Shangri-La at the Fort is the latest addition by the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Hospitality Company. It opened on March 2016, and located in one of the newest and most modern parts of Metro Manila, Bonifacio Global City (BGC). Beside of being in one of the fashionable parts of town it is a very impressive 5 star hotel in its own right. If you want to stay in a hotel that gives you anything you can imagine, without a real need to actually step out of its gates, Shangri-La at the Fort is not going to disappoint you.
The hotel offers everything you can imagine from a 5 star hotel: 24-hour concierge service, butler services, spa, in-room spa services, gym, 2 pools, 6 restaurants, kid’s Adventure zone, in house doctor, and more. Therefore it is perfect for many types of guests – from honeymooners, to families, to business trips. It’s for people who simply want the best.
World class service with highest standards, however there has been some complaints about the service of the staff. Most of those came in the first few months after the Shangri-La started to operate. Regardless this isn't a valid excuse for a 5 star hotel of this level.
Everything is brand new and spotless. The rooms are being cleaned daily with great attention to details.
Very spacious rooms, with all the amenities needed. Contemporary décor give the rooms a very pleasant atmosphere.
The Shangri-La at the Fort has one big pool for the enjoyment of all guests, a 25m lap pool for swimming, and vitality pools. Pool areas are well maintained with beach beads. The outdoor pools also have gazeebos perfect for relaxation, and bars for snacks and drinks.
Located in one of the best locations in Metro Manila. Close to the airport and in the middle of BGC, the trendiest neighborhood in the Metro. This area will entertain you day and night, and it's also very close to the popular business district, Makati. The only problem is that there is some construction work going on in the vicinity of the hotel, and it might be slightly felt in the pool areas during the day.
This hotel returns great value for money. It is after all one of the most expenssive hotels in Manila. However, it's going to be almost impossible for a guest to enjoy all of the facilities as there are just so many, much more than any other hotel in Manila.
All rooms are equipped with a king size bed, separate shower and bathtub, 48-inch screen TV with international channels, high-speed WiFi, a writing desk, international direct dial phones, safe, mini-bar, coffee and tea making facilities, hairdryer, bathrobe, and more. There are three main types of rooms you can choose to stay in according to your needs.
The Deluxe is the basic category of rooms. The Horizon Deluxe is the next category of rooms, all located in the upper 37-40 floors with access to a private lounge and many additional benefits. The most luxurious are the Shangri-La Suites, between 90 and 235 square meters, and they also come with access to the private lounge and a personal butler.
The rooms, very much like everything else in the hotel, are brand new. When we visited them we were impressed by how spacious and clean they were, and really liked the contemporary design that create a relaxed atmosphere. The beds are new and of very high quality, as well as the toilets. We tried the WiFi and even the regular version (and not the upgraded of the horizon club) works great.
For guests on longer stays (mostly guests on a business trip) we advise to stay in one of the 97 fully furnished 5 star serviced residences. There are 1-2-3 bedroom units, so if you take your family with you, be sure that the Shangri-La Residences will be a great fit. These are actual high-end apartments with a kitchen and a living room, and full access to all of the hotel’s services and facilities. Contact us directly or just send us an email for booking any of the residency units.
The first thing you notice when entering the hotel is the Lobby chandelier, made from more than 3,500 handmade crystals from the Czech Republic. This is a recurring theme in Shangri-La, and you will see many more outstanding chandeliers, as well as many other ornamental designs and pieces that project luxury. The lounge area is extravagant yet somehow casual, where you can enjoy a coffee or tea (their specialty is Chinese tea), and a small snack or sandwich, and catch a live show every night.
There are 6 other dining venues in the hotel: High Street Café, Canton Road, Raging Bull Steak House, Raging Bull Burgers and Samba. The selection you have is great and the quality is good and consistent. High Street Café is the one where you’ll take you breakfast, and is located right next to the lounge.
High Street Café is an all-day restaurant with 9 different stations: Japanese, Chinese, Western, pan Asian, salad station, grilled meats station, seafood station, and desert station. The buffet breakfast is served 06:00-10:00am, and until 10:30 on the weekends. By that time the stations are preparing and serving food that’s suitable for breakfast: omelets, pastries, cheeses, cold cuts and meats, salads and desserts, and a Chinese breakfast and dim sum station. Serving style is buffet but a lot of the food is actually prepared upon order.
There can’t be Shangri-La without a solid Chinese restaurant. Canton Road is the one at the Fort, and serves modern Cantonese food with an assortment of regional specialties. It’s one of the best Chinese restaurants in town led by Chef Wang Wei Qing and his 20 years of experience. Raging Bull Chophouse & Bar, led by Chef Nathan Griffin is a luxury steakhouse and comfort food restaurant, with dry aged grass fed beef, with the largest whisky collection in Manila. It is also functioning as a whisky bar open until 12:00-01:00 am.
If you feel like having a great bite in a more casual manner, Raging Bull also has a burger house. It’s open straight from 11:00am to midnight. It is great for a casual and affordable bite. Last but not least is Samba, the Peruvian restaurant, by Chef Carlo Huerta Echegaray. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seatings, just next to the hotel’s main pool, which makes it the most pleasant one to dine in when the weather is good.
If you want to check some other dining options, you can try some other places in the shopping center in the second floor of Shangri-La at the Fort. The restaurants go from American junk food, like Pink’s Hotdog, and Sugar Factory (dessert shop from Vegas), to the more sophisticated FOO’D by Michelin star chef Davide Oldani from Italy, presenting Cucina Pop to Manila. Lunch tasting menus start at the ridiculously low price of 20 USD. Another restaurant worth mentioning in this compound is Planet Grapes, your best chance to meet quality Filipino street food.
It’s worth mentioning that these restaurants are located in an exclusive shopping center in the hotel. We don’t think there is a lot for the average tourist to do there, as many of the shops sell things you can’t really take with you, like Harley Davidson Bikes or Italian furniture. But you will also find luxury brand jewelry and cloths if you’re looking to do some shopping.
This brand new hotel is highly rated in all the major booking sites as well by our clients. It seems that no matter the nationality of the guests they all seem to love it, and therefore it was very difficult to find relevant negative reviews. It is after all a 5 star hotel by one of the most veteran hospitality companies in the world. Here's an example of a genuine testimonial we just received from a couple we sent there:
Shangri La at the fort was an excellent hotel. My wife and I were extremely content with your recommendation and guidance. Although we travel the world quite often and stay normally at high-end hotels, the Shangri La was something else. The room was extremely comfortable, well-designed and spacious. We loved not only the amenities which were of course top of the line, but the calm and relaxed atmosphere the room transpires. My wife was particularly excited with the variety and quality of grooming products in the bathroom.
Besides that, the breakfast was absolutely superb. Very high selection, tasty food, great service. The Spa is also worth mentioning – it is dreamy in every sense of the word. To summarize, Shangri La is ALWAYS a safe bet if you’re looking for top-notch quality but the one at BGC even tops that high standard off. 5 stars all the way!
Below we gathered the reviews from across the web so you can have a better picture of this hotel. Even though we stand by our professional rating and our guest's feedback, we don't want to hold back any information you mind find relevant for your booking.
It has the respectable rate of 9.1 in Agoda, with 204 comments. Most complaints came from families with little children, saying that the rooms are not good enough. Even in this small group reviewers they were a minority, and most other similar guests didn't find any problem at all. Booking.com's rating is also 9.1, and there isn't any recurring complaints.
592 people review Shangri-La at the Fort in Tripadvisor, where it got 4.5 stars. This is the website with the least favorable reviews, with complaints about the following matters: unprofessional staff, and noise from construction. The complaints regarding the staff's behavior were mostly close to the opening of the hotel, and seemed to mellow extremely afterwards. It's still a little disappointing, but a good sign regardless.
The construction that's going on in the vicinity of the hotel will take some time to stop. It only goes on during the day, and in all of our visits to Shangri-La at the fort we actually never felt it, beside of the aesthetic aspect (a construction site is not a pretty sight). It's mostly felt in the outdoor pool areas, and even than it's not bad. However, it can be disappointing for people who are sensitive to noise.
The mass majotiy of guests found the SHangrila at the Fort flawless. This is what stood up from their feedbacks:
However, there is a small but important number of negative reviews. This is what bothered some people the most:
Kerry Sports is the largest indoor fitness and leisure club in Metro Manila, and by all means luxurious. The 8,000sqm gym is open 24/7, so you can work out anytime of the day. It has weights and machines, and over 90 units of professional equipment, but also functional training gear (and trainers), specialty classes (yoga, Pilates, spinning and dance), two tennis courts, an NBA grade basketball court, and squash courts.
Shangri La at the Fort is also perfect for guests traveling with kids, as it has a huge Adventure Zone that will fascinate any child and keep him busy. There is a toddler zone, a playground for older kids with tall slides and games, and scheduled classes that work on different skills relevant to children. The Adventure Zone Café offers a variety of kid friendly treats for your children to enjoy.
Shangri-La at the Fort is right on Bonifacio High Street, one of the trendiest entertainment areas in the Philippines, day and evening. It has many good restaurants and shops, Serendra – a garden community with German derived architecture, and two shopping malls – SM Aura and Market! Market!. It’s also a very lively nightlife area with Burgos Circle, a dining and drinking hotspot, many small hidden bars, and some of the best clubs in town.
These are the basic rooms of Shangri-La at the Fort, and are similar to the higher Horizon rooms. All rooms are between 45m2-47m2, and have all of the amenities mentioned above. You can choose between Deluxe Rooms located in the lower floors, and those which are located on the high ones. The High Street Deluxe Rooms are slightly more expensive because the offer a fantastic panoramic view of Metro Manila.
Located on the topmost 37-40 floors, not only that the Horizon Deluxe rooms have the best view in the hotel, they come with special perks. A private check-in/ check-out in your room, a personal welcome and tour in the hotel, personal concierge service, and coffee or tea delivered to your room with a wake-up call.
More importantly you’ll get an access to the private lounge, where you can eat a light buffet breakfast, beverages throughout the day, cocktails and finger-food between 05:00pm to 07:00pm. You’ll always get 2 hour access to the meeting rooms, and pressing of one business suite upon arrival if needed.
There are 5 kinds of different suites in the Shangri-La at the Fort, 46 in total. The smallest one is 90m2 and the largest is as big as 235m2. All suites are entitled to all services of the Horizon Club, and a personal butler too.
