Robert De Niro Opens 1st Nobu Hotel in Country and in Asia

Last May 18, 2015, Robert de Niro and his Nobu Hospitality partners opened the Nobu Hotel in Manila. This is the first branch in all of Asia and is their stepping stone for global expansion.

With 321 rooms and conveniently located inside the City of Dreams complex, the opening and ribbon cutting was welcomed by traditional drumbeats and tons of silver and gold confetti.

Among his Nobu Hospitality partners are Hollywood producer Meir Teper and famous chef Nobu Matsuhisa. The 3 held the ribbon cutting ceremony along with Lawrence Ho and James Packer, co-chairmen of Melco Crown Entertainment, the operator of City of Dreams complex.

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro is very involved in the project and says that he is not in it simply for his namesake. The renowned and multiple award winning actor said that he is aware of everything concerning the hotel and provides feedback when he feels something isn’t right. He was also quoted as saying “To me you have to do more than lend your name, you gotta be there in order to just be more a part of it and really believe in it.” He also added that his partners, Packer and Ho, got to him because of their vision for the hotel. He says that both have carefully analyzed the market and have concluded that people will be drawn to the country which will eventually help the Philippines.

Nobu Hospitality has only begun to start in Asia starting with the Philippines. According to CEO Trevor Horwell, they’ll be expanding quickly and will probably open eight more hotels in the upcoming 2 years. The planned locations are in the Middle East, North America and London. There are also plans to grow in Asia but it will be done selectively and with more analysis.

Nobu’s first hotel was launched last 2013 in Las Vegas as a venture which developed from Nobu Restaurants.