SEDA FOUND, and made for the paying public a new home in the Ayala North Exchange Tower.

One gets dropped off downstairs, and you whizz away to the 19th floor for the Sky Lobby. The Seda Residences Makati, which opened last July, was presented to media guests late last month. This Seda shares space with the headquarters of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), a pharmaceuticals company, a BPO, and a mall. Marc Cerqueda, the property’s General Manager boasted about the location. It’s right across the RCBC Plaza and right beside Makati Medical Center, for one. “How much better could you be? Smack in the middle of Makati.” He said that one can walk to Greenbelt in 10 minutes, and by distance, according to him, they’re the property in Makati closest to the airport. “The whole complex is a great addition to this part of Makati,” he added.

He then took us on a tour, showing off a pool (on a clear day, you can see Manila Bay), an e-games room, a laundry room, and a play room. This Seda, after all, isn’t quite a hotel, but a serviced residence, catering mostly to long-staying guests. It is popular, according to Mr. Cerqueda, with corporate clients, embassy staff, and in a very specific scenario, expatriates looking to move in to the country who stay in the Seda to wait until their permanent residences are ready.

There are 179 rooms as of the time of writing, but Mr. Cerqueda says that there will be 293 by the end of the year. The rooms range in size from 31 sqm. to 43 sqm. Studios, to One-Bedrooms from 50 to 57 sqm., to Two-Bedrooms from 93 to 108 sqm., each equipped with HDTV and a dining room.

The rooms and the rest of the property have a bit of an air of stepping into a Mondrian work, with straight clean lines and primary colors in the decor. Each room — actually suites — can come with a washer-dryer combo, but will always come with a fully functional kitchen with an induction cooktop, a refrigerator, a microwave, and a toaster oven. Moreover, the Residences have thought it fit to provide kitchen utensils, and even a set of glasses.

If you’re not the type to cook, there’s the free breakfast at Misto, the all-day dining facility at the 35th floor, which offers a range of choices as well as stunning views of the financial district. At lunch it offers a buffet for P599++ per person and à la carte choices for the rest of the day. For ending the day, one can also whisk one’s self up to the Straight UP roofdeck bar.

“This won’t be the last,” said Mr. Cerqueda about the Seda group’s developments. Seda Hotels is owned and managed by AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp., the hospitality brand of Ayala Land, Inc., and according to him, the group is planning to open a second serviced residences development in Cebu early next year (marking their second property in the region). Seda Manila Bay is slated to open late next year.

In all of the locations that Mr. Cerqueda mentioned — yes, even in their property in Makati — the game is dominated by foreign chains. How does Seda find room for its own? “That’s the attraction, because we’re a Filipino brand. What makes Filipino brands attractive in particular is the brand of service.” — Joseph L. Garcia

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