Filtered By: Topstories
News

Pedring checks into 5-star Sofitel


(Updated 5:46 p.m.) Waist-deep floods have visited a five-star hotel along Manila Bay with the collapse of a portion of its sea wall as Typhoon Pedring battered the metropolis, an official of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Tuesday. In a tweet using his Twitter account @doblezeta, MMDA communications group head Yves Gonzales said the affected hotel is Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, located along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City. Other tweeps reacted by recalling the Sofitel's lavish buffet in its famed Spiral restaurant.
Water from Manila Bay inundates Sofitel's Spiral restaurant, which is famous for its multi-cuisine buffet. Photo by Jerick Bautista
Sofitel employee Jerick Bautista told GMA News Online via Twitter that hotel guests were being evacuated and transferred to other hotels. Guests who were still in the flood-stricken hotel were just waiting for the shuttle service that would take them to hotels in Makati City, he added.
The luxurious pool area of five-star hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila in Pasay City merges with the sea Tuesday as Typhoon Pedring pounds Manila Bay. Photo by Jerick Bautista
Like Sofitel, the United States Embassy and other establishments along Roxas Boulevard were submerged in floodwaters. In an interview on GMA News TV’s “Balitanghali" newscast, Science and Technology Undersecretary Graciano Yumul attributed this to a storm surge in Manila Bay. "Stay away from the Roxas Boulevard area," tweeted Gonzales, adding that the MMDA is deploying rubber boats and equipment in the area. — With Candice Montenegro/VS/HS, GMA News
LOADING CONTENT