Marriott Café

With the goal of attracting more Muslim visitors from the neighbouring ASEAN region and the Middle East to diversify the country’s visitor arrivals, the Department of Tourism partnered with CrescentRating to increase awareness of the availability of Halal food, mosques, and other Muslim-friendly holiday experiences and facilities in the country. Through this initiative, Marriott Hotel Manila has been given a rate of five for its Halal friendly services and facilities as well as its exceptional Halal food section. It is the first luxury hotel in the country to receive a rating from the two institutions.

“Marriott Hotel Manila is excited to be a leader in promoting Halal friendly services and offerings to the region and beyond,” said Bruce Winton, general manager of Marriott Hotel Manila said. “We look forward to extending not only our world-class Filipino hospitality to our local, regional and global customers, but also an environment of awareness, sensitivity and exemplary service expected from a multitude of discerning customers,” he said. 

Lamb Rojan Josh topped with cashew nuts

Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating, said “We are delighted to welcome a prestigious brand such as Marriott as a member of Crescent Rated Hotels. Marriott is leading the drive from the front and more hotels will be granted a Crescent Rating in the Philippines soon. 

With the country’s close proximity to countries that have large Muslim populations like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, we receive approximately 566,000 Muslim visitors annually including from the Middle East, India, and Israel. DOT said this new drive to attract inbound Muslim tourists formed a key strand on its long-term strategy to maximize its economic growth in the halal tourism industry. “Our Philippine Halal Tourism project has been successful in generating awareness and creating a Halal consciousness among the Filipino people. We have finally broken real ground and set very realistic targets to begin the important work of making Halal a real industry in the Philippines,” said former DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr.

Marriott Café

“It is important because it is a given in the Filipino culture that our best and most important welcome to any visitor is with food. And if we are not Halal, there is a very important segment of society in the world that we are not extending a proper welcome to,” Jimenez continued. “We commend Manila Marriott Hotel for being the first premium hotel chain to be rated for its Halal friendly services and for joining us in making our brand of welcome special, through food that is proper and acceptable to our countrymen and friends around the world.” 

In celebration of this momentous feat, Marriott Hotel Manila invites diners to savour the excellent halal dishes at Marriott Café, which includes Biryani rice, the Lamb Rojan Josh with cashew nuts, Palak Paneer, and many more. Buffet prices for lunch from Monday to Saturday is set at 1,900 pesos net per person, dinner buffet prices from Friday to Saturday is set at 2,100 pesos net per person, while Sunday brunch buffet is set at 2,500 pesos net per person