Five star luxury at Acacia Hotel

Photos by FERNAN NEBRES

MANILA, Philippines - The southern part of Metro Manila is noted for its fast growth and exciting locales. Here, specifically at Filinvest City in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, lies the perfect travel corridor for businessmen and vacationers alike. This travel hub is easily reached via the Skyway and South Luzon Expressway, and it also provides the perfect jump-off point to outlying industrial and economic zones in Batangas, Laguna and Cavite. The district is peppered with hundreds of retail establishments, restaurants, entertainment venues, and companies in an upscale setting. At the heart of it all is a young, dynamic hotel that puts a premium on luxury and excellent customer service — The Acacia Hotel Manila.

Standing tall and majestic as its namesake, the Acacia Hotel is a 100-percent Filipino-owned, five-star luxury establishment. Since opening in the last quarter of 2011, it has been ranked as one of the Top 25 Luxury Hotels in the Philippines by traveler review site TripAdvisor.com in its 2013 Travelers’ Choice awards, coming in at No. 17. The accolades continue with leading hotel booking site Agoda.com ranking Acacia number one in Alabang with a high score of 8.5. Shortly after its launch, Acacia partnered with leading HRM school Enderun Colleges in managing its operations.

Acacia Hotel is Enderun’s first crack at hospitality management. From a mere 28 percent occupancy rate, the management company was able to turn everything around. Bobby Horrigan, the proud general manager of Acacia Hotel Manila says, “Everybody was saying, ‘who’s this new Filipino five-star hotel in Alabang?’ We had a fantastic location and so we concentrated on just giving good service. We are running a strong 74.7 percent occupancy in the first six months of this year.”

And there’s a very good reason for that. Acacia is a mere 20 minutes away from the international and domestic airports and, with its steel and glass facade, shines bright amid the many corporate and residential buildings spread across Filinvest City’s sprawling district. The landscaped architectural design was a collaboration between NCCA National Artist IP Santos and Paulo Alcazaren. Artist Johnny Alcazaren, Paulo’s brother, was the one who introduced the iconic cross-section design of the acacia tree to the hotel.

As you enter Acacia’s wide, high-ceiling lobby, your eyes travel from the floor to the centerpiece, a tall single white vase adorned with flowers, all the way to the wall facing the entrance adorned with a large mural of a fiery red dragon created by artist Bernard Pacquing. The lobby area was designed by interior stylist Parrish Carlos and is also a café adorned with plush high-backed seats and carpeting, perfect for small meetings or a relaxing afternoon. There is a central theme here revolving around nature and pride in the Filipino spirit, with function rooms adorned with wavy lines and patterns reminiscent of rice paddies or terraces. Wide floor-to-ceiling glass provides guests a clear view of the outside — it is an aesthetic that is employed throughout the hotel, from the function halls all the way to the guest rooms.

Acacia is the perfect place for a “staycation,” as they say, and corporate accounts know how to maximize the hotel’s convenient location and luxury amenities. Guests can dine in class at the famous Acaci coffee shop, located a floor above the lobby. The hotel’s signature dining facility offers a buffet spread for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Meanwhile, The Lobby at Acacia has a global a la carte menu, cake selections, and a beverage and wine list when people need to unwind after a long day. Speaking of unwinding, rest and relaxation takes on a whole new meaning in any one of Acacia’s well-appointed guest rooms. The warm, calming interiors are enhanced further with the Dream Bed, a special orthopedic mattress that relaxes tension in the body. A swimming pool and gym services are available to all.

Soon to be finished are two floors dedicated solely for serviced residence-type rooms. Designed to be filled with the amenities of home — such as kitchen facilities and a laundry room — these serviced residences are for more long-term guests, groups or families on vacation, or company employees with employment nearby.

Acacia has five function rooms for any kind of small meeting or event and a Grand Ballroom that can seat up to 400 people. The high-ceiling and wide-open floor-to-ceiling windows in many of the function rooms provide an event experience unlike any other in the south. The Sequoia Ballroom located at the topmost floor, just below the helipad, features a dramatic high ceiling, elegant interiors, and an impressive view of the southern cityscape. Special dedicated event specialists are on hand to assist in planning and execution.

The well-thought out amenities and facilities are just one part of how Acacia has been so successful in just over a year and a half. Most of the credit goes to the people who work incredibly hard to ensure guests have the best hotel experience possible.

“No one can do it like the Filipinos can,” enthuses Horrigan. Speaking of the hotel’s critical acclaim, he himself is no stranger to industry praise. A veteran hotelier who studied at the prestigious Les Roches School of Hotel Management in Switzerland, Horrigan was recently recognized with a prestigious Mabuhay Gold Award by the Association of Human Resources Managers of the hotel and restaurant industry. It also happens that he is managing director of Enderun Hospitality, which will soon manage a new boutique hotel opening in Ortigas this October.

Horrigan continues, “I’m fortunate to have traveled around the world and I have seen (their) hospitality. But being hospitable is ingrained in the Filipino culture. We open-heartedly welcome guests into our homes, we extend a helping hand, and we greet each one with a smile. And so, we have a slogan — ‘Filipino like no other.’”

As a luxury hotel, Acacia sits on a fantastic location — within the city but functioning almost like a resort that’s only about half an hour away from the major business districts and areas of Metro Manila. Offering excellent accommodations and genuine Filipino hospitality from sunrise to sunset, Acacia Hotel continues to grow and take root in this vibrant area of the south.

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Acacia Hotel is located at 5400 East Asia Drive corner Commerce Avenue, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City. To find out more about Acacia Hotel Manila, check out its website at http://www.acaciahotelsmanila.com. For inquiries or reservations, call 720-2000 or 588-5888 or e-mail at enquiry@acaciahotelsmanila.com. Follow the hotel on Facebook (Acacia Hotel Manila) and Twitter (AcaciaHotels).