaze at the calming view of airplanes taxiing in and out of the airport tarmac on their way from/to the runway.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend and the pleasant surprises I had at the hotel, thanks to Rey Fabricante, Savoy’s area director of operations, who made sure my weekend would be well spent. With such flawless service and impressive facilities, no wonder the hotel won last year’s Tripzilla Award for Best New Hotel In The Philippines. I’m glad I had the wonderful opportunity to savor Savoy Hotel Manila. Am planning my next staycation there soon.
For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com.
YOUR weekend CHUCKLE
I was at a wedding reception when the DJ announced, “All the married men out there, go and stand by the person who makes your life worth living.” The bartender was crushed to death!