Citystate Tower Hotel celebrates 20th anniversary
CELEBRATING its 20th anniversary in the hospitality business, Citystate Tower Hotel has one big claim to fame. It has been a leader in the efforts to beautify and restore Ermita district to its former glory as the tourist belt of Manila, along with nearby Malate district.
Today, Ermita is back to its old glory as one of Manila’s vibrant districts, once again a major tourist area close to the city’s most historically and culturally significant landmarks and institutions.
The formal opening on May 12, 1999 of Citystate Tower Hotel marked one big step toward the revival of Ermita as a center of leisure, entertainment and gracious accommodations for tourists foreign and local.
As guest of honor, no less than Lito Atienza, then Manila mayor, had praised the opening of Citystate Tower Hotel as a private sector initiative that boosted the city government’s efforts to rehabilitate Ermita and Malate districts as the city’s tourist and recrea-tion belt.
Atienza commended the group of Citystate Tower’s investors led by Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua for converting what was an eyesore for more than 20 years into an impressive-looking standard-class hotel.
Completely rebuilt in record time in1999, the flashy 12-story building with its glass and concrete façade reigns over the area as a shining landmark of Manila. Its current president, D. Edgard A. Cabangon, continues his father’s commitment to promote and pre-serve Citystate Tower as a favored destination of foreign and local pleasure and business travelers.
Today, 20 years since its opening, Citystate Tower Hotel receives a steady flow of arriving guests from abroad and from all over the country looking for pleasant rooms to stay in. It also hosts a variety of business and social gatherings held by different professional, civic and social organizations. Families celebrating milestones are also among its regular clients.
Over the years, it has built a name as a center of world-class entertainment and fine dining establishments, stylish accommoda-tions and convenient business facilities for the budget-conscious traveler.
From its ideal location on 1315 A. Mabini St., Ermita, Manila, it has been a favored destination of business and pleasure travel-ers who want to experience total comfort and convenience amid the bustle of the district which now houses many business shops.
In terms of service and facility, Citystate Tower Hotel is known in the industry as a leader among standard class hotels, a perfect place to dine in and unwind, and an ideal base to in during visits in Manila, for being close to business and commercial establish-ments, embassies, historical sites and landmarks.
Housing a branch of Citystate Savings Bank at the ground floor, the hotel has 214 rooms, five function halls at the fifth floor, two smaller halls at the 12th floor and one boardroom at the 11th floor. Since the opening of the fifth floor function halls, they have been the preferred venues for social events, particularly weddings and debuts, because of their size and high impressive ceilings. The fifth floor function rooms can be collapsed into one big hall that can accommodate gatherings like conventions of up to 700 people.
The 12th floor halls, one boasting a glorious view of the Manila Bay and its famed sunset, are used for smaller events and sem-inars.
Its fine dining outlets include Tower Cafe offering guests an international fare, Ristorante d’Amore specializing in Italian reci-pes, and Ka Freddie’s Bar featuring singer Freddie Aguilar.
Those familiar with the 60s and 70s vibes of the old Ermita district will agree that at Citystate Tower Hotel, one can experience the ambience of the district’s gentler glory days.
CITYSTATE TOWER HOTEL: GUAM’S CHOICE
Citystate Tower Hotel enjoys a special relationship with the Republic of Guam. Yearly, groups and individuals from Guam have been checking into the hotel for stays that averaged from three to five days.
Rodney Robosa, hotel manager, recalls that it all began in 1999. Guests from the US island territory would walk in and check into the hotel. Soon, they were followed by many other Guamanians. Through the hotel’s 20 years, they evolved into its regular clientele.
They would check into the hotel as individuals or groups. By word of mouth, Guamanians learned about Citystate Tower and were encouraged to stay in the hotel during their visits in Manila.
“There was a time when they booked 18 rooms for senior citizens on a group tour. The government has this program organizing group tours for senior citizens and Citystate Tower has been hosting this visit,” said Rodney Robosa, hotel manager.
The kind of welcome the hotel gave to the guests are one big reason for this popularity. “From the start, Amba (Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua, the hotel’s founder) would make it a point to make them feel at home. He would entertain them at the hotel’s coffee lounge at the lobby, exchanging pleasantries with them.”
To this day, the tradition of friendship continues. D. Edgard A. Cabangon, the hotel’s president, personally welcomes the Guamanian visitors. On his birthday last April,9, Guamanian Senator Jose “Pedo” Terlaje was present and expressed pleasure that the friendship begun with the founder continued to this day with his son Edgard.
Terlaje brought along the Guamanian Cultural Group who entertained guests with their performance of traditional Guamanian song and dance.
In 2002, the Guamanians formally expressed their satisfaction with Citystate Tower by presenting a plaque of appreciation ex-pressing their thanks for “the warm wishes, great service and true friendship” they experience during visits to monitor projects being undertaken with local government units in the Philippines.
Civic and local government groups are undertaking projects to help disadvantaged communities in different parts of the Philip-pines. Many Guamanians trace their roots to the Philippines.
As it celebrates its 20th anniversary, Citystate Tower Hotel can be proud that it serves as an effective bridge of friendship with guests from many parts of the world, like Guam.
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