It’s been five months since we reported that Luneta Hotel’s scaffolding had been disassembled, but the hotel still isn’t taking bookings.
We’ve been in the Rizal Park area a few times since then, and one afternoon while the security guard wasn’t looking, we even stepped inside and saw what appeared to be couches in the lobby covered in thick fabric, as well as chandeliers on the ceiling.
Yes, the six-storey Luneta Hotel, originally built in 1918 and standing derelict for almost four decades, is re-opening its doors soon.
Want further proof? We saw a sign outside the building yesterday: they are hiring.
“After its renovation, only 60% of the original structure remains. Due to foundation concerns, much of the building needed to be changed, although the original design was maintained,” writes Mae Lorraine Rafols-Lorenzo in Cruising magazine.
“The dungeons with tunnels leading to Manila Bay had to be closed down for security concerns,” “A grand staircase still adorns the grand lobby. The windows and its balustrades are far from the original structure, but the tiles needed to be renovated,” she adds.
According to Lorenzo, the new Luneta Hotel will be open by June 2014 and will have a restaurant called Café Yano (run by chef Norman Paguio) and a piano lounge to be called Patio Nena.
See: 15 achingly beautiful old buildings that deserve a new life
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Photos: Anson Yu
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