Novotel Manila Araneta City

The plans for the development of a 400-room business hotel within the Araneta City was laid out as early as 2000, as part the Araneta Center Master Plan. The plans were finalized within early 2008, before announcing the launch of the hotel on July 2008. On December 2008, the Araneta Group, through Araneta Center Hotel, Inc., announced their joint venture partnership project with AccorHotels in a press conference held within Aurora Tower.[1] After 4 years of negotiations and design changes, the hotel was officially launched in February 2012 with a ceremonial lowering of a time capsule, and presented a presentation of the hotel's features, interiors and amenities, which is touted by the Araneta Group as the “crown jewel” for the complex's redevelopment project.[2][3]

The cost for the construction of the hotel was around ₱3 billion and was topped off on July 29, 2014.[4] It was initially planned to open partially by the end of 2014,[5] and was later moved on early 2015[6] that the hotel will start accepting guests. However, the hotel had its soft opening later in October 2015.[7] On March 8, 2016, then-President Benigno Aquino III, along with other executives and officials, led the grand opening launch of the hotel.[8]

The hotel is located adjacent to the Araneta Coliseum, standing at the coliseum's south-eastern corner and is accessible to nearby transport hubs and railway stations such as the MRT 3 Cubao Station, the LRT 2 Cubao Station and other transport terminals. The hotel is also accessible to nearby malls and buildings within the Araneta City, such as SM Cubao, the Farmers Plaza, the Ali Mall, the Manhattan Gardens condominiums, the Araneta City Cyberpark towers, and the New Frontier Theater. The hotel also serves as a part of the Gateway Square, a 5-hectare (12-acre) superblock complex within the Araneta City, which also consists of the Novotel, the Gateway Mall, the Gateway Mall 2, the Gateway Tower, the Gateway Office Building, the Ibis Styles Hotel, the Araneta Coliseum, and the Araneta Coliseum Parking Garage South. The development will have a total floor area of 400,000 m² (4,300,000 sq ft) and is expected to be completed in 2023, with the opening of the Gateway Mall 2 and the Ibis Styles Hotel.[9]

The building of Novotel Manila Araneta Center has a total of 24 floors.[8] The Araneta Group, under Jorge L. Araneta tapped EEI Corporation as the main contractor in the construction of the hotel building.[1] Araneta also tapped London-based architect Sudhakar Thakurdesai as the design consultant of the project, while tapping Kang Tang of Taiwan and lighting firm Lumino Design for the lighting works of the hotel. Araneta tapped Thai-firm IA49 as the interior designers of the project, while local firm PGAA Creative Design was tapped for the landscaping works of the hotel.[10]

The architectural design of the hotel features an urban contemporary architecture, emphasizing natural light throughout the building, with patches of vertical fins installed on the facade, patterned in blue and red colors, while the hotel's white exterior also features vertical trellises. The hotel also hallmarks a high ceiling, semi circle-shaped main lobby installed with vertical wooden fins and vertical striped LED lights display, emphasizing the Araneta City's historic milestones.

The hotel has 40,000 m² (430,000 sq ft) of total floor area. The hotel also offers a variety of rooms, ranging from the Superior Rooms, Deluxe Rooms, Executive Rooms, Executive Suites, and a Presidential Suite measuring 694 m² (7,470 sq ft) of total floor area located at the 24th floor. The hotel's management operations are also assisted by McLaren Technologies.[11]

Novotel also houses a variety of amenities located within the amenity area, which includes a gym, a play area (Novotel Kids Club), a spa room (In Balance Spa). The hotel also offers a variety of events venues for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) Amenities, and an outdoor events venue, namely the Versailles Event Garden, which has a total floor area of 2,500 m² (27,000 sq ft) of grass and open spaces. The Versailles Event Garden utilizes the rooftop of the adjacent Araneta Coliseum Parking Garage South and also includes an events tent, and archways. The hotel also features 7 meeting & function rooms, and the pillarless Monet Grand Ballroom capable of housing a total of 1,500 people. The hotel also houses the Wintz Garden, and the Premier Lounge, a dome-shaped, high-ceiling lounge offering complete views of the Metro Manila skyline and the Province of Rizal.[12]

The hotel offers 5 different restaurants, namely the Food Exchange Manila, the Gourmet Bar, the sixth Pool Bar and Lounge, the Indulge Gelato, and the Prana Indian Cuisine, the hotel's latest restaurant, which opened its doors on March 15, 2023, and is attached to the Food Exchange Manila. Prior to the opening of Prana, the Indian cuisine menus were part of the cuisines offered by Food Exchange Manila since 2021.[13][14][15] Due to the opening of Prana, The Sabor Bar de Vinos, a wine bar owned by Araneta Group CEO Jorge L. Araneta, was eventually integrated to the Food Exchange Manila in 2023.

The hotel's In Balance Spa was recognized as one of the five recipients in the Philippines to be awarded the ASEAN Spa Services Standard Award 2019 – 2021.[16] The hotel's culinary team won the silver award in the Filipino Cuisine category, while Chef Mikee Villanueva won the bronze award in Fantasy Plated Dessert category at the World Food Expo, held at the SMX Convention Center Manila in Pasay.[17]

The hotel also received recognition from Agoda and Tripadvisor, as the hotel was awarded the Agoda's 2020 Customer Review Award, and the 2020 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award, for the hotel's services based on the customer's ratings, overall quality experience and high customer reviews.[18]

• 
  The Novotel Manila Araneta City (2nd building from the right), taken from the Vivaldi Residences Cubao
• 
  The hotel (2nd building from the right), with surrounding buildings (2015)