As if on cue, people come rushing out with their cameras. They are hoisting themselves out of the swimming pools and drying their hands to use their camera phones; they are coming out of the glass doors from the Waterside Restobar; and those having a drink at the poolside bar, like myself, briefly stand up to join others in front of a low wall.
You would think that someone really famous has just stepped onstage to get everyone’s attention.
It’s not a person, but, yes, it is something famous: the Manila Bay sunset, the subject and inspiration of artists, songwriters, real-estate developers — and of Manila itself — through the ages.
The best place to view this daily occurrence is at Solaire Resort & Casino because if you were any nearer, your feet would get wet.
Not all sunsets in Manila Bay are as spectacular as this one, of course, but not a single one is dull. There is always that time when the colors change and the sun dips into the waters.
This month, Solaire Resort & Casino, a US$1.2-billion luxury resort and casino on an 8.3-hectare site right in front of Manila Bay, is celebrating its second-year anniversary. Owned by Bloomberry Resorts Corporation (BRC), it was the first property to open in the Entertainment City economic development zone.
Solaire has two 17-storey towers with a combined 800 luxury rooms, suites and bayside villas.
The lobbies of both towers are a towering triple or even quadruple-height. They are airy, spacious and quite laid-back even with the obvious luxury appointments.
Bay Tower opened in 2013. Sky Tower opened late last year — 312 suites and villas with additional VIP gaming areas, an exclusive Chinese restaurant and whisky bar for VIP gamers, state-of-the-art meeting rooms, and a theater for concerts and musicals.
It’s what Bloomberry president and CEO calls the tower “that elevates Solaire yet another step higher into the very top tier of world-class integrated resorts, and is a tremendous game-changer in providing best-in-class guest experience.”
The all-suite Sky Tower has its own driveway and check-in desk. The suites — all furnished with luxury resort-theme appointments — range from 124 sqm. to jaw-dropping 936 sqm., all with the feel and ambience of a tropical casino and resort destination with interiors and furnishings created by international and local firms.
Frequented by high rollers, the Sky Tower villas come with their own swimming pool and deck overlooking Manila Bay where sunsets can be enjoyed with the finest drinks to celebrate one’s winnings.
The Sky Tower has its own gaming facilities at the third level, which include 10 spacious and well-appointed gaming salons with 66 VIP gaming tables and 223 slot machines. VIP gamers have exclusive access to House of Zhou and to The Macallan Whisky Bar also at the third level.
For guests holding their high-power meetings, there is the Forum, a 2,000-sqm. meeting facility with eight meeting rooms, two boardrooms and a column-free grand ballroom and a flexible pre-function area. The ballroom has a capacity of 1,000 for table seating or 1,300 for a reception or conference. This space can be divided into five rooms for smaller events. All rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art presentation equipment and are provided with full banquet and catering facilities.
With the opening of the Sky Tower are two new restaurants: Waterside Restobar and Oasis Garden Café.
Waterside Restobar features Latin American and Mediterranean delicacies, tapas, classic cocktails and spirits, and an extensive selection of wines from the restaurant’s own wine cellar. Located on the ground floor and with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the restaurant offers excellent views of Manila Bay. Here, chef de cuisine Sascha Gausselmann takes a bold step to “elegant simplicity.”
The Oasis Garden Café, as the name suggests, is set against a relaxing garden with two waterfalls — the ideal place to start a leisurely breakfast, go for a quick business lunch or cocktails under the stars.
Or if you want to experience Solaire executive pastry chef Josef Tuschler’s petit fours and tea sandwiches, come for afternoon tea.
Then there’s Solaire Resort and Casino’s The Theatre, a certified 1,760-seat lyric theater that hosts a wide range of theater plays and musicals, dance performances, concerts, and other events. It is connected to a multi-level parking garage that can accommodate and secure over 3,000 vehicles.
Two of the signature restaurants in Solaire that have garnered rave reviews are The Strip Steakhouse and Yakumi Japanese restaurant.
At Strip, French-Canadian chef Eric Turgeon whips up the most elegant steaks and dishes you can think of. My friend Neil — who was a hotelier for more than a decade in the Philippines, Dubai and Malaysia — and I opt for the chef’s tasting menu.
For appetizer, we have foie gras mousse with hibiscus (yes, the flower!), seared scallops with pea puree and Caesar salad. Our main dish is a trio of steaks: prime strip loin, US tenderloin and beef cheeks on truffle mashed potatoes, and with three kinds of sauce (mushroom truffle, Bearnaise, and brandy and peppercorn).
Chef Eric, who left his native Quebec and traveled and cooked around the world for many years before becoming a chef in Dubai and Manila, explains that the beef cheeks are slow-braised for 26 hours — and you can taste this as soon as you bite into a piece that is so tender. Of the three kinds of steaks, our favorite is the strip loin, which was smoked in maple wood chips. The sliced steak comes in a mason jar still filled with smoke when it is brought to your table and as soon as you open the jar, appetizing maple wood smoke fills your nostrils.
The next day, it’s a fellow journalist and foodie Joseph that’s my lunch date at Solaire’s Yakumi Japanese restaurant. Headed by executive chef Norimasa Kosaka, Yakumi is a favorite of Solaire guests for lunch as well as dinner. Its bright interiors include an open kitchen and a bar where diners can enjoy the show of how their food is put together, and two private teppanyaki rooms.
Yakumi chef Ruel Dionisio sat down with us and helped us order the rest of the meal. Ruel started his career as a chef in the United States and earned his stripes as sushi chef in Detroit; he also worked in Dubai and Jamaica before deciding to come home for good to the Philippines.
We are so ready for some fresh and raw seafood. We start with a platter of seven kinds of sashimi: Hokkaido scallops, uni, tuna, salmon, Hamachi, mackerel and kingfish. The delicate taste of fresh, raw fish is heightened with freshly grated wasabi.
Then we have the tofu and avocado salad — silky tofu and avocado! — in a mix of garden greens with sesame soya dressing. We also order Hamachi, salmon head, and soft-shell crabs. Everything is just so good, no wonder Yakumi is the leading signature restaurant of Solaire.
Yakumi also has sake sommeliers to help you choose the best sake to accompany your meal.
For dessert, we have sakura cheesecake, wasabi sorbet and matcha ice cream. Yakumi boasts having the flavors of Japan — and it is Japan of all seasons (from the sakura in the spring to the ramen in winter).
Out in the hallway where the restaurants sit side by side is the casino floor — lively and with a chill vibe.
After our dinner the night before, we tried our hand at the slot machines. One of the many casino personnel helped us with the instructions to play.
She said that not too long ago, one guest hit the jackpot on the very row of slot machines in front of us. I don’t remember now if it was P10 or P15 million, but the guest had just started playing and then…jackpot!
And just a few days ago, on Wednesday night, a Solaire slot machine gave out the biggest recorded jackpot in the country: P37.9 million. The hotel has also had 11 consecutive days where the slot machines gave out a collective P100 million jackpots.
Lady Luck is at Solaire. You just have to be there at the right time. One quick winner who had just sat down and won millions did it early in the morning, we were told.
So, sunrise is another time to look forward to.
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For more information and reservations, log on to www.solaireresort.com or call 888-8888.