In the late 1950s, Makati town, or at least the Ayala portion of it, was still open land filling up with upper middle and upper class suburban houses. A few buildings were already up on Ayala Avenue but most people did the suburban commute to central Manila (Binondo) where the major financial institutions and commercial buildings were located.
The growth of Makati in the 1960s was spurred by the successive transfer of almost all major banks, the relocation of many foreign embassies and the emergence of a modern commercial retail center that was to be anchored by a world-class hotel. This hotel was a key factor in attracting businesses and the Ayala company had its sights on it since the late ’50s.
The original plan was made public as early as 1958 with an artist’s illustration showing a slab of medium-rise hotel building set on spacious grounds. The hotel was to be named Rizal International Hotel. It was fashionable then to use the national hero’s name in the run-up to his birth centennial in 1961. That original plan was never constructed and the name went instead to a theater that was built – the Rizal Theater.
Segue five years later and the project was revived. More businesses were transferring to Makati and facilities were needed to support the businessmen and business guests from overseas. Enrique Zobel, then head of the Ayala development conglomerate that oversaw the physical transformation of Makati, declared, "This hotel will provide and important addition to the self-sufficiency of the Makati area… and contribute to its commercial growth."
The Intercontinental Hotels Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pan American World Airways, was roped into the venture. The hotel group was egged on by what they saw in Makati and in the success of earlier hotel ventures in Manila, the Delgados’ Hilton and the Lopez’s Sheraton (now the Hyatt).
The most prominent young architect at that time was commissioned to design the hotel. Leandro Locsin, later named National Artist for Architecture, had designed the Sheraton on Dewey Blvd. and was already the veteran of three commercial buildings on Ayala Ave. Kenneth Earl Smith of Houston Texas designed the interiors using Philippine materials following a trend set at the Hilton and most probably at the insistence of Locsin himself.
The 14-storey, 427-room Hotel Intercontinental Manila cost $8 million to build. Antolin M. Oreta, the famous builder of the Manila Hilton and Philamlife buildings, got the job to construct the complex. By April 1969, the spanking new hotel was inaugurated.
The hotel took a while to catch on. It was the first large world-class hotel on Manila’s fringe (except for the much smaller Sulo Hotel in Quezon City). The usual route for tourists then was by Dewey Blvd. But its proximity to the airport was hyped and eventually the rooms were filled.
The hotel was advertised as being "eight minutes away from the airport… 20 minutes away from the heart of the city and right in the heart of Makati Commercial Center." Much was made too of its appointments. The hotel interiors were to evoke "different eras in history," as well as references to other world cities where the Intercontinental chain was present. Much fuss then was made of the fact that the whole hotel was "fully carpeted" and "fully air-conditioned."
A tour of the hotel as it was in 1969 was clearly described in a magazine report: "The Hotel Intercontinental Manila’s sprawling lobby, fully carpeted as are the rest of the 14 floors, greets the hotel guests. To the right is the Jeepney Coffee Shop with real Sarao jeeps (sans wheels and motors) for booths. Rattan strips wound into big balls serve as lamps. Then there is the Prince Albert Rotisserie, which is done in Victorian velvet. Its heavy and dark elegance makes it a conversation piece. Also in the first floor is the Boulevardier Cocktail Lounge, which is a mini-tour of France. Posters line the walls and pillars while small round tables under canopies stand behind short black fences… and the waitresses are dressed as cancan dancers…"
The hotel’s landscape architecture was also top of the line. Commissioned was landscape architect IP Santos (whose much-awaited book on his 40 years of landscape architecture is being launched at Powerbooks, Greenbelt on Sept. 3.) He designed the swimming pool, gardens and surrounding landscape areas. The swimming pool had an elevator right in the middle that ferried models for fashion shows.
The grand ballroom was one of the biggest at the time, accommodating up to 900 guests. The function rooms surrounding it were named after the surrounding villages – Dasmariñas, Forbes, Bel-Air. These villages, the Antipolo hills, Laguna de Bay, as well as the skyline of distant central Manila and its famous sunset were clearly seen in the pollution-free 1960s from the hotel’s 14th floor. On clear days, guests could even make out Corregidor!
On that floor were the Sky Club (the floor was the highest in elevation in all metropolitan Manila at the time), and the very popular El Castellano Rooftop Bar and Supper Club. The Sky Club was decorated in hip aquamarine, while El Castellano was done in old Spanish style.
I first patronized the hotel as a young Makati working stiff in the late ’70s. Le Boulevardier was sometimes a spot that senior colleagues of mine would retire to after a long day’s work. I tagged along. Later I discovered Where Else and finally the Jeepney Coffee Shop. I never got to try any of the rooms or eat at the plush restaurants upstairs. My 1970s salary of P900 a month could not support such a lifestyle.
Thirty years later, I joined the gym downstairs and regularly had snacks at the Jeepney Coffee Shop. Sadly, the Sarao jeepneys are gone. I don’t go to the gym anymore but the Intercon is still a landmark. But it is now a part of a larger mixed-use complex that is the Ayala Center. High-rise serviced apartments and condominiums now surround it yet it still stands elegantly apart with its (now fashionable again) modernist façade.
The hotel did play a key role in central Makati’s physical growth and development. If it were rebuilt today it would be called the Hotel Intercontinental Makati. The original ’60s décor would be in vogue again and I would book the Sarao jeepney booths for all my business breakfasts! Happy (belated) 35th anniversary, Intercon!
Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at citysensephil