Okada Manila – the $2.4 billion Japanese-owned casino resort on Manila Bay with a $30 million fountain

Someone spent $2.4 billion building a casino resort on Manila Bay and named it after themselves. That person is Kazuo Okada, chairman of Universal Entertainment, and the result is Okada Manila – the world’s first casino hotel solely owned and operated by a Japanese person, the only casino hotel in the world with a Japanese name, and a 44-hectare integrated resort with a $30 million fountain that the property claims rivals the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas and the Dubai Fountain at the Burj Khalifa. Seven years of construction. Pre-opening December 2016. 993 hotel rooms. A Michelin-starred restaurant. Three lobbies with different design personalities. And a room with an indoor beach club under a 30-metre glass dome called Cove Manila. The vlog covers two different suite categories, both restaurants, the fountain shows, the spa, the pool, and what $511/night actually looks like at this property. Let’s go through it.

The practical hook before anything else: Okada Manila is approximately 10 minutes by car from Ninoy Aquino International Airport. For a property of this scale and ambition, that proximity is a genuine advantage that changes the calculus on whether a Manila stopover is worth building into a longer Asia trip. The answer, after watching this vlog, is yes.

The scale of this place – because you need to understand what you’re walking into

440,000 square meters of total area. 44 hectares. 110 acres. A gaming floor of 26,400 square meters with 420 table games and 2,600 slot machines. Two hotel wings – Pearl Wing and Coral Wing – each 19 stories, connected by two skybridges. Three distinct lobbies. A Crystal Corridor shopping and dining gallery that wraps around a $30 million fountain. A 9,000-square-metre indoor beach club under a glass dome. The Garden facing Manila Bay. A spa, multiple pools, a gym, a kids club, and a collection of restaurants that includes a Michelin-starred Japanese kitchen.

This is not a hotel that happens to have a casino. It’s an integrated resort complex that happens to include a hotel. The distinction matters for understanding how to navigate the property and what kind of stay to plan. You can spend an entire day here without leaving the building and genuinely not run out of things to do. Whether that sounds appealing or claustrophobic tells you something about whether Okada Manila is the right choice for you.

The location is Entertainment City in Parañaque – the purpose-built casino and resort district on Manila Bay’s reclaimed land, roughly equivalent to the Las Vegas Strip’s relationship to the rest of Nevada. Okada is one of four integrated resorts in the area alongside Solaire, City of Dreams Manila, and Resorts World Manila. Of the four, Okada is the newest, the largest by area, and the most ambitious in its design brief.

The exterior, entrance, and lobbies

Exterior and entrance from 00:54 to 02:13. The building’s Y-shaped footprint – visible from the air and referenced in the pool design which wraps around the arms of the Y – is the architectural signature of the Coral Wing. The exterior facing Manila Bay is designed to catch the sunset that overlooks the bay, which is counted among the three most beautiful sunsets in the world according to the property’s marketing. The sunset claim is contested and unprovable but the bay-facing orientation is real and the evening light does what evening light over water reliably does.

The three lobbies each have distinct design personalities and the Pearl Wing lobby coverage from 02:13 to 04:53 shows the primary arrival experience. The lobby design is the maximalist Philippine luxury aesthetic – high ceilings, elaborate light installations, marble floors, the visual vocabulary of a serious resort investment making its intentions clear from the moment you walk in. The VIP lobby at 14:58 is a separate access point for the higher-tier membership program holders – the Las Club and Maharlika Club levels of the Rewards Circle program, which are the exclusive VIP casino member areas with private salons.

The Pearl Wing Lobby Lounge at 15:21 functions as the hotel’s social hub – coffee, light food, a space to sit between the casino floor and the room tower with the kind of atmosphere that large resort lobbies create when they’re properly designed rather than just large.

Room Tour 1 – Executive Double Suite ($511/night)

First room tour from 04:53 to 14:58 – 10 minutes covering the Executive Double Suite at 29,955 PHP / $511 USD per night. Here’s what the footage covers:

• 🪟 Manila Bay views – the Pearl Wing orientation gives direct bay views from the upper floors. The suite windows face the water and the sunset orientation means the evening light in the room is the Manila Bay sunset that the property’s entire positioning references
• 🛏️ Double bed configuration – two beds, proper sizing, the full amenity program. The “double” in Executive Double Suite refers to the bed configuration rather than a double-room layout
• 🛁 Bathroom – full marble bathroom with soaking tub and separate rain shower. The bathroom scale and finish quality at $511/night is notably good – the Philippine cost-of-living differential means five-star amenities are available at a price point that would be mid-range at comparable properties in Singapore or Tokyo
• 📐 Living area – separate sitting area from the sleeping area, the suite configuration giving proper living space rather than a room with a sofa pushed to the wall
• 🌅 Views toward The Fountain – depending on the specific room assignment, views of the fountain complex are available from suite floors. The evening fountain show from the room is one of the specific reasons suite selection matters at this property

$511/night for a bay-view suite at a property of this scale and finish quality is a price point that reflects the Philippine market rather than what the same product would cost in comparable integrated resorts in Singapore (Marina Bay Sands) or Macau. This is the primary value argument for Okada Manila as a destination stay rather than just an airport layover hotel.

Room Tour 2 – Premium Double Suite ($374/night)

Second room tour from 51:02 to 54:48 covering the Premium Double Suite at 21,888 PHP / $374 USD per night. The Premium is the entry-level suite category, $137/night cheaper than the Executive, and the footage shows what the trade-off looks like. The room size and finish quality are both slightly below the Executive category but the core amenities – bathroom, views, bed quality – remain at the five-star standard the property maintains across all suite categories. The Premium Double is the rational choice for guests whose stay priority is the resort facilities rather than the in-room experience.

The room at night coverage from 1:13:42 to 1:15:39 shows how both suite categories present in the evening – city and bay lighting visible from the windows, the room lighting system creating the atmosphere that a resort suite should produce when you come back from dinner.

The Crystal Corridor – restaurants and retail

The Crystal Corridor is the glass-enclosed gallery that wraps around The Fountain and houses both the premium dining venues and the luxury retail boulevard. Coverage runs from 17:14 to 34:38 – nearly 18 minutes across restaurants, cafes, and the brand shopping area. This is the spine of the public-access experience at Okada Manila and the footage gives a proper sense of the scale.

The retail section from 28:03 to 34:38 is the Retail Boulevard – premium brand shops occupying the Crystal Corridor’s glass-fronted spaces with The Fountain visible through the exterior wall. Luxury brands, jewelry, the full integrated resort retail mix. For a Manila stopover this is the most accessible luxury shopping in the city without leaving the resort complex.

The restaurants

⭐ Kappo Imamura – Michelin-starred Japanese

The dinner coverage from 1:01:11 to 1:08:22 is the most significant food section in the vlog and the restaurant earns the time. Kappo Imamura holds a Michelin star and is the Japanese fine dining centerpiece of the Okada Manila food program. Kappo is a specific Japanese dining style – the chef prepares dishes in front of guests at a counter, a more interactive and intimate format than a standard restaurant table service. The combination of a Michelin-starred Tokyo-style kappo kitchen inside a Manila Bay casino resort is the specific detail that makes Okada Manila’s food and beverage offering more credible than most integrated resort restaurant collections. The vlog covers the course sequence, the presentation quality, and the service – all at the level a Michelin-starred restaurant needs to operate at regardless of its casino resort address.

🍝 La Piazza – Italian

Italian dinner coverage from 1:08:22 to 1:12:30. The resort’s Italian dining option covering the full pasta, pizza, and main course range in a setting that references the Crystal Corridor’s glass and fountain view aesthetic. Solid restaurant-quality Italian food rather than a hotel Italian restaurant that exists because the resort needs one. The coverage shows the food presentation and service quality at a level appropriate for a secondary dining option at a property with a Michelin-starred primary restaurant.

🍜 Medley Buffet and other venues

The breakfast buffet from 1:15:39 to 1:25:38 – 10 minutes of breakfast coverage at the Medley Buffet. The international buffet spread at Okada Manila’s all-day dining venue is extensive: Asian breakfast stations alongside international options, live cooking, pastry section, the full production. The coverage shows both the spread quality and the dining room setting – a proper buffet operation at the scale a 993-room resort requires. Other dining options on the property include Enbu for charcoal-grilled Japanese and Red Spice for Cantonese cuisine – both covered briefly in the Crystal Corridor walk-through section.

The Fountain

The Fountain show in the evening at 49:06 and the night show at 1:12:30. The $30 million fountain is the centerpiece of the 37,464-square-metre resort complex and the comparison to the Bellagio and Dubai Fountain is the claim Okada makes. The vlog shows both the evening and night performances – water jets, synchronized choreography, lighting, the full production. Whether it genuinely rivals the Bellagio fountains is subjective and depends on what you consider the comparison criteria. What the footage shows is a large-scale water feature with professional show production that is legitimately impressive for a Manila Bay resort and meaningfully above what most integrated resorts outside Macau and Las Vegas offer.

Suite selection at Okada Manila is worth doing with The Fountain view in mind. Crystal Corridor-facing rooms get direct fountain views and the show timing – roughly every 30 minutes in the evening – makes it a repeating room-view event rather than a one-time excursion.

Spa, gym, and pools

💆 The Retreat Spa

From 38:58 to 44:00 – five minutes covering the five-star spa facility and spa pool. The Retreat Spa operates with the full luxury spa treatment menu – Ayurvedic influences alongside Western modalities, multiple treatment room types, a dedicated spa pool separate from the main hotel pools. The spa design uses the same high-finish aesthetic as the rest of the property with water features and materials that create genuine calm within a building that also contains 2,600 slot machines. The spa pool coverage shows a properly designed water facility rather than a hotel spa pool that exists to fill a checkbox.

🏋️ Gym

At 44:00 to 45:20. Properly equipped for a 993-room resort – full equipment range, sufficient floor space, views toward Manila Bay from the upper floor location. Nothing unusual but nothing compromised.

🏊 Main Pool – Coral Wing

From 45:20 to 47:29. The outdoor pool wraps around the Y-shaped arms of the Coral Wing with Manila Bay views. The infinity pool section offers panoramic views toward the bay and the sunset orientation makes the late afternoon pool hours the specific time worth planning around. The pool setting at a Manila Bay integrated resort during the golden hour is the image the property’s social media is built around and the footage confirms it delivers.

Cove Manila

From 1:00:12 to 1:01:11. The indoor beach club and nightclub under the 30-metre high, 100-metre wide UVA/UVB-blocking glass dome is worth its own paragraph because it’s genuinely one of the more architecturally unusual entertainment spaces in Southeast Asia. 9,000 square metres under a glass dome with sky and Manila Bay views – the dome allows natural light while blocking UV, which is what makes an indoor beach club viable in the Philippines’ climate. The space hosts beach club events during the day and nightclub programming in the evening. At 9,000 square metres it’s one of the largest entertainment spaces of its type in the region.

The Garden and Manila Bay sunset

The Garden at 47:29 to 49:06 – the open outdoor space facing Manila Bay. The sunset from The Garden is the specific natural event the property’s entire Manila Bay orientation is built around. Manila Bay sunsets are legitimately famous – the combination of the bay’s width, the cloud formations over the South China Sea, and the way the light hits the water at the right time of year produces the deep red sunset that Okada’s marketing references. January through March tends to produce the most reliable conditions for the full Manila Bay sunset effect.

The casino

The casino floor isn’t the focus of the vlog but the property exists because of it and the context is worth having. 420 table games covering baccarat, blackjack, roulette, poker, and the full casino standard. 2,600 gaming machines. The Las Club and Maharlika Club VIP areas are enclosed within their own private areas on the floor, separate from the main gaming space. The Rewards Circle program structures the loyalty tiers from standard through to the VIP club levels. Philippine casinos operate under PAGCOR regulation and the gaming environment is properly managed rather than the unregulated situations that have historically made some Southeast Asian gaming destinations less comfortable for first-time visitors.

The price and the points situation

Two suite categories documented:

• 💼 Executive Double Suite: 29,955 PHP / $511 USD per night
• 🛋️ Premium Double Suite: 21,888 PHP / $374 USD per night

The honest value framing: $374-511/night for a five-star bay-view suite at a $2.4 billion integrated resort 10 minutes from the international airport is a price point that doesn’t exist at comparable properties in Singapore, Hong Kong, or Tokyo. This is the Philippine cost differential at work and it’s real. Marina Bay Sands in Singapore charges $500-800+ for a standard room. Okada Manila charges $374 for a suite.

How to approach booking:

• 🎰 Okada Rewards Circle – the property’s own loyalty program. Points accumulate on hotel stays, dining, and gaming spend. Higher tier status unlocks room upgrades, dining credits, and access to VIP areas. If you’re spending meaningfully in the casino the points accumulation is faster
• 💳 Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts – Okada Manila may be available through Amex Platinum’s FHR program, adding room upgrades, complimentary breakfast, noon check-in, 4pm late checkout, and a property credit. Check current FHR availability for this property
• 🌐 Book direct – integrated resorts of this type typically offer the best rates and flexibility on their own booking channels, with package options bundling dining credits, spa treatments, and casino credits that aren’t available through OTAs
• 📅 Best time to visit: November through April is the dry season in Manila – lower humidity, cooler temperatures, clearer skies for Manila Bay sunsets. December through February is the most comfortable window. May through October brings typhoon season and high humidity that makes outdoor areas like The Garden and pool less enjoyable

Frequently asked questions

📹 Video by ST Travel