It may have opened with a bang (including a special appearance by co-owner Robert de Niro), but Nobu Manila was voted worst luxury hotel of 2015 by Luxury Travel Intelligence (LTI), a global network of highly experienced writers and researchers who are some of the best in the industry.
Nobu Manila opened in May at the City of Dreams complex in Pasay City. The 321-room hotel, casino, and entertainment complex is a partnership with renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Hollywood producer Meir Teper, as well as billionaire James Packer and Macau tycoon Lawrence Ho, co-chairmen of the Melco Crown Entertainment.
LTI questioned the hotel’s ‘questionable developments and over expansion.’ Apart from its Manila arm, there are plans to open eight others within two years.
Joining the list for worst luxury hotels are Shangri-La’s Le Touessrok in Mauritius, St Regis in Mumbai, Zaya Nurai in Abu Dhabi, and Edition in Miami Beach. Conversely, the best luxury hotels are Mandarin Oriental in Marrakech, Sant Francesc in Palma Mallorca, Aman in Tokyo, Villa Rene Lalique in Alsace, and Reverie Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City.
LTI is a by invitation-only website, guaranteeing ‘insider-style intelligence.’ It also doesn’t accept advertising or sponsorship in the interest of honesty in its reviews.
This May, the City of Dreams complex also made news for its P3 billion net loss for the first quarter of the year because of higher expenses of continuous development. Some of its expenses were gaming tax and license fees, employee benefit expenses, and marketing, promotional, and entertainment expenses.
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