IV (Part I)

Never in my wildest dreams have I ever thought that I will be able to step foot inside a hotel this grand. The golden gates open their arms as our car drives towards the hotel entrance- welcoming us to a world of luxury and sophistication. The palm trees line up on the center island like royal guards who stand mightily awing its audience with its magnificent stance. Far ahead lies the Hotel in its full glamour. Although I’m at least a kilometer away from it, I can already see its brilliance. I can’t help but let my jaw drop as I try to intake its incomparable.

“Wow,” My mom and I can’t help but mutter.

My mom lowers the car’s stereo’s volume singing the Eagles’ biggest hits - her favorite- as we try to savor the moment of our entrance. Cars from various ranks of life line up just to get to the hotel. Everyone seems patient. No one is honking loudly, No one is causing disturbance to another. Everyone is busy admiring the view that waits in front of us.

The Passion House stands at the end of the driveway in its full splendor, bathing in warm lights at the earthy hour of 6 in the evening. The white and gold 3-story hotel exudes the aura of extravagance and grace. I admit. No one can take their eyes off this beauty, not even me.

When we are getting nearer to the building, I notice that there is a huge white marble fountain in front of it. In the middle, three animal statues can be seen. A hawk is portrayed to be flying while it is chased by a Lion, and on the bottom lies a snake showing its fangs towards the two. They looked like they were chasing each other like three kings fighting for a throne. And the swirling waters gave it a more majestic ambiance. Somehow, it looks like they are alive.

I see people coming out of their cars as valets take charge of it. Everyone is wearing casual clothes, although one may notice that someone is from a prominent family because they are wearing designer brands. They line up at the entrance.

“Mom,” I break the silence inside the car. My mom is currently being awe-struck with the beauty in front of us. “It sure is a big event, huh?”

“Yeah. I did not know that people would actually come here for the anniversary,” She replies while slowly pressing on the car’s accelerator.

A valet waits for us in front of the hotel so my mom and I step down from the car and hands him the keys. We are not wearing something grand, like gowns and overly expressive clothes. My mom is in her pink silk ruffled long-sleeved blouse and denim jeans, black open-toe 1-inch wide heels sandals, and a red duffle bag. While I, on the other hand, wear red, white, and blue horizontal stripes in dark denim pants and black ankle-length boots. I’m pretty comfortable in these clothes, too, so it’s no big deal.

Everyone seems excited while lining up to the insides of the hotel. We can see couples and friends from different ages and ranks of life getting themselves room in it. Everyone shares happy conversations. For example, a group of friends in front of me who are wearing designer clothes talk about how excited they are for the night with their friends, and the couple behind us talk about how excited they are to celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary inside this hotel. I mean, I can feel all the positivity around us. It’s so wholesome.

I am quite relieved, too, that no one recognizes me yet. I guess my thick-rimmed eyeglasses do work wonders. I look at my leather wristwatch. It is already 6:09 pm, and the guests are slowly marching themselves forward.

I observe the face of the hotel. It seems that its design is inspired by a fusion of The Great Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi and The Fullerton Hotel found in Singapore. It’s breathtakingly beautiful the hairs on my arms start to stand. I feel so small standing here in front of this beautiful and huge man-made sepulcher.

Everything found on the exterior of the hotel does not equal what’s inside tho.

Everyone gasps when they pass through the entrance door. There, in front of us lies a lobby in white and gold being bathed in warm light as a 9 ft tall crystal chandelier hangs on the ceiling. The light it reflects makes everything inside the room gleaming and shining. The lobby feels roomy so roomy my eyes do not feel full from the view. The walls are painted in white and the intricate designs like moldings on the wall and on the foundations are painted in gold. The floor is as shiny as a mirror in gold, too. I see 2 grand staircases on the left and the right side of the circled room, and opened doors below, too. Maybe, this is the reason why it does not feel suffocating as there are a lot of entrances to different areas of the hotel within this, room.

A kind 5’7 petit attendant gets our attention with her graceful smile and personality. We have not noticed that it is already our turn on the concierge. The concierge has around 8 white and gold analog clocks hung on its wall. it has 5 computers and is managed by 5 staff. It also has glass in gold corners and accessories so I can basically see the whole body of the workers there.

She wears a white collared blouse inside a black female tuxedo and short skirt. She’s on her nude stockings and black vintage mary janes doll shoes and a black pillbox hat on her head. She has a shiny gold handkerchief on her neck and the buttons of her tuxedo, nameplate, and shoes are also in gold. Her plate states that her name is Jane.

“Hi,” She smiles in her light make-up and greets us in the most friendly manner. “What can I do for you?”

“Uhm...” Mom trails off and shows her the pamphlet. Which she takes in an almost clueless manner.

“Ma’am, I don’t think I’m quite familiar with this pamphlet.” She trails off.

“What do you mean?” I ask. I become suspicious and my mom’s eyebrows start to reach each other.

“It is indeed our hotel’s 60th anniversary right now but I don’t think we have given-” She has been cut off when a 6-foot man in a tuxedo interrupts her and takes the pamphlet from her hand. Jane then bows when she realizes who it is. “Sir.”

Just like Jane, this man wears a masculine version of her uniform. Instead of a gold neck handkerchief, short skirt, and black heeled shoes- he wears a gold tie, black long pants, and black leather shoes. He’s also nicely built and seems to be around his late 20s.

“Good Evening, Madames. My name is James and I am the manager of this hotel. I apologize on behalf of this staff’s negligence as she is a new employee here and not quite familiar with its current promos. We indeed offer this event and we have rooms already prepared for our guests. I will let Jack here lead you to your rooms.” He politely apologizes with a slight bow and introduces us to the valet who has parked our car earlier and brought with him our luggage.

“Can I get your name?” He asks us.

“I’m Amelia Meyer and this is my daughter, Amy.” My mom replies.

“Okay, Ma’am. Kindly fill this form up so we can reserve you the rooms.” He then takes over the computer and gets our rooms’ cards on the pile of black cards under the concierge table. The card is in matte black and the name of the hotel is printed in gold. It states that my mom and I will be occupying rooms 3063 and 3064.

Jack is wearing a white collared long sleeve shirt, a gold bow, a black vest that fits with his black pants, leather shoes, and white gloves. His gold nameplate rests on the left side of his chest. He holds our two handheld leather bags, the brown one is my mom’s and the black one is mine. We have not brought a lot as we see this as a one-night vacation only. I can’t help but be ecstatic about this girls’ night out. I look at my mom and I see the excitement that is also evident in her facial expression. It has been a while since we have last done this. Her left-hand reaches out to my right hand and squeezes it lightly. I look at it and I see her somewhat wrinkled hand and her wedding ring. She might be missing Dad and Andrew, my younger brother. If only they are here with us.

Jack looks at us with a gentle smile and a gentle voice, “Follow me.” And he leads us to the right opening of the lobby.