[6] The hotel complex was built on a reclaimed area of 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft) at the northwestern end of Rizal Park along Bonifacio Drive in Ermita.

[7] Its penthouse served as the residence of General Douglas MacArthur during his tenure as the Military Advisor of the Philippine Commonwealth from 1935 to 1941.

[6] It has hosted world leaders and celebrities, including authors Ernest Hemingway and James A. Michener; actors Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and John Wayne; publisher Henry Luce; entertainers Sammy Davis Jr., Michael Jackson and The Beatles; Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III); and U.S. President Bill Clinton.

The original design was an H-shaped plan that focused on well-ventilated rooms on two wings, providing grand vistas of the harbor, the Luneta, and Intramuros.

The top floor was, in fact, a large viewing deck that was used for various functions, including watching the American navy steam into the harbor.

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) was given the mandate to form a new subsidiary corporation that would restore, renovate, and expand the Manila Hotel.

[3] Guest amenities were updated including executive services, language translation, a business library, and color television and closed circuit movies.

The tender went to a Malaysian firm, the Renong Berhad and ITT-Sheraton combine over Emilio Yap, a Chinese Filipino billionaire tycoon and owner of the Manila Bulletin, the country's largest newspaper by circulation.

Yap went to the Supreme Court of the Philippines and won by matching Rehong's bid and citing the Constitution's Filipino First policy in the ownership of a 'national patrimony'.

[15] One of the first things Yap did was to pull down the three brass chandeliers in the lobby, upon recommendation of a feng shui expert, and replace them with five.

[16] On January 17, 2008, the Manila Hotel Tent City, located west of the original structure was opened.

[17] The Tent became the center stage when the hotel celebrated its 100th anniversary with a Centennial Ball on July 4, 2012, with President Benigno Aquino III as the guest-of-honor.

Approximately 2,000 University of the Philippines students and members of the Lapiang Manggagawa (LM) party had moved their protest from the United States Embassy to the Manila Hotel, where US president Lyndon Johnson and other international delegates were residing in during the Manila Summit on the Vietnam War.

On July 6, 1986, a group of military officers loyal to Marcos took over the Manila Hotel and declared Arturo Tolentino, his vice presidential running mate, as interim president.