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Thursday, June 30, 2005
Magsaysay: GMA talks in a splendid spa
By Jo Magsaysay
Whatever
GMA talked! She said, hello!…how are you?…Happy to see you!…Thank you!
Thank you! The Chi Spa is…Che na lang! A loud whisper from what might have been Clavel who was not there, so it could have been from another disappointed, disgruntled, disgusted non-admirer of the beleaguered President.
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The traffic, as expected, was bad, very bad, so that most of the guests straggling late missed the grand opening ceremonies of the Shangri-La Hotel and Resort Spa. Drama and colour punctuated the presentation as five little girls, dressed up in what may be perceived as Tibetan costumes, raised sweet voices in the theme song from Lost Horizon. A Himalayan goddess in the stunning figure of Nina Ricci Alagao, Miss Universe finalist, undressed-up in what may be perceived as nude chiffon, made an appearance in the mist while one little girl took the hand of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and led her to a brass gong to strike a resonant signal opening the village spa.
Tom Zeta, chair of Shangri-La Hotel and Resort Philippines, in his keynote address defined Chi as “the life-giving force governing well-being and vitality.” From all accounts, Chi Spa is “impressive” (Gwen G.)…”splendid” (Annie A.)…”beautiful” (Teresin M.)…”luxurious” (Rosebud S.)…”breathtaking” (Zeny D.)…”amazing” (Vivina Y.). Lumping up all those exclamatory words, I need only to zero in on Desmond Hutton’s simple phrase, “the best in Asia”.
Not because Hutton is fiercely rah-rah-rah for Shangri-La, having been GM of Shangri-La Mactan Resort, but knowing him to be no-nonsense and honest, I’ll take his word for it. The best! Just you wait until I get a tour; I need a buggy to zip around the 10,000 sq. m. of Spa Villages, picturesque with fountains and reflecting pools, luxurious with all the aromatic and cushy amenities then I’ll go hyper! Remembering seeing Desmond the first time and describing him as a chubby leprechaun in a previous column, when he left for his new post in Dubai, he had lost 40 lbs and looked like Brad Pitt, no kidding! Having worked out and luxuriated in all the much-touted, much ballyhooed spas all over Asia, with Chi Spa only half-way finished, he knew that Chi had succeeded in whittling him down to a marvelous model for fitness and vitality. I wonder if Chi can do the same for me? To quote somebody: Che na lang!
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Cocktails and canapés for Cebu’s corporate types and beautiful people milling around the Mactan Ballroom and sweltering in the infernal heat.
The power-giving source of electrical energy apparently was being siphoned into the Spa villages and negotiations are underway to put up a power substation. An assurance from Timothy Wright, GM of Shangri-La, who is so dignified, so correct and so properly British; I cannot bring myself to drop his name and casually call him Tim! Anyway, he is going to take the media for a tour of the village spa soon, and yes, I’ll have my chariot! Meanwhile, Louie Aboitiz who, like me, has an aversion to standing, recommended that I should be using a cane like him.
Looking around for Neil Rumbaoa, who is always such an angel, I hustled him for a couple of chairs, but Josephine Booth had already rescued her brother and hustled him off to the cool comfort zone of Tides or was it Shang Palace.
Anyway, Wright and all the Shangri-La VIP’s Symon Bridalle, chief operations officer, Lothar Nessman, VP operations, Tom Zita, chairman, K.F. Kuok, Grace Kuok, and my dear friend Jarlath Lynch, sat down for dinner with special guests from Manila. Over at Paparazzi, Elizabeth De Motte, group director of Shangri-La Hotel and Resort Public Relations, Peggy Angeles, VP Marketing and sales, were introduced to the local media by Maggie Garcia and with Neil Rumbaoa and Jaja Chiongbian, make an awesome threesome for Shangri-La Mactan.
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Getting their kicks from being the most-feted lifestylists of the month, Chinggay Utzurrum and Joe Recio had their last fling at La Gondola where the toothsome twosome Renee Villasin and Vicky Mah greeted them with hugs and kisses and dazzling smiles. Joining the duo as the new assistant press relations officer of Waterfront was Debbie Murphy, a delightful girl who told the company present that a celebrant is different from celebrator; meaning, kuno, one performing a religious ceremony is a celebrant, while a celebrator is one who celebrates a birthday. Be that as it may, the celebrators dined a la carte - Chinggay opting for pasta, Joe for tenderloin steak (again?), Nelia N. doing justice to the lobster tails, Jimmy P. to his order of fish.
Didn’t see what Cookie Newman had; she was practically eating up every word that Carlo Sainz had to say on their one-on-one interview. Renee encouraged me, nay, challenged me to try the ostrich steak, which I hesitated to cut with my knife, fearing it would slap me down with its wings! Actually, with mushroom sauce, medium rare, the ostrich tasted just fine, tender with no gamy smell of animal nor foul smell of bird.
Dessert courtesy of my favourite chef, Dietmar Deitrich, was sensational: a cross between zabaglione and baked Alaska with froth of souffle, light and refreshing. So, you guys already fed up and nauseous with talk about food, run along now and read about the grandstanding public officials and really throw up!
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And now, my young friend Cathy Galvez Cusi requests, “if you please,” to propagate the good news about her beloved alma mater. It does please me to announce that the Mary Immaculate Learning Center has now moved up in the field of education. In its 17-year history, the MILC has ranked third once, second thrice and first twice among all Cebu schools, public and private in the National Elementary Achievement Tests (Neat); and now has established a high level of quality Christian education that it has been granted a permit by Ched to become Cebu Mary Immaculate College, offering college courses (BSED, BEED, BSIT and BSBA). It’s “bigger and better” now that it offers college education, enthuses Cathy with pride…
(June 30, 2005 issue)
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