Just recently, I had my first staycation experience at Sofitel Philippine Plaza. It is a five-star luxury hotel in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex and is popular for its highly-regarded Spiral buffet.
Two beautiful ladies clad in traditional terno greeted me as I entered the property.
Grand. That was my initial reaction when I first saw the hotel's lobby. It was not the in-your-face luxury kind of ambiance, it was understated and elegant. The atmosphere reminded me of the Four Seasons Hotel and Resort in Bangkok which I loved.
I checked in on the dot at 2 in the afternoon to maximize my stay. Checking in was prompt and my wish to be placed in a room with a view of Manila Bay was granted. Hooray!
The room was designed with simplicity in mind. The subdued tones used continued the understated elegance of the hotel's common areas. It was pleasing and warm to the eyes.
The bed was just superb. It was not too cushy nor too firm. The pillows were soft and perfectly huggable. The sheets were absolutely luxurious - I was feeling the duvet for a good five minutes.
Aside from the view of Manila Bay, you can see the Manila skyline from the balcony.
Of course, the most important part of my staycation is... the Spiral experience! Often considered as the best hotel buffet in Metro Manila, Spiral offers 21 dining ateliers. They offer a wide array of cuisines from Korean to Japanese, French to Italian. They had stations for seafood, salads, desserts, and even cheeses! I kept on passing by the Spiral area even if it was not yet time for dinner. I seriously couldn't contain my excitement.
To kill time, I decided to try the hotel's fitness center aptly named So Fit.
So Fit's okay. It was certainly not the best fitness center in a hotel I've been to (that distinction goes to Swissotel the Stamford) but it was good enough. Since there were no power cages, squat racks, or benches, I used the machines instead.
After working out, my excitement for my Spiral dinner experience grew. Of course, I needed to recharge.
From my room, I went down to Spiral at around 6:30 in the evening. Even though the price is quite prohibitive at 3,046.06 PhP per person inclusive of taxes, Spiral still gets packed. I was able to swallow the price by telling myself that I'd be charging it to experience.
Spiral has a total of 21 dining ateliers. Twenty-one! I was really overwhelmed when I was roaming around the buffet area. The photo above shows a list of the dining ateliers. It was literally a feast for the eyes -- seeing all of the food was amazing.
I was accompanied by one of the Spiral staff to my table. A basket of their specialty olive bread was served immediately. Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. Mmm!
I started my Spiral experience with a plate of cheese and nuts. Bliss. I love sampling different kinds of cheeses and Spiral has a small room called the L'Epicerie dedicated to a wide array of cheeses. There were cold cuts and nuts available in the area as well.
If you want to take home some cheese, you're in luck. You can buy cheeses from Spiral. They're a bit expensive though with the most expensive I noticed was north of 600+ PhP per 100 grams.
I really couldn't help but return to the French Oven atelier just to order more foie gras. I know, foie gras is pretty much fatty but I couldn't help it. It was very rich and had a creamy taste that kept me coming back for more.
I continued my Spiral eating adventure by going to the atelier serving Peking duck as well as dimsum.
Being part of a pseudo-Chinese family (yes, I'm part Chinese though I look very Filipino), my siblings and I grew up celebrating quite a number of occasions in Chinese restaurants. This probably contributed to my fondness for the cuisine and it's something I do not miss out on whenever I eat at buffets.
The dimsum selection in Spiral is quite good for a hotel buffet though I felt that the quality was okay at best. The xiaolongbao （小笼包） wasn't as soupy as I expected it to be and the hakaw's (虾饺） skin was a bit thick. Still, I found it passable but not extraordinary.
Their Peking duck （北京烤鸭）was good, though I wished the skin was a little more crisp and had a bit more fat in it. I loved the roast pork belly.
I also sampled some roasted meats (photos of which got deleted though) at the churrasco. Juicy slices of lamb and beef roasted to perfection! I pretty much ate a lot of meat that night since I worked out intensely a few hours before.
Of course, if there's one part of a buffet that I would NEVER skip (I just can't emphasize this enough), it would be the desserts section! Spiral's La Patisserie offers a myriad of French pastries that come in every imaginable variation. Okay, I'm exaggerating.
The pastries were really good! My favorites were their eclairs and creme brulee. You can just imagine how I went crazy in the area, pulling out the drawers and sampling their pastries.
They also had a Creamery for the ice cream fanatics. I tried their vanilla ice cream and topped it with some chocolate chips. Delicious!
Whilst having a break from all the eating, I admired how beautiful the dining area of Spiral is.
As I have mentioned earlier, the place looked elegant and luxurious without being too loud. I was seated beside the staircase and fountain and the sound of the water was soothing.
So, is the buffet in Spiral worth it? I would have to say it depends. For a Saturday dinner out, I think it's a bit too expensive. But for special occasions, it really is. I am very much satisfied with the experience and charging it to experience was an excellent idea. The L'Epicerie and the La Patisserie were enough to make me happy. I would have to agree when people say that this is the best buffet in Metro Manila. You will be spoiled silly with choices and the quality of the food's almost always excellent. I would also have to mention that the service here's topnotch, but of course I wouldn't expect anything less from an esteemed hotel chain such as Sofitel.
I marched back to my room with a happy tummy. I do wish I was able to try out more but I can only eat so much.
The trip back to my room wasn't easy, by the way. My tummy was really, really full. I even had to walk around inside the room a bit just to let the food down. Talk about gluttony.
I slept really well and woke up at around 8 in the morning, just in time to relax by the pool. I found it quite weird though that even if I had placed a do not disturb sign on my door, someone still tried to open it. Not once, but twice. I would like to commend the management of Sofitel though because right after I answered their customer satisfaction survey with that grievance of mine, they immediately reached out and apologized.
Anyway, the pool area was great even if there was some sea wall construction going on. It would've been better if I had an unobstructed view of the bay. The slide was fun even if it was short. And yes, I used the slide that was better reserved for children under 5 feet.
I headed straight to the spa afterwards and relaxed in the heated pool and sauna. Well-deserved, I thought. Especially after the stressful projects I have been handling recently.
As check out time neared, I packed my things and left my room. I wanted to spend more time in Sofitel but I can't, I need to get back to reality. :P
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Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City
Tel: (+632) 551-5555
H6308@sofitel.com
H6308@sofitel.com
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