Brangelina in Manila?
Are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie really in the Philippines?
News that the Hollywood celebrity couple are in town spread on Friday after a US-registered private plane arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The travellers reportedly booked a room in a Shangrila hotel.
The buzz was that the couple will grace a soft opening of one of the ShangriLa Hotels and Resorts' four branches in the Philippines.
Attention focused on the luxury hotel group's branch in Boracay island as representatives of its high-end hotel in Makati, the country's premier business district, and its Mactan resort in Cebu province, denied the rumors and told ABS-CBN News and abs-cbnnews.com that the couple is not among their guests.
In Boracay, one of the country's most popular tourist destinations, Shangrila recently opened the first 5-star international resort. The new spa resort has 219 rooms, suites and villas that sit on a 12-hectare resort north of the island and has 350 meters of pristine beachfront.
Rates for the 60-square-meter deluxe rooms that have balconies and sea views start at $450 a night, while villas that have butler-serviced retreats and private plunge pools start at $1,000.
However, Shangrila's representative in Boracay denied that a certain Joy Wassmer, purportedly the alias of Jolie, booked a room with them for the week.
Nonetheless, a source from the resort confirmed that a representative of the couple booked a suite during the Lenten season. It is not confirmed, though, if Brangelina--the moniker for Brad and Angelina--will be there to use it.