Imagine owning a condominium unit on top of a luxury hotel at the heart of Bonifacio Global City. If your maid is on a day off, the hotel’s room service attendants can clean your room—with security in tow. Having dinner guests at short notice? The pastry chef can come up, help plan your menu and cook the meals in your kitchen. The sommelier can also pair the wines.

 

Do you want a lifestyle befitting of royalty? Shangri-La at The Fort in Taguig City can provide that level of service to Horizon Home residents.

 

Among the developments owned by Shang Properties, Horizon Homes at the Bonifacio Global City is the only condominium in the world that is built above a Shangri-la Hotel. It is in the same complex which also includes the Kerry Sports Manila and dining and retail establishments.

 

Situated on Crescent Park West, this 1. 2 hectare complex is a short walk to the upcoming Philippine Stock Exchange and Bonifacio High Street.

 

Generous space

 

A luxury condominium is defined by generous space, low density and price per square meter. With only 98 units, Horizon Homes is built with a maximum of five units per floor. At P300,000 per square meters, it offers luxurious finishes and branded deliverables.

 

Each unit contains a wet and dry kitchen. The master kitchen will be furnished with Sub-Zero refrigeration, Miele cooktops and ovens, SieMatic kitchen systems and a wine cooler.

 

 

The wet kitchen for the helpers will be equipped with SMEG, General Electric and Whirlpool and washing machine, dryer and microwave.

 

The bathroom fittings include Dornbracht for the master bath, Hans Grohe and Toto for the rest. The wardrobe cabinets will be furnished by Italy’s finest, Poliform.

 

The cuts are 250 sqm to 418 sqm. The starting price was P90 million for a two-bedroom 250 sqm unit, inclusive of VAT and two parking slots. The most expensive is the penthouse which costs P250 million.

 

Aside from the location, Horizon Homes’ other selling point is the luxury living that is offered by Shangri-La at the Fort. “It’s like having your home in a Shangri-La hotel. Essentially, all the services and facilities in this complex will be available to the homeowner of the Horizon Homes,” says John Rice, the general manager.

 

Unlike other mixed-use developments which have a management for every component, the Shangri-La administers hotel, residential, sports and leisure club and the retail.

 

 

“We can make sure that all guests have a fantastic experience-whether you’re in the hotel, whether you’re shopping, whether you’re dining, or whether you’re in the home,” Rice says. “Secondly, we’re able to control the level of product and the level of service. It becomes very seamless and of high quality from one aspect to the other aspect of the complex.”

 

Residents get perks such as priority reservations for rooms and restaurants at the hotel; special rates at Kerry Sports, round-the-clock concierge and security from the hotel. Like the hotel guests, they get signing privileges at the outlets and are billed to them.

 

Hotel services at home

 

For a price, they can avail themselves of hotel services at home such as housekeeping, babysitting, laundry, access to meeting rooms, limousine, sommelier, food delivery, events and party management, spa, messenger and travel agency.

 

Asked to describe the lifestyle of a Horizon Home resident, Rice replied, “It’s how you like it.”

 

He adds, “If Horizon Homes owners use the facilities within the complex, they’ll be able to sign back to their home, and we’ll be able to settle it on a monthly basis.”

 

 

For entertaining, residents have a number of choices if they want to entertain in Horizon Homes. The condominium itself is spacious for intimate events. They can hold bigger groups at the amenities deck, barbecue area or poolside or have a sit-down or buffet at the condo’s function rooms. They can call hotel’s chef or rooms for a catered and styled event.

 

Jeremy Ambler, Shangri-La at The Fort’s executive assistant manager for rooms, explains that the housekeeping can provide a wide range of services for the residents such as cleaning chandeliers and train the helpers.

 

“They go through the basic skills—bed making, how to vacuum the carpet,” he says.   “We will provide a full hotel concierge service, so anything from arranging a private helicopter to go somewhere, to actually walking people’s dogs. It’s just a phone call away.”

 

The resident’s customized concierge service is like having a personal assistant. A messenger service can have the owners’ things collected from shops or from the offices and embassies. It can also make travel arrangements.

 

Rice debunks the myth about the six-star rating. “It’s what your expectations are, and how you personally rate things. I think it’s very difficult to assign those sorts of star ratings,” he notes. Still, every aspect of the lifestyle will have the Shangri-La DNA.”

 

“We have a very strong set of values—Asian hospitality that probably comes from our heart and comes from our soul,” Rice adds. “So, it’s very natural and bespoke. And, in terms of our service or our service quality, we aim to serve or take care of people the way they want to be taken care of,” he says.

 

“As a lifestyle complex, we’re more outwardly contemporary. A lot of hotels are very inward-looking. We are very outward looking. So we are embracing the community and embracing the people who live here.”