I have always been curious about the name “Nuwa,” what it meant and why a hotel would be named such.
Wikipedia has come up with a very interesting tale, pointing to the name as that of the mother goddess of Chinese mythology who created humanity because she was lonely. She shaped yellow clay into people and these became the wealthy and noble members of society. She also mass-produced the rest of humanity by dragging a string across mud. This explains why, in ancient China, the nobility felt more important and special, because they were touched by Nuwa’s own hands and were not made out of mud.
After learning that, among the three hotels annexed to the City of Dreams, Nuwa Manila is the most luxurious and the most expensive, the more I got interested to find out what it has to offer. But my very busy schedule then and the ensuing year-long pandemic quarantine restrictions prevented me from finding out what magical mundane pleasure the hotel could offer me.
Last week, I finally had the chance to treat myself to a leisurely weekend at one of Nuwa Manila’s de luxe rooms. As expected, it was another restful, stress-free, and pleasurable breather for me!
I had an elegantly styled room that has a magnificent view of the hotel’s inviting pool and gardens. But it must have been the room décor’s relaxing earth hues, matched with splashes of orange and gold, that made we want to stay indoors most of the time, to just take things easy, and to liberate myself from that piece of cloth perennially covering my smile from the rest of humanity.
In fact, during this weekend leisure escapade, I left my room only twice—to load on sinful calories from the Cantonese specialties at the hotel’s Crystal Dragon restaurant, and to luxuriate in the touch of magic fingers kneading my tired muscles at the hotel’s spa. And who says heaven can’t be found on earth?
Small wonder the hotel won two Five Stars in this year’s Forbes Travel Guide Awards, for the hotel and for its spa. The award came right after this five-star property was named one of the first hotels in the world to achieve the Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED with Forbes Travel Guide certification, a comprehensive facility verification for compliance with expert-validated best practices on health and safety protocols.
Lawrence Ho, chairman and chief executive officer of Melco, the owning company of Nuwa Manila, expressed his sincere appreciation for the prestigious recognition which, he says, is a testament to the company’s commitment to excellence. It also confirms Melco’s contribution in pushing boundaries to provide the most memorable and exciting experiences for its guests.
The two stars earned by the hotel contribute to the collective total of 97 stars raked in by Melco Resorts and Entertainment’s portfolio of integrated resort properties in Macau and Manila, now branded as the integrated resort with the most five-star rating in Asia. Nuwa Manila has maintained its five-star rating for the fourth consecutive year and its spa, for the second consecutive year since it opened.
City of Dreams Manila property president Geoff Andres says this much valued recognition of Nuwa Manila and its spa inspires his team of guest service professionals to continuously outdo themselves in setting the benchmark for luxury and guest safety. It also brings them pride to be the driving force behind this achievement, especially during these very challenging times for the tourism industry.
After my pleasurable and relaxing weekend at Nuwa Manila, highlighted by its culinary offerings and that heavenly magical rubdown, I must admit that a gratifying feeling of nobility crept all over me. Did I become one of those handcrafted in ancient China by Nuwa, the mother goddess? Not exactly. But I am now happily assured that, any time I feel weighed down by the burden of day-to-day life in this pandemic, I can easily have my delightful “transformation to nobility” in the luxurious comforts of the mother goddess, Nuwa Manila.
YOUR weekend CHUCKLE
FINE—The word a woman uses to end an argument with her husband, when she is convinced that she is right and that he should just shut up.
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