Manila’s Double Debut

By Harry Jacques - March 4, 2013
  • A guest room at Raffles Makati.

    A guest room at Raffles Makati.

  • The living area of a Raffles suite.

    The living area of a Raffles suite.

  • A Corner Suite bathroom at Fairmont Makati.

    A Corner Suite bathroom at Fairmont Makati.

  • The Fairmont Makati lobby.

    The Fairmont Makati lobby.

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Having waited 18 years for the opening of a new five-star hotel, Makati, Manila’s financial hub, suddenly has two. Housed in a 30-story tower designed by Miami firm Arquitectonica, Fairmont Makati (1 Raffles Drive; 63-2/555-9888; doubles from US$240) comes with 280 plush rooms, seven restaurants and lounges, and a 1,200-square-meter spa. In the same building, the 32-suite Raffles Makati (63-2/555-9777; doubles from US$360) is diminutive by comparison, but with a pedigree that looms large: its Long Bar is the Philippine outpost of the storied Singapore original. –Harry Jacques

Originally appeared in the February/March print edition of DestinAsian magazine (“Double Debut”).

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