Seda Vertis North a canvass for Philippine design, talent, and hospitality

With a total of seven properties in its portfolio, Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts Corporation’s wholly-owned
hospitality brand Seda has built a Quezon City hotel that affirms its current status as a well- established
homegrown brand in a highly competitive industry long dominated by international chains.

The largest hotel in Quezon City, Seda Vertis North is a departure from the brand’s previous boutique
size and scale. Its 700square meter ballroom has been envisioned as a venue for important conferences as well as weddings and other prominent social gatherings. Moreover, the hotel catering to business and leisure travelers has 438 contemporary guest rooms, almost double the number of rooms in the inventories of Seda’s first generation of hotels.

“Seda is now more at home with its success and this is reflected in our scale,” explains Group General Manager Brett Hickey. Other Seda hotels throughout the country-- including the first property in BGC -- were built to complement a growing business district. Seda Vertis North was designed not just to cater to the emerging Vertis North business district but to also meet the demands of other communities in the largest city of Metro Manila, other northern cities including those in neighboring Bulacan province.

LOBBY
Its lobby hues to the original Seda design vision of being a timeless, contemporary hotel with a distinct Filipino sensibility. But is easily more than double the size of most Seda lobbies “heightening one’s sense of arrival,” according to Edwin Yabut, Ayala Land Assistant Vice-President and head of the Seda Vertis North project design team. The visitor is naturally drawn to one of the lobby seating areas – some highlighted by solid wood communal tables which hold the familiar bank of Mac computers for browsing and which distinguish all Seda lobbies.

Other groupings have engaging triangular sofas complemented by center tables that resemble outsized billiard balls. Still others are focused on iconic pieces by global Pinoy furniture designers Kenneth Cobonpue and Vito Selma and sculptress Ann Pamintuan – natural settings for guests’ Facebook and Instagram posts. “Seda has always been a canvass for Filipino design talent,” according to Yabut.  At the Vertis North property, Filipino artistry is also celebrated through art pieces by photographer Jaime Zobel de Ayala and other visual artists and through furniture and furnishings by Philippine manufacturers.

MISTO ALL-DAY DINING
The hospitality brand’s evolution into the premium category is best exemplified nevertheless by Seda
Vertis North’s all-day dining facility, Misto. Designed to seat as many as 250, the restaurant also has a show kitchen with various stations and an extensive buffet including delectable pastries that changes with the seasons and diners’ tastes. Communal wooden tables, like those at the lobby, likewise add warmth and an element of surprise to the smart casual dining outlet. The long tables are not just for groups but also for individuals who may wish to share meals in this age of shared office spaces and ride sharing.  “It’s our way of promoting social interaction among individual business travelers who, because they spend a long time alone on the road, may want some company during meals,” according to Hickey. The Seda Vertis North guest may also choose to dine at a soon-to-open top-end Chinese restaurant or to take
a meal of appetizers and other light dishes with drinks at the hip Straight Up Roof deck bar, which offers al
fresco seating and stunning views of the surrounding cityscape.

GUEST ROOMS
But the heart of Seda Vertis North, and every Seda hotel for that matter, is its spacious guest room which is both welcoming as well as multi-functional. The hotel’s 32-sqm. deluxe room as well as its club rooms and suites were conceptualized to “have a residential feel,” explains Yabut, beginning with warm colors to add punch to an otherwise neutral palette. A triangular sofa with a round accent table that can easily hold a meal or a laptop are thoughtful touches. Paired with an ottoman, the movable table easily transforms from dining to meeting to working table – depending on the guests’ need. The room’s versatility and warmth is further complemented by the use of asymmetrical balance.

Unlike the usual hotel room where the two sides of a bed may have identical arrangements consisting
of a night table, desk lamp and art work, this is not the case in Seda Vertis North. The night tables are not the same color. The wall panels behind them likewise differ. “These touches add visual interest to the room without detracting from the space’s functions,” explains Yabut. The 160 sqm. Presidential Suite with its own living and dining spaces reflects the same contemporary look and likewise employs asymmetrical balance to make its spaces lined with deep-pile carpets more engaging. The largest room in the hotel also includes luxuries like an en suite bathroom and dressing room, deluxe drop-in bathtub and round-the-clock butler service.

FACILITIES AND AMENITIES
At the third floor where a pool surrounded by a spacious pool deck and spa are located, Filipino furniture
artistry is highlighted in the outdoor seating areas, sun deck, pool bar and dressing areas. The pieces by Selma, Cobonpue and Pacific Coast, among other suppliers, are all locally sourced, with most of them made in Cebu.

The hotel’s amenities and facilities are further complemented by the entertainment and retail options at the neighboring Ayala Malls Vertis North. Cutting-edge technology intersects with new retail and dining concepts to bring the mall experience to new levels at the malls’ Japan Town, Korean Town and Urban Turf.

The shopping and dining areas that integrate popular themes with holograms and augmented realities will soon make Ayala Malls Vertis North the go-to place for millennials and the young at heart. Ayala Mall Vertis North is also be the home of the Philippines largest movie screen and recliner seat cinemas. But more than the “hardware” available to Seda Vertis North’s guests, the hotel’s “software” or service component is what will drive guests to return, says Hickey. “Since its founding in 2012, Seda has been drawing from innate Filipino hospitality and combining it with high levels of training to meet the needs of global travelers.” He has set for himself the task of sharpening his colleagues’ eye for details so they are fully aware of the expectations of the international guest seeking premier accommodations.

Hickey is pleased that the Vertis North hotel can draw from the growing success of the brand. As Seda further expands to more market segments, he assures clients that the hotel will continue to be benchmarks for Filipino hospitality and service excellence