Intramuros turns a new leaf

The Bay Leaf Hotel breathes new life into the Walled City

By JACKY LYNNE A. OIGA

(Photo courtesy of The Bay Leaf)

MANILA, Philippines — Towering above the historic Walled City of Intramuros, the Bay Leaf hotel is easily a destination in itself. A stone’s throw away from historical gems like the San Agustin Church, Manila Cathedral and Fort Santiago, the nine-story hotel pays homage to its illustrious neighbors with elegantly archaic architectural motifs complemented with sleek, modern interiors that encapsulate its unique brand of comfort.

A charming boutique hotel with a ‘five star’ ambience, Bay Leaf (the English term for dahon ng Laurel) is actually a product of the continuing legacy of the Laurels in education, specifically for the Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU)-College of International Tourism and Hospitality Management.

During the hotel’s recent grand launching, no less than President Benigno Aquino III thoughtfully congratulated and thanked the Laurels for opening a new door for domestic and foreign tourism in Intramuros through Bay Leaf.

“I thank Bobby (Atty. Roberto Laurel, president of LPU and Bay Leaf) and his family for helping alleviate the tourism industry, strengthening Philippine tourism and providing more jobs for Filipinos by opening Bay Leaf,” Aquino said in his keynote speech.

“The Laurels had a great vision for instituting this kind of business/boutique hotel,” said Bay Leaf general manager Ed Vitug. “They have a university that churns out the largest number of HRM graduates in the country. This full service hotel and adjacent culinary institute completes their business model and academic program to provide the best HRM and tourism graduates for the tourism industry.”  

But unlike other research training hotels run almost entirely by students, the Laurels thought of building a professional team to augment the hotel’s services. “So while the students learn real life scenarios in hospitality management, the quality of service does not suffer,” added Vitug, a seasoned hotelier with a background in food and beverage.

A new experience

“Bay Leaf is the only full-service business/boutique hotel in Intramuros,” said Vitug. “We take pride on our quality versus our pricing. We provide high end quality service without having to charge like a five-star hotel.”

The hotel got the services of leisure industry design company, Atelier Almario for its interiors. Unlike its imposing colonial façade, the hotel’s 57 spacious and minimalistic designed rooms are refreshingly trendy. With warm color schemes in tomato orange, lime green, aubergine and teal, each room offers an elegant ambience that’s homey and easy on the eyes.

Another distinction is the hotel’s strategic location. Situated within an eight kilometer radius from Manila’s business district, shopping and lifestyle centers, Rizal Park, Ocean Park and the Ninoy Aquino airports, its location is easily accessible for business and leisure travelers. It’s Sky Deck, on the other hand, boasts of a 360 degrees panoramic view of the Manila skyline, the best place to witness the world famous Manila Bay sunset.

A new venue

“Our target market is basically the business travelers,” said Vitug. “There’s a big demand for alternative venues for MICE markets, weddings and other social gatherings here in Intramuros. And while there are a number of multi-purpose plazas and gardens inside The Walls, we are the only establishment that can offer advance support such as wireless internet access, 40” multimedia LCD cable TV in the boardroom and surround sound system. With our five function rooms and terrazas we can easily accommodate up to 300-500 people.”

The hotel’s restaurant, 9 Spoons, and cafe, Cioccolata, have gotten positive responses as well, this time from foodies in and around Intramuros. A bistro-inspired restaurant, 9 Spoons offers both international cuisines and local flavors. Cioccolata, on the other hand, is a trendy café that houses freshly made ‘Churros con Chocolate’ paired with its original hot and cold blended coffee beverages.

By giving people more reasons to visit Intramuros, the Laurels and the people behind Bay Leaf hope to become catalysts for change in the Walled City.

“We hope that with the opening of Bay Leaf there will be more establishments to follow suit and contribute in making Intramuros a better destination. We’re optimistic that more investors will bring their businesses here to help revive our country’s premiere heritage society,” Vitug ended.

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Treasures of the Walled City

By CECILIA S. ANGELES

Baluarte de San Diego

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino chieftain Rajah Soliman had his residence here, a beautiful place along Pasig River, a thriving business area among Asian traders until Spanish conquerors who landed in Mactan on March 25, 1521 spread unlike wild fire but like winged creatures, creeping into all nooks and corners of the Philippine Islands.

These conquerors had “modern” weapons, not the bows, arrows and sling shots our forebears used for defense. There seemed to be no area in the Philippines not invaded by the Spaniards, the mighty power during that time, except the end boundaries of our southern most islands of Mindanao.   So, 327 years of being under the Spanish rule, we have acquired, assimilated, digested everything Spanish  -  food, habits, way of life, art, language, even cruelties, and more.

The fall of Intramuros gave the Spaniards full reign over Maynilad under its military leader, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi.  There were threats of other foreign invaders, so the Spanish conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, built thick concrete walls around the newly conquered place. In addition, a moat was also built around, stretching about 4.5 kilometers long to enclose the 64 hectares area.

To further strengthen the security of the place, entrances were equipped with drawbridges which were lifted in the evening and laid down in the early morning.  Yes, this used to be Manila, and it was filled with residential structures, churches, schools, palaces, and especially government establishments.

Spain was proud of this place, its showcase in the Far East that heralded to the world its power and might.  Then, a war with the American forces in 1898 changed history.  The Philippines became the colony of America.  Had the Americans arrived onto our shores two years earlier, Rizal would not have been executed the brutal way.

Intramuros has preserved the dark history of the Philippines.  Yes, within the thick moss-covered walls of Intramuros, painful memories remain buried today whose bitterness may not have been felt at all. Intramuros now showcases glitters in the future.  Some structures are being rebuilt and restored and  soon, the warm hearted Filipinos will spread joy and peace.

Historical.  Educational.  Amazing.  And more!  This is Intramuros today. It no longer showcases the bitter stories of the past, but better stories for writers, better subjects to talk about, better compositions for painters, photographers and artists, better venues for social gatherings, religious enlightenment for people, scenic views for promenaders.  

A special show, Lights and Sounds, is a diorama presentation of what has transpired in our history from the early barter days with neighboring Asian traders to the time Dr. Jose Rizal was executed at Bagumbayan.  Our history is presented here, segment by segment as icons talk and act. Then, later, after sometime, the next door is not exactly an entrance to another part of the electronic presentation but an exit to the show. I wipe a tear in my eye. It’s the end of the show.

Walled city of Intramuros to rise again

By Mynardo Macaraig

Agence France-Presse

In the shadows of ancient Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila, a calesa ((horse-drawn cart) carry tourists. AFP

MANILA, Philippines—After enduring wars, earthquakes, fires and poverty-driven neglect, the walled city of Intramuros that makes up the Philippine capital’s historic center may rise again as a tourist attraction.

Government planners see the UNESCO World Heritage listed but famously dilapidated site becoming one of Manila’s biggest drawcards, similar to Singapore’s Clarke Quay but with the added color of centuries of history.

“We’re going to make this the ‘in’ place to be,” said Intramuros Administration chief Jose Capistrano.

“It will be a living Intramuros with tabernas and tapas,” he said, referring to Spanish-style restaurants and their signature finger snacks.

Eventually, the administration hopes to have fireworks displays and light shows projected on the structure’s six-meter (20-foot) high walls at night, Capistrano told reporters.

The ambitious project will involve rehabilitating and reconstructing buildings, as well as developing a riverside area called the Maestranza Park into a mall for upmarket restaurants and shops.

But this endeavor will require tens of millions of dollars in investments which the cash-strapped government cannot afford, so it is hoping the private sector will sign up.

Administration officials have been meeting with some of the country’s real estate giants to drum up their interest in investing in the project, and Capistrano said their reactions had been very favorable.

“They are interested in the projects. We feel confident that they will be coming in,” he told Agence France-Presse.

Capistrano said that, although a definitive cost estimate for the renovation had not yet been finalized, the potential investors were not intimidated by the large scope of the project.

“No one said it might cost too much. The reaction when we tell them what these projects are has been very good,” he said, adding he hoped to start a bidding process by the end of the year.

The 64-hectare (158-acre) Intramuros area, whose name literally means ‘within the walls’, served as the heart of Manila’s political, religious and cultural life from its founding by Spanish colonial rulers in 1571.

Its 4.2-kilometres (2.6 miles) of walls surrounded most of the government’s offices as well as major churches, schools and trading centers during the three centuries the country was under Spanish rule, which ended in 1898.

It was designed with walls, gates and gun emplacements to protect the Spanish residents from the Filipino masses, as well as guard the mouth of Manila’s main river, the Pasig.

Chinatown was also famously placed within cannonball distance of Intramuros so the Spanish could fire down on the Chinese traders whenever they became too troublesome.

Photo by AFP

But Intramuros started falling into decline after the Spanish left, with most of the damage occurring during World War II when US forces shelled Japanese troops hiding inside the walls.

Many historic buildings, including nine of the 10 churches within Intramuros, were destroyed in the war. Some of these derelict structures are still standing, a reminder of the area’s lost grandeur.

Over the centuries, earthquakes and fires have also taken their toll.

And while Intramuros’s value is in its history, modern pressures have continued to erode its structures.

Parts of Intramuros today include a busy commercial and government district, containing several government offices, four major universities and a variety of businesses.

All of this results in congestion, noise, frequent traffic jams and a chronic lack of parking space.

The area also houses more than 3,000 families of squatters who often can be seen asking tourists for alms while their shanties and graffiti mar the image of the walled city, according to Capistrano.

He said the administration had limited power to evict the squatters. Many of them are on private property and are protected by laws designed to help the urban poor.

Tourism professionals operating in the area look forward to the upgrade but question whether the government can deliver amid the deterioration, overcrowding and squalor that have become common in parts of Intramuros.

“We need restructuring of the buildings, getting rid of the slumdwellers, beautifying the place. There is so much garbage, there are eyesores,” said Jose Mananzan, head of the Intramuros Tourism Council.

Nevertheless, even without private investors, the government has taken the first step, spending P150 million ($3.5 million) to turn the ruined shell of a church into a museum housing religious artifacts, Capistrano said.

Portions of the old historic wall in Maestranza that were torn down in the 1900s have also already been reconstructed through a Japanese grant, he said.

This time, instead of housing gunpowder and cannon balls, the wall’s vaulted inner chambers will hopefully house cafes and shops.

More restoration work is underway at the Intramuros’s garrison of Fort Santiago, where workers trained under a Spanish government grant are pulling down cement walls and replacing them with more authentic adobe and lime.

Under the Spanish program, two masons from Mexico taught the Filipinos how to mix lime and shape stone to recreate the original look of the building, which will become the new Intramuros visitors’ center.

“We replaced the old timber that had rotted but we are bringing it back to its original look,” said the workers’ foreman, Jose de Lara.

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