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Pampered To The Max
One weekend as friends and I were coming back from Tagaytay, I told them about a place that looked very interesting that I happened to notice across NAIA 3.So we decided to drop by and take a look at it. The whole complex is set-up by two conglomerates, Genting Hong Kong, and Alliance Global, together creating Treveller's International Hotel Group And under this group is a whole slew of other companies that include Star Cruises and Mega World. The whole 7.8 hectare area is really a multi purpose complex that includes three hotels- from 6 star to budget, a condominium complex, a mall, four cinemas, a church, the Star Cruises offices, a promenade, and one of the biggest casinos this country has seen. And with confusion of all the signs one sees, the complex's real name is Resorts World Manila. The only other Resorts World is in Sentosa Singapore. My assignment was to stay overnight in its premier 6-star hotel, "Maxims Hotel," and experience, as the name suggests, luxury taken to the max. Resorts World Manila, as it should be formally called, has adopted the adage "The Best Place to PLAY," with an emphasis on PLAY. So lets recount my experience with these four letters, P,L,A, and Y. P-ersonalized Upon entering Maxims Hotel, one immediately realizes the lack of a front desk. Immediately one is greeted by the sight of two tables with the sign "Butler Service." With the lack of a front desk and a concierge, one is almost obliged to approach these desks, where upon personal service starts immediately. Apparently, a corresponding number of butlers are assigned to the guest/floor, depending on the suite where one is billeted. Upon confirmation of our stay, we were immediately whisked to our rooms. I found it a little uneasy at first because I wasn't used to all the attention the butler was devoting to me and my photographer. The check-in procedure was a breeze. It was done inside the room, while seated on the writing desk, signing on all the forms that have been prepared for me by my OWN butler no less! No more standing in front of the counter, no more messing with ones luggage while signing forms, it was leisurely unhurried and unharriedly done. After "checking-in" the butler gave us a rundown of the amenities and other services the hotel had to offer. One of them is a device they call Guest Media Hub, the first in the Philippines. It looks like a small T.V. on top of the writing desk with icons that tell you what you're being connected with. Again in the middle of the screen is an icon of the butler who was becoming ubiquitous at this point. There really is no stopping this butler service. So much unlike other hotels, where one is left to one's devices after the room boy has left, Maxims makes sure that one feels there is an actual person who will cater to your every need. L-uxury If you want to talk about luxury, Maxims makes sure that its facilities come second to none. Lets start with their rooms. All rooms are suites. The least one will get is one with a mini dinette set and with a butler at one's beck and call (he/she does not stay in the room, but can be accessed though the Guest Media Hub.) This is called the Maxim Suite. Then there is the Maxim deluxe Suite, the Signature Suite, The executive Suite, the Ambassador, the Villas, and Finally the Presidential Suite. Then there are the Villas. First of all there are only three villas available all throughout the hotel. Its front door opens up to the hotel swimming pool but once the front doors close, one can actually forget that one is in a hotel. (No exaggeration but while touring the hotel, after a short time, I thought I was in Singapore!) The Villas are houses within themselves, complete with their own lap pools structured like an infinity pool with their own mosaic flooring. And if it does not have its own lawn, one can laze around in the verandah that overlooks the Villamor Golf Course. How how's that for a backyard?! Oh, and the lap pool ends with a jacuzzi! Need I say more? The Signature Suite has it own generous patio with an equally generous jacuzzi. (It looked like it could fit a whole family) The jacuzzi area is covered with teak floor in order to keep guests from slipping or stepping on a cold surface after being in the water. Chaise lounges and strewn about making it a most inviting area to relax. It has its own kitchenette but why waste energy when the butler can do, make, or get anything and everything at your beck and call. Now luxury does not begin nor end at the suites, the shops of Maxims are a testament to the concept of extreme luxe. Imagine Vaccherone Constantine, Bally and Bulgari all in one corner…and that's just a sampling of the stores that will soon make Maxims Hotel their home. I don't think I can say it any better. A-stonishing What do I feel is astonishing—the food of course. Maxims has seven outlets, not counting the adjacent Newport Mall, that can offer more alternatives when it comes to dining. But before I get to the outlets outside the hotel, let me just say that luxury seems to stop when it comes to the prices in the hotel restaurants. It was really surprising that with the quality and taste food they serve and the quantity it comes in, I will vouch that you will get your money's worth. It was funny because towards the end of our stay, I was asked by the P.R. Manager Archie Nicasio, which of the food outlet or dishes I like most. And up to this time, I still have not decided which stands out in my mind-or should I say palette? Not that nothing stands out – on the contrary, everything was simply outstanding. However, I couldn't stop gushing about having feta cheese with blue berry muffins for breakfast at the Maxim's Dining. I can still taste the salty-creamy feta with the sweet flavorful taste of the blue berry muffins. To quote the cliché, I must has died and gone to heaven. As for the Cantonese Restaurant, Passion, between the Hot Prawn Salad, Sweet and Sour Pork and Kung Pao Chicken... I still have to decide on an answer. For those boys night out, Maxims Hotel offers a different bar experience. In Bar 360, one can watch and international cast of acrobats ala Cirque de Soleil, or watch show bands, or as luck would have it, an HFM show performing on a circular stage 6 ft. above the ground. I was told the bartenders also have their own "show" as well. Not to be outdone are its Japanese/Korean Resturant -Ginzadon, the waiting lounge Café Au Lait at the lobby, Noodle Works, and the ever so popular Mercado, a buffet style restaurant with Filipino cuisine as its specialty. The seafood pasta in olive oil was simply to die for. And for dessert, I had the queso flavored ice cream, it was just magnificent. All these outlets attest to the certainty that gone are the days when hotel food meant bland tasteless servings. Maxims has made sure that every single bite of their food is as flavorful, and as tasty we Asians are used to. I guess even they have gotten use to it given that their Head Chef Herbertus Kramer is German. Y-ahoo Now a days, its no longer a surprise if one's "environment" is "wired or connected." But Maxims has taken interconnectivity to a new level. While it might be commonplace to have hotel rooms to have ports that will connect your laptop to the rest of the world, you wont even need to bring your laptop nor your iPod to the hotel. Their flat screen T.V. is a laptop in and of itself. With a few clicks of their remote control, one can access in house movies, music, cable, internet, and everything else in between on the flat screen. Which brings me the other Y, which is Yawn. Because of all the alternatives that one can do while in the room, or in bed, leaving the room becomes an option. Everything can be done and can be carried out in the room, on your bed in you own time. And if you feel like yawning, go right ahead, it seems Maxims was designed to get you all relaxed to the point of stupor, a good one though. Through all these luxurious environment, it will be a crime if I don't share with you a 1st of its kind in cinema experience-Ultra1. Ultra 1 is their cinema built for couples. It has a series of enclosures built for two, with every seat reclining. Unlimited pop corn and drinks and with a touch of the call button a butler arrives for your every need. Unfortunately, being with our photographer wasn't the most conducive of situations, so we decided on the next best thing, a 3D movie, which was next door. Now what could be more luxurious than that? Indeed FUN=LUXURY when it comes to Maxims Hotel in Resorts World Manila. My greatest elation however, comes from the fact that such a lavish complex was built by an international conglomerate despite the Philippines sometimes undeserved notoriety. And if they can be as optimistic about the Philippines, we have no excuse to think otherwise. |
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