sulo riviera hotel

it's not everyday that i find design that blows me away... and so i'm so happy to indulge in this discovery of mine...

yesterday, i headed to the old sulo hotel for a UNICEF presentation... only to find out that the hotel has been refurbished and is TOTALLY beautiful.

without exaggerating -- for me, it's the BEST designed hotel that i've seen in the city. it beats all the other boutique hotels that have been sprouting up around the metro.

this is one of the first things i noticed -- VERY cute chandeliers that have been fused with a big twig.

too bad i didn't get to take a photo of the ballroom... but here's the hall outside it.


even the fresh arrangements are so tasteful!!!

this is pretty much what you see when you enter the hotel...

the styled bookshelves and seating area...

old books, animal figurines, purple sequined pillows... who put this all together???

the beautiful chandeliers & lighting...

the very cleverly chosen and placed tiles...

the reception area with the glass that matches the tiles...

the cafe (even the buffet table and floral arrangements are spot on) that overlooks the pool...

the pool area...

the bar... where no detail was overlooked...

everything is so tastefully done... and i feel like this look is a look that SO MANY are trying to achieve -- but i've only seen it really successfully done here.

i didn't get to see any of the rooms -- so i looked up their website and i was NOT disappointed! look at this! wow!

it's awful but my first thought was that this was not done by a Filipino. i was pleasantly surprised to find out that it WAS in fact done by one -- although she did spend 20 years in Spain -- so that might explain the success of the design too.

read more about her here.

go and visit the hotel!

tour de carlos: 3rd leg

next stop: orchid garden suites, architect: pablo antonio.

(but before anything else, i love this gate beside orchid garden suites):

anyway, orchid garden suites is a boutique hotel, that was built on the mansion of the paternos (remember the regina's guy? hahaha)

they built the building of the hotel in the 90's, but i do love how it was faithful to the art deco era of the house.

entering... what a cute and quaint and old world hotel!

more of the lobby...

loving the details...

this is in the cafe overlooking the pool...

the pool...

and looking up from the pool...

in the hallways...

going up to the roofdeck...

more of the patterns upstairs :)

ok so that's it for now :)

more, more to come!!!

whatever, whenever

some of the people in the hotel look like they came out of a magazine...

(sorry, not so clear as i stole the shot)

that was in the lobby.. here are more shots..

here's "the kitchen" where we have breakfast...

the downstairs lobby with swaying lamps...

... and the sitting room outside the lounge...

and then our room with a view...

i'm loving the dark grey - mustard - turquoise - lavender combination... why didn't we think of that???

the tv tucked behind the mirrors...

the bathroom with sliding walls instead of doors...

how cool is the lit mirror?

there's a tv for the tub too... (not in photo)

then of course, all the other li'l things w is known for...

like an ipod to use for the gym...

... daily chocolates...

... pillow menus, dvd rentals, create-your-own burgers... etc.... etc.... zzzz.....