Coming back from Malaysia, I immediately see the semblance between Resorts World Manila and Genting Highlands. Sure, we don't have the cable car, the huge indoor and outdoor amusement park but it definitely has the same feel. It's no wonder. Resorts World Manila is a joint venture between Genting and Megaworld! ;-) Needless to say, they also have condos put up here. It's right behind the St. Lourdes Church.
Resorts World is strategically located across NAIA 3. This place holds a lot of promise if and when (I hope!), all of the international flights at NAIA 1 is transferred to Terminal 3. Add to that a path or underground walkway from the airport to the Resorts World area and we're all set! There's still a lot of construction going on and this area is really nowhere near done. But for now, you can find the Marriott Hotel, our only 6-star hotel in Manila: Maxims, and Newport Plaza. On the other end of Marriott -- the third building, is where all the casinos, shops, restaurants, and now, cinemas, are located.
From a recent trip in Macau, I could immediately see the Newport Plaza's similarity to the Venetian Macao Hotel. I kid you not. For real! The establishment has potential. Once it's done, you'll see designer shops lining the first floor. There's only about two shops open on the first floor, I think. One is a watch shop, and the other, a jewellery store? It's really exciting though. The same owner of Rustans -- The Store Specialists, will be tasked to open a number of high-end shops here. I imagine all the other stores will be up and running in 6 months? Maybe just in time for Christmas or sooner.
There's one casino on the first floor too. Although Newport Plaza, altogether, seems empty, there were a lot of people at the casino though. The place was bustling with sounds of slot machines, people, and a live band right in the middle. We didn't go in the casino but we could see all of these from the hallway.
The second floor has about four restaurants that are open already. One is UCC, Red Crab Resto, a New Orleans restaurant that serves ribs and steaks, and another one right beside it -- Republiq. The third floor has two shops open: Bench and The Face Shop. When I asked them how late they close, the saleslady told me that Sundays to Thursdays they're open until 10 pm. Fridays and Saturdays they're open an hour later than that. Cool! ;-)
On the topmost floor -- the fourth floor, are the cinemas. I think only two are open and running right now. We watched "Salt" at Cinema 2. It being a premiere, representatives of Resorts World talked about future projects. One that got me and Jojo really excited is their plan for Cinema 1. How wonderful! It's the first time I've heard of something like this. It definitely beats the Director's Cut cinema of Mall of Asia. They were saying that for Cinema 1, they will only have 80 seats inside. And get this: each seat can be fully reclined and will have a sort of cubicle for utmost privacy. With the ticket comes bottomless drinks and unlimited popcorn too. But that's not all! (Gee, I sound like an infomercial!) ;-) Each seat has a button. Press that button and along comes a 'butler' that's personally assigned to you! Wow! ;-) Talk about spoiling yourself. ;-) Although I wonder why you'll need a butler for a 2-hour movie. I joked to Jojo that maybe the butler can be called on if maybe you need someone to scratch your back or something...;-) Hahaha! No word yet on how much this whole thing will cost per person. I'm very interested though. I'll keep you posted once I find this out.
For now, I checked on the prices and Cinema 2 showings cost 200 pesos per person. Cinema 2 shows "Salt" and Cinema 4 shows "The Last Airbender." Cinema 4 showings cost 300 pesos because they're in 3D. I believe movies are running now between noon to 11 pm.
As for our whole movie experience, we really did enjoy it! You can't recline the seats in Cinema 2 but the back of the seat adjusts a wee bit based on the weight you put in front of it. Does that make sense? What I'm trying to say is that they're not too sturdy so they're much more comfortable. There's a lot of leg room and it won't be too much of a bother for the people sitting beside you if in any case, you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the movie. There's enough room to pass through there without fear of stepping on their feet. There's enough room too so none of them will have to get up to let you through.
The screen though, I think, is taller than it is wide. As a consequence to this, you won't have that great of a view if you sit in the first five or six rows. We were sitting in the fourth row but I think our view would be much better if we had moved back. As for the sound system, everything was loud and crisp. You can really tune into the movie and drown out any rustling or any annoying side conversations.
I can't comment on the popcorn because we didn't get to try it. We were already full from the cocktails and hors d'oevres that were provided at the premiere. If the popcorn tastes like the one at Powerplant, I'll be one very happy camper though. ;-)
As I said, Resorts World is very promising. I can't wait until all the shops and restos are open. For now, I guess you should visit this place while you can still have privacy. Everytime you want to avoid the lines at Greenbelt 3 or PowerPlant, why not just hie over to Newport's cinemas? After the movie, you can have coffee and dessert at UCC or go to Velocity --Marriott Hotel's sports bar or play casino or hey, shop at Bench or The Face Shop. ;-) I imagine this place will get crowded someday. Enjoy it now while you can still walk around freely without all the crowds. ;-)
