Luneta Hotel

The Luneta Hotel is a historic hotel in Ermita and was named after its location across from Luneta Rizal Park on Kalaw Avenue. It is one of the remaining structures that survived the Liberation of Manila in 1945. The structure is the only remaining example of French Renaissance architecture with Filipino stylized beaux arts in the Philippines to date.

During World War II, the Luneta Hotel became a brothel of American G.I.s who were off to Corregidor after Manila had been declared an open city. Surviving veterans of the war still recall how the hotel served as a hope when it survived the bombardment and how it was turned into a comfort area for soldiers facing eminent death.

In its early years, the hotel became the site of European imports that were distributed to Manila. It was a time of beauty, innovation and peace. The hotel has been known to serve well-prepared breakfast and lunch, exotic among foreigners of the time.

Designed by Spanish architect Salvador Farre, the Luneta Hotel was built in 1919. The six-storey building towered at an undefined T.M. Kalaw street upon its completion. It faced an unfenced Bermuda plane of the Luneta. Its neighbors were blocks of “stone houses” (bahay na bato) and “storerooms” (bodegas). It stood out because of its distinct architectural style. It symbolized the new influence that the Americans brought to the country. As once described by cultural writer and conservationist Bambi Harper, its “Mansard roof, French windows, carved details, attractive grilles and studied proportions” are reminiscent of French Renaissance architecture.

After being closed down and abandoned in 1987, the hotel was relaunched in May 2014 with the installation of a historical marker by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.