Construction of the CSB International Conference Center commenced in 1998 and was completed in 1999. The hotel was formally opened on August 1999 as Angelo King International Center in honor of one of its donors.
It started as a hotel school managed and operated by the faculty members. It became a training ground and laboratory for the students of the College of St. Benilde’s Hotel and Restaurant and Institutionalized Management. It is located at the corner of Arellano Avenue and Estrada Street in Malate, Manila accessible by private and public vehicles.
The ground floor like any typical hotel acts as the lobby, the receiving area and lounge for houseguests where one can also find the front desk. Adjacent to the lobby are the bookstore, the business center and the cafeteria operated a la fast-food style.
The 2nd floor became the conference center where the International Hall can seat 600 guests. The ballroom with its vari-walls and small function rooms were named after the world’s continents: Asia, Africa, Australasia, Antarctica, Europe, North and South America.
A satellite function room aptly called Fine Dining Room with its own rest rooms is just across the ballroom. Here the students are taught the rudiments of fine dining table setting complete with a bar set-up.
The multi-level guarded parking areas are lfor students, staff, faculty members and guests.
All of the 50 rooms, five of which are dormitory type, are located in the 11th and 12th floors of the building. All rooms are internet-ready and equipped with minimal amenities. Provided with hot and cold running water, each room has private toilet and shower and window-type air conditioning system.
After two years of operation, the school management made a major decision to convert the hotel school into a commercialized establishment and open its portals to the public. Professional hoteliers took over the helm in 2001.
The new management registered the hotel with the Department of Trade and Industry with a new name: CSB International Conference Center. On April 2002, ICC was accredited by the Department of Tourism and was classified as a 3-star full-service hotel.
The new management team of the hotel introduced certain innovations to be at par with other hotels of similar category. A small portion of the lobby area was converted into a coffee shop to accomodate diners.
In the last quarter of 2001, construction on the roof deck started. Completed in the summer of 2002, the roof deck boasts of a Sky Room, a glass-enclosed air-conditioned function room, with a veranda, sun deck open area, trellis, rest room and medium-size swimming pool with shower room and bar. The ‘Deck’ provides a panoramic view of the Manila skyline including the world famous Manila Bay with its resplendent sunset.
In line with the upgrading being undertaken by the new management, the lobby area along with the function rooms on the 2nd floor were renovated in June, 2002. The state-of-the-art renovated areas include the front desk, lobby lounge and coffee shop, to meet the discriminating taste of patrons and diners.
The Animo Café, the favorite dining outlet of the students and the hotel staff was also renovated. While the food quality and price may not change, the ambiance, however, will certainly enhance the eating compulsion of its patrons. The design is elegantly upbeat, youthfully modern and at the same time, in symmetry with the traditional hotel’s simple elegance.
Patrons who have witnessed the evolution of the hotel can have their choice of accommodations befitting their lifestyles as well as their budget. The hotel is adding a one-bedroom suite, de luxe rooms and the upgrading of the standard rooms to superior. All rooms are provided with a butler service as an additional amenity.
The Executive Lounge at the 11th floor functions as the hotel’s business center.
The management has the hotel’s regular patrons’ comfort in mind in initiating all these changes, which can truly make the CSB International Conference Center and Hotel competitive in the market.
The hotel’s other features include a boutique, chapel, executive lounge, laundry and drycleaning, medical clinic, multilevel parking and secretarial services.
For guests’ convenience, the hotel offers airport transfers, cable television, coffee set-up, concierge, conference equipment, foreign exchange, guests and service elevators, hot and cold running water, internet access facility, mini-bar, postage and mailing, private toilet and shower, safety deposit boxes, shuttle service, self-dial telephone, tour desk and window type air-conditioning units.
The hotel could be reached thru tel. no. (632) 303-9771, fax no. (632) 400-7401, website: www.csb.dlsu.edu.co.ph/hotel or email: hotel@csb.dlsu.edu.ph.
Package and theme parties are also available like baptismal, Christmas special, conference, debut, graduation, JS Prom, honeymoon special, kiddie fun fare, onsite hotel operations seminar, tour packages and weddings, among others.
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