Marco Polo then and now

Back in the 80s and 90s one very popular hotel among travelling Filipinos was the Marco Polo Hotel in Hong Kong. Back then it was one of the better, affordable and conveniently located hotels in the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. Nine out of 10, whenever you took the elevator at the Marco Polo, the lift would have Pinoys unabashedly talking about their shopping needs, sites they would be visiting or where they would meet for lunch or dinner. I have to confess that even to this day I turn sentimental when I hear the name Marco Polo and for good reason.

It was at the Marco Polo Hotel in Kowloon where my father Louie Beltran arranged for all us, his kids, to stay for what turned out to be the last and final bonding time he would do with all of us together. There was no drama, no speeches, just a variety of restaurants to eat at, lots of free time to go shopping and just my dad’s way of showing what he had difficulty saying; that he loved us. There were no expensive purchases or out of this world, by and large it was the pleasant experience of staying in a pleasant hotel, and being together for a few mornings at the coffee shop. But even now I can imagine the soft yellow light in the corridor, my room that faced the hallway directly and the quiet privacy.

Ever since my Dad passed away almost 20 years ago, I’ve only gone back once after his death and after China took back Hong Kong from the Brits. Reliving a memory is never as good as when you make them. The hotel was just as good when I revisited, asking for the same room proved to be disturbing, not having my dad or siblings left a very obvious void, and the thought of Red Guards on watch made me paranoid. As my Swiss friend Bruno once taught me after a very broken heart: “Some things are meant to be nothing more than beautiful memories. Once we try to make them something else, we ruin everything.”

Last Wednesday, I was once again at the “Marco Polo.” But this time I did not have to go to NAIA 2 hours ahead, there was no need to fly. I actually drove 10 minutes in the evening rush hour and even managed to get valet parking. This new Marco Polo hotel was right in my backyard called the Ortigas Business District of Pasig City. Like all Marco Polo Hotels I’ve been to (Hong Kong, Davao) the one in Ortigas is slim on the outside, almost small looking but high, and the more time you spend walking inside the hotel the place makes you feel as if you were in a wonderful maze that shows off floor upon floor of offerings and amenities. From their modern minimalist coffee shop on the ground floor, to their exclusive Executive Lounge on the top floor that gives you some of the best evening views and light shows of Metro Manila, to several bars and restaurants, well appointed and modern rooms. I suppose one expects nothing less than the best considering our friend Sam Po reportedly spent over a billion pesos on the whole project (I wrote an article about him and his EQ Diaper journey: “The Life of Po is not pie”).

Normally we think of hotels as simple buildings with lots of rooms and a few restaurants. But I learned from Sam and some of his associates that the build spec required by the Marco Polo group were so specific that more than half of the final finishing and furnishings had to be imported as specified by designers and decorators as well as the professional teams running F&B, housekeeping, security etc. The few times I got to talk with Sam Po about the importation and construction nightmares made me realize that when businessmen and corporations decide to build hotels in the Philippines, they are not just building tourist facilities or accommodations. Billions of pesos, years of planning, business models and actual construction are involved which makes it all a very serious business investment. The hard part is unlike building hospitals, schools, churches, or toll roads, there are no guarantees that tourism and business will be enough or sustained by the national or local government so that the investors can recover their investment and stay up to make a profit.

Fortunately for the Marco Polo group and Sam Po, they are located in what I believe is “The next best place” for development: Pasig City. At the helm of the city administration is the very young, humble but modern thinking Mayor — Mother Maribel Eusebio who was among the guests of honor alongside Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez. It was mentioned that there must be some sort of magnet for business investors in the Pasig-Mandaluyong-Quezon City triangle we call Ortigas Business District, because all the big names, right institutions and businesses as well as hotels can be found there.

The challenge for Mayor Maribel and her city council at this point is how to expand the growth beyond the “Ortigas” perimeter and get the people of Pasig to discover or rediscover the opportunities and what is in Pasig City and not be divided by the river, the fault line or the boundaries of old and new businesses. As far as tourism is concerned, I have an inkling that Pasig City and the Ortigas Business District will evolve into the next destination after Makati and the Bonifacio Global City. A lot of people may not realize it but there are hectares upon hectares of land within the boundary of C-5 – Meralco Avenue – Ultra/Phil sports Complex – and Ortigas Avenue. Don’t count or look to 5 years from now, look maybe 10 to 20 years from now, and that’s just the edge of Pasig City.

*      *      *

E-mail: u[email protected]