Fairmont Makati turns 10!
Has it been a decade? Fairmont Makati celebrated its 10th anniversary and I remember the grand opening as if it just happened recently!
The Fairmont Makati marked a decade of welcoming guests through its doors by gathering business partners, top event organizers, and friends for two special evenings of fine food and drink.
Gracing the occasion were Mark Willis, CEO of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corporation president Javi Hernandez and Fairmont Makati’s cluster general manager Bernd Schneider. Also in attendance were members of Fairmont Makati’s Executive Committee, led by hotel manager Aubrey Tolentino and sirector of sales and marketing Eugene Tamesis, who have both been part of Fairmont Makati since its pre-opening days.
The venue for the celebration was the hotel’s own Grand Ballroom, separated into three creative, themed spaces, each of which held special surprises and drew inspiration from the recently published coffee-table book Fairmont: Grand By Design, a walk through the storied and illustrious past and present of Fairmont Hotels.
The evening started with guests being ushered into the “White Room” with an installation recreating the famous 1969 peace protest “bed-in” held by The Beatles’s John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montreal, Canada. This bed was also recreated during Fairmont Makati’s grand opening 10 years ago!
On offer at the bar of the “White Room” was the “Classics Perfected” cocktail line, a series of signature concoctions served in Fairmont hotels around the world. Guests enjoyed this with pass-around canapés and lounge music played by the hotel’s resident DJ.
Awaiting guests in the adjacent “Gray Room” was a four-course dinner by executive chef Bela Rieck, inspired by milestones and moments from notable Fairmont properties across the globe. Each exquisite dish was paired with a fine selection of champagnes and wines personally selected by Bjoern Noeldner, who was appointed the hotel’s director of Food and Beverage late last year.
Dinner started with a Trio of Oysters with fresh lemon, Champagne jelly, and on “horseback” paired with a Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial. This was followed by a Seared Salmon with asparagus and orange purée served with a Domaine Joseph Drouhin Roserock Chardonnay. The main course was wonderful Charcoal Grilled Beef Tenderloin with truffled mushroom sauce, braised root vegetables and asparagus with pommes mousseline, which went well with the Arzuaga Reserva 2018 Spanish Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Ribera Del Duero. The Peche Melba (Peach Melba) of the legendary foodie Auguste Escoffier, which was reinterpreted by the pastry team of Fairmont Makati, was a perfect ending to a great dinner. This was served with a 2021 Braida Brachetto D’Acoui from Italy.
The celebration continued with an after-party featuring Mel Villena’s 10-piece AMP Band in the “Black Room” to cap off the memorable evening, reminiscent of jazz parties and live performances that Fairmont Hotels worldwide are known for.
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