Visiting Araneta City, also known as the “City of Firsts,” has become more exciting as The Araneta Group has recently completed the Gateway Square complex with the launch of its final two components: the Gateway Mall 2 and the ibis Styles Hotel.
Gateway Mall 2, the much-awaited expansion of multi-awarded Gateway Mall, is targeted for a soft launch in December 2022. This P5-billion development covers 190,000 square meters over eleven levels of additional choices for shopping, dining, entertainment, and leisure in Araneta City.
“Gateway Mall 2 promises to be like no other mall in the world. This is the latest in our ongoing efforts to keep providing more memorable firsts in the City of Firsts,” Lorna Fabian, VP for Leasing of the Araneta Group, said.
Meanwhile, ibis Styles Hotel, the first hotel under the ibis Styles brand in the Philippines, is expected to open in early 2023. Situated adjacent to the Gateway Mall 2, the P2-billion hotel will be operated by the international hospitality brand AccorHotels, the same company that manages Novotel Manila Araneta City.
Gateway Mall 2 and ibis Styles Hotel complete the 400,000 square-meter mixed-use Gateway Square superblock that already includes the Gateway Mall, Gateway Office, Gateway Tower, Novotel Manila, the iconic Smart Araneta Coliseum, and the Parking Garage South Building.
Grand features
Gateway Mall 2 enhances Araneta City’s breadth and depth of choices in fashion and accessories, recreation and entertainment, health and wellness, and gadgets and gaming from local and international brands in over 500 outlets. It also expands the choices for quick bites, family fare, traditional comfort food, concept restaurants, regional cuisine, and bars and lounges to over 100 dining options.
Other mall features include a 500-seat iconic church on the roof deck, sensory and culinary gardens, a 3,700 square-meter supermarket, and a 700 square-meter Atrium for various activities and events
— all in one establishment that interconnects the MRT and LRT stations and straddles the Big Dome, Gateway offices, the Novotel and ibis Styles hotels, Gateway shopping, and parking facilities.
Once Gateway Mall 2 opens, the public can access the historic Smart Araneta Coliseum through doorways located inside the new establishment. This makes Gateway Mall 2 the only mall in the country that is directly connected to an indoor arena.
Ibis Styles Hotel, a member of the Ibis brand group, will have almost 300 guest rooms and six function rooms for meetings and conferences. Its roof deck will feature an overhanging swimming pool and a bar that overlook the Metro Manila skyline and the stunning Manila Bay sunset.
Vibrant property
With these new developments, Araneta City’s Gateway Square is expected to provide more opportunities for a break from the routine. The superblock will have a total of 18 cinemas with VIP lounges, over 3,000 parking spaces, and convenient link to attractions such as the air-conditioned indoor floating garden The Oasis, the open-air Topiary Park, and the arts sanctuary Gateway Gallery.
Gateway Square will soon boast of a bustling complex with two shopping malls, two office towers, two hotels, a parking building, and a coliseum right at the very heart of Metro Manila.
“These new properties revitalize the integrated Gateway Square – a development that offers opportunities for an experience you can personalize yourself in a thoroughly modern and contemporary environment,” Fabian said.