Home travel Review Then & Now: Staycation at Shangri-La The Fort Manila

Review Then & Now: Staycation at Shangri-La The Fort Manila

Does anyone miss staycation?

Before the pandemic, we’ve been freely enjoying our usual lifestyle and travel here and there, and one of the most important in our itineraries is the hotel that will be our temporary residence during our vacation.

I remember those days when whimsically book an overnight stay without any special reason apart from just wanting to be away from our main residence, just to relax and regain our strength, and away from the need of vacuuming your own carpet floor.

As part of reminiscing those old days, I would like to share with you my personal staycation experience at the posh Shangri-La The Fort Manila back in October 2018.

Although I’ve stayed them once overnight, I’ve but been visiting Shangri-La The Fort Manila for many occasions (since they opened its door back in 2016) thanks for generous invitations from many brands and PR agencies, including press media, bloggers, and influencers (you name it). And during some afternoon tea and coffee with the girls from work.

It was just less than 3-minutes from my work building, and during my stressful days at work, I sometimes spend my break hours just roaming inside the hotel common areas, window shopping at many posh shops on the ground floor, or sometimes just sitting in a vacant lounge, to access their impressive WIFI services just for a few minutes.

Some might find it pathetic, however, I find an amazing Zen and good motivation after I spend my extra hours in this hotel. Each luxury hotels have its signature scent and aroma, and Shangri-La The Fort Manila (similar to Makati Shangri-La) is one of the places with an impressive aroma, very invigorating, I should say.

The Lobby

First impressions last, and that’s why the look of every hotel lobby is very important. Guests can suddenly change their mind about canceling their accommodation due to their bad experience in the reception area or had an amazing, good vibe and the guest decided to upgrade their rooms to suites.

The Shangri-La The Fort has a spacious lobby with high ceilings. And most of the guests couldn’t help to notice the grand crystal drops of the chandelier, and each time I stare at it, the chandelier reminds me of how amazing life is, and there will be more gorgeous things to happen.

The floors and their gorgeous carpet are giving me a good reminder of what should I get for my dream house!

Conference and Meeting Rooms

Most of the time, I visited this hotel for business meetings and conferences. They have at least three huge conference halls that could accommodate more than 60-people, roughly a minimum of Php850 per person/half-day event. All floors are well-carpeted which I always wonder who their carpet supplier is. They have a small reception area as well on this floor and have many comfortable lounges where you can relax.

Aside from its spacious area, and several lounge seats, you will notice some impressive choices of artwork prints and some original works.

This painting is one of the original creations of Anton Mallari, titled ‘Fount’ in oil and acrylic on canvas, circa 2015. This was on display at the conference hall lobby inside Shangri-La The Fort Manila.

Even this common lady’s powder room is too posh! I love how clean and tidy it is.

Not many luxury hotels have this generous walled mirror. After all, women like to see themselves in the mirror and take that gorgeous mirror selfie.

Bedroom - Deluxe Room

After an amazing dinner at the nearby restaurant, spending the alone quiet time is the best idea. I admit that this room captured my heart. The impressive layout and furnishings, fully carpeted floors, with sound-proof and cushioned walls, and a personal sofa so you can enjoy the gorgeous nighttime view of the city, including a personal working desk equipped with impressive WIFI access, telephone, directories, and the hotel’s stationeries.

This amazing king-size bed using 1000-count sheets will definitely give you an amazing dream.

The Bathroom

The bathroom is always an important part of every experience. This room has an impressive bathroom with huge mirrors, a bathtub, several towels with the hotel’s embossed logo, bathrobes, toiletries, and a standard hairdryer

The shower works like therapy, and it feels so good on my back, even relaxing on the bathtub (although my bathtub at home is much bigger than theirs). Note that their toilet seat is modern but has nothing to compare with the electronic toilet seats of Okada Manila.

They are always thoughtful in making sure that toiletries are all boxed up. Keeps it clean and tidy.

I honestly prefer the lemongrass and verbena scent for bath products than jasmine for L’Occitane.

Other room features

This working desk is something you need especially when you need to work while spending your quarantine days at this hotel.

The room is also equipped with a flat-screen television with satellite/cable channels, clothes rack, huge closet, and ironing tools if you needed.

In-room safe box and laptop safe box are included, and this room has a smoke detector and is fully air-conditioned. A mini-fridge is available with stocks of drinks, beers, and sodas, including an electric pot for your coffee and tea.

We were also greeted with welcome treats such as locally made candies, chocolates, and fruits!

Dining at Shangri-La The Fort Manila

During our stay, I haven’t got a chance to experience the breakfast included coz I’m very late for work, yet I heard it was pretty amazing. Probably, I should stay with them once again.

However, I did experience their food catering services on several occasions during many press conferences, and business meetings, and I can say that they did pretty well.

During these events, foods and drinks are always overflowing and making sure that their guests are happy. I also recommend The Shangri-la The Fort catering services to my work colleagues in Deloitte.

Shangri-La The Fort Manila also offers catering services and is delivered to your workplace or home, or any place of your convenience.

RESTAURANTS

If you are staying at Shangri-La The Fort, you can also visit the restaurants available in their building. You can find oriental restaurants such as Wang’s Kitchen (IG: @wangskitchenbgc), Canton Road, seafood restaurant Ministry of Crab (IG: @ministryofcrab), Samba at Home, burger restaurant Raging Bull Burgers (IG: @ragingbullburgers). You can also visit Bake House Manila (IG - @bakehousemnl) for a wide selection of pastries and baked products.

Next to the hotel is the newest mall in BGC with a great view on the 3rd Level. That’s the Shangri-La The Fort hotel in the background overlooking the Kerry Sports gym.

Staycation at Shangri-La The Fort during COVID 2021

As of June 2021, staycations are now back in the Metro and Shangri-La The Fort is one of the in-demand destinations.

If you want to spend your weekend here for staycations and work, here are the things you need to know.

* Staycations are allowed for NCR, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, and Bulacan residents only.

* Guests must also present a government-issued ID with an address in the places mentioned above.

* Only guests between the ages of 18 to 65 years old are allowed, although those outside the age bracket are now allowed to dine in at the hotel’s restaurants.

* Physical distancing must be observed at all times, and the use of face shields and masks are required to enter dining establishments.

* Pregnant guests and those with co-morbidities are not allowed to check-in.

* Guests should present a negative Rapid Antigen Test result taken within 24 hours before checking in or an RT-PCR test was taken within 72 hours before checking in.

* The hotel has an on-site Rapid Antigen Test facility open daily from 8AM to 4PM. The test is available at P1,800 net per person with prior reservations required.

Facilities available:

Restaurants:

Bake House — Open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; indoor and outdoor seating with limited seating capacity (no reservations, first come, first served.)

Raging Bull Burgers — Open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. with outdoor seating for two persons only (no reservations, first come, first served.)

Samba — Open Monday to Friday for breakfast at 7 to 10 a.m., and lunch to dinner at 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Weekend hours are from 7 to 10:30 a.m., and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Raging Bull Chophouse and Bar — closed Monday and Tuesday, open Wednesday to Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m.

The hotel highly encourages making prior reservations at Samba and Raging Bull Chophouse and Bar for both lunch and dinner as there are limited seats available due to the capacity allowed by the local government.

The pool, which is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., is open only for guests who are checked in. Prior reservation is required since the hotel only allows a certain number of people in the pool and guests may only stay at the pool area for one hour.

Room Rates: Deluxe Room — P6,950++ (P8,510.28 net); Deluxe High Street View — P7,450++ (P9,122.53 net); Executive Suite — P11,950++ (P14,632.78 net); Premier Suite – P14,950++ (P18,306.28 net). Room rates are inclusive of set breakfast set for two persons.

Aside from staycation packages, Shangri-La The Fort also offers WFH (work-from-hotel) packages with their function and meeting rooms and co-working hubs.

Verdict:

Overall, my experiences staying with Shangri-La The Fort are memorable ones. Although in the past they had issues with the community, they made their efforts to make things right, and I’m okay with that. When I come back to the Philippines hopefully next year, I would like to stay with them once again and experience the rest of their facilities and enjoy the glory days.

Ratings: 4.5 Stars

Editor’s Note: This is Not Sponsored post.