SMIC to open Conrad Hotel Manila

MANILA, Philippines - A unit of mall and banking conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) is bringing the first Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand to the Philippines.

This marks the entry of another global hotel chain in the country,  boosting efforts to develop more tourism facilities as it tries to attract more tourists.

SMIC said its subsidiary SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. signed an agreement with Hilton Worldwide to manage Conrad Manila.

The eight-story, 350-room Conrad Manila, which will start operations in mid-2015, is the first Conrad Hotels & Resorts branded property in the Philippines.

It will be located beside SM Mall of Asia, the fourth largest shopping mall in the world that attracts close to 200,000 visitors daily. The new hotel is also near the SMX Convention Center and  The Arena stadium.

“Conrad Manila will represent a destination for a new generation of smart luxury travelers for whom life, business and pleasure seamlessly intersect,” said John T.A. Vanderslice, global head of luxury and lifestyle brands for Hilton Worldwide.

For Martin Rinck, president of Hilton Worldwide in Asia Pacific, the deal “illustrates our continued commitment to expand our footprint in the Philippines and is a significant milestone for us as it marks the entry of our luxury brand, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, into this dynamic city.”

To date, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide’s global luxury brand, has more than 20 branches worldwide.

Rinck said Manila is a strategic location given that it is the primary gateway to tourist  destinations in the Philippines.

Conrad Manila is three kilometers from Ninoy Aquino International Airport that handled more than 31.5 million passengers last year and six kilometers from the Makati central business district.

“Given Conrad Manila’s excellent accessibility to and from all areas of Manila, we are confident that it will deliver best-in-class service to capitalize on strong demand from both domestic and international business and leisure travellers,” said SM Hotels president Elizabeth Sy.

Conrad Manila will incorporate two levels of retail and entertainment facilities on ground level. It will offer a unique view of the famed Manila Bay sunset, restaurants, a business center, a fitness club, a swimming pool, a spa, and a 1,446-square-meter ballroom.

To date, SM Hotels’ portfolio is composed of Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu, Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay City, Pico Sands Hotel in Batangas and Park Inn by Radisson hotel in Davao City.

Brands of Hilton Worldwide, for its part, are comprised of more than 3,900 hotels and timeshare properties, with 650,000 rooms in 90 countries and territories.

The Department of Tourism targets to attract 10 million foreign tourists by 2016 while encouraging investments in hotels and tourism-related infrastructure.