SHANG SALCEDO PLACE SPOILS RESIDENTS WITH HOTEL-LIKE FEATURES
Wh e n you enter the lobby of Shang Salcedo Place, you’d be forgiven for thinking you just stepped into the lobby of a Shangri-La Hotel. Branding in the hospitality industry is not just about a signature look, it’s also about a signature scent.
This is just the beginning of how Shang Properties, a separate group from the brand’s hotel group, designed its fourth residential property in Metro Manila — with the signature scent of a Shang Hotel, whether it’s in Paris, London or Hong Kong.
Shang Properties director of property management Miguel Feuermann says, “It’s all about the character and details because buildings are pretty much the same wherever you go. The soft touches and human touches make a big difference. We are selling a hotel experience in a home environment. When you come home, we make you feel like you’re going into the hotel lobby of, say, Makati Shang.”
Shang Salcedo Place is a 67-storey, 709-unit tower designed by Hong Kong-based firms Wong & Tung International Limited for architecture and BTR Hong Kong for amenities and lobby design. It’s located at Tordesillas and HV Dela Costa Streets, surrounded by business and commercial establishments and residential buildings. It’s also famous for the Saturday Salcedo Market.
Shang Properties marketing director Milen G. Treichler says, “While the area is busy during the week with people working here, on weekends it’s very quiet. You see foreigners walking their dogs; if you didn’t know any better you’d think you were abroad. It’s a really different world.”
Shang Salcedo started turning over its units in May and Miguel foresees that soon there will be a tight-knit community in the building. And they have created spaces to foster this.
Like a luxury hotel with a club lounge for the executive floor, Shang Salcedo has an amenity floor exclusive for residents. There is a receptionist desk, sitting areas with plush furniture and free coffee and tea, two function rooms that can be booked for events and receptions, an outdoor barbecue area, swimming pool, indoor and outdoor children’s play areas, a 24/7 gym with separate changing rooms for men and women with saunas, and a multi-purpose room for yoga and aerobics.
Milen says, “Most of the furniture pieces in the lobby and amenity floor are by Kenneth Cobonpue and Vito Selma. Our designers are based in Hong Kong, but the materials were sourced locally, even our artworks.”
“When you’re buying from us, you’re not just buying a unit in the tower, you’re buying into the expertise of Shang Properties, which comes with teams of experts in engineering, security, construction, property management. These are people that are either local or based in Hong Kong and they’re all there to support the building,” says Miguel.
The luxury in Shang Salcedo is not just about the quality of interiors, it is also about the space. Starting with studio units at 34-sqm., they are bigger than your typical condo and bigger still are the premier cuts for each category. One-bedroom units start at 52-sqm., two-bedroom at 102-sqm., three-bedroom at 139-sqm., and then there are the four penthouse units, of which only one is now available.
Some of their buyers have bought multiple adjacent units to convert into one, some have bought entire floors. You’d think, who can afford this? Miguel explains that while majority are local buyers, they have a lot of foreign investors coming in, too.
“In a hotel you have repeat guests; in our residential projects we have repeat buyers,” he says. “We have buyers that are very fond of the Shangri-La brand that they buy in all our projects for investment, for family or as halfway houses.”
Milen adds, “We’re one of the biggest luxury developers and our experience has shown that there’s a market for luxury properties. Real estate in the Philippines is still cheap compared to Singapore and Hong Kong. You’re buying into a Shang project and over time, the name gains value. People who bought at St. Francis have doubled their investment.”
There’s also the strength of the Shang Property Management to assure residents. “You’re buying a guarantee for the services we sold you. Safety for us is top of the list, we have the systems in place and latest procedures. If you’re buying for investment, we have a team of people who help you lease your unit and manage it for you.”
Still, there are those Filipinos living abroad who neither lease their units nor have people stay there all the time. Their units stay empty until they come home for a vacation… and they’re coming home to a Shangri-La.
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‘It’s all about the character and details because buildings are pretty much the same wherever you go. The soft touches and human touches make a big difference.’