Painting the town Crimson

MANILA, Philippines - Set amidst a bustling city in the south, Crimson Hotel Filinvest City, Manila has in three years created quite a buzz in the hospitality industry.

Propelled by innovative promotions, Crimson Hotel has drawn a loyal clientele among residents in the south of the metropolis and nearby provinces, plus a fair share of foreign and expatriate clients, according to assistant director of sales Kirk Anthony Llamas.

“We are enhancing our offerings both in the hotel room market and the food and beverage market,” he says.

Last Christmas, for example, Crimson Hotel had an unprecedented promotion: complimentary lunch buffet for a whole year at Café Eight, the hotel’s in-house restaurant that offers a mixture of Asian and Mediterranean cuisines. The winner was chosen from all full-paying overnight guests last Dec. 25.

Marketing communications manager Michael Anthony Sagaran says the unique offering was a brainchild of Crimson Hotel general manager Saurabh Kukreja.

“It’s not unusual to win a complimentary breakfast, lunch or dinner buffet, perhaps for a day or even a week. But for a whole year, that’s truly a pioneering idea,” he says.

Last month, Crimson Hotel  showcased 100 luscious flavors of éclair at its grand lobby, The Gallery. Flavors ranged from vanilla mousse with honeycomb to wonka bar, cheese and chive to leche flan, salted caramel to triple chocolate and even tira tira (classic Filipino candy) black currant.

GM Kukreja, who is British of Indian descent, says he has a constant drive to re-invent the industry to remain competitive in an ever-changing business environment.

“The stiff competition in the hospitality business today relies heavily on the energy and innovation to stay ahead of the game,” Kukreja, one of the youngest general managers in the country at 35, says.

He adds that because Crimson Hotel is relatively young, there is a need to create a buzz in the market.

With 345 stylish rooms and suites, four busy food and beverage outlets and 12 state-of-the-art meeting and events places, the energetic general manager says Crimson Hotel wants to provide both its corporate and leisure guests exceptional memories.

Llamas, meanwhile, likens an experience at Crimson Hotel to walking through a gallery with a number of captivating art pieces adorning the hotel, including those of The STAR’s Igan D’Bayan.

Another great asset of Crimson Hotel is British executive chef Martin Bower, who joined the hotel last October. Prior to Crimson, Bower worked in several four- and five-star properties in the United Kingdom, Australia and Thailand.

Describing his style of cuisine as classically British/Mediterranean, he vows to constantly come up with tasty and innovative food at all times.

“The menus that I develop reflect my share of learnings all over the world,” says Martin, who became a head chef at 25.

“My stay in Melbourne was a great learning curve for me as the cuisine there was so diverse and I worked with foreign chefs.”

Bower is also a guest lecturer for culinary workshops at the Far Eastern University-Manila’s Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management and the De La Salle University (DLSU) in Dasmariñas.

During his stint at the Rawi Warin Resort and Spa in Thailand, he brought over 45 Filipino trainees for an internship program at the resort.

Last year, he coached a hotel and restaurant management student of DLSU-Dasmariñas who got a bronze medal in a culinary competition in Thailand.

Bower says he is enthusiastic to share his knowledge with students who share his passion.

Though relatively new in the industry, Crimson Hotel was named the winner in the luxury category in the 2014 Travelers’ Choice Awards.

Winners in the competition were determined based on the reviews and opinions of millions of TripAdvisor travelers around the globe.

Indeed, it has been a rewarding three years, and Crimson Hotel executives and personnel are just getting started.

Crimson Hotel is located at Filinvest City, Alabang. Visit www.crimsonhotel.com.