MANILA -- Located on the 19th floor of Hotel Jen in Pasay City, Windows by the Bay club lounge and bar offers one of the best views of Manila and Manila Bay. With floor to ceiling windows, it offers a panoramic view of the bustling city below, thus the name.

Windows by the Bay serves as a members-only club lounge during the day but turns into a chill-out bar at night available for all hotel guests.

“We have guests who ask where can we hang out? Where can we chill out? Windows by the Bay was conceptualized as a chill-out lounge. It's open from 7:30 p.m. onwards and open to all hotel guests,” explained Hotel Jen Marketing and Communications manager Twinkle Lacsamana.

Hotel Jen is the former Traders Hotel and is under the Shangri-La group of hotels. Located along Roxas Boulevard, Windows by the Bay's main selling point is the view. The bar has a great view of the Manila Bay including its world famous sunset, the CCP complex, and Roxas blvd.

“Relatively in the area, there's not a lot of hang-out places. The favorite tourist spot or destination of our guests is Mall of Asia. At night, they usually just want to sit down and enjoy the view. In fairness, even the traffic is enjoyable to watch from here. The mood is very relaxing and juts chill, that's the whole idea,” Lacsamana said.

Like all its hotel rooms, the lounge interior was also revamped to keep with the theme of Hotel Jen. Traders was rebranded to Hotel Jen to cater to the younger market. Windows by the Bay uses vibrant colors from the furniture to the artworks. And periodically, it features and sells a young Filipino artist's artworks displayed on the walls of the bar.

“The perception before when it was still Traders, it was like a mini Shangri-La, even the service was almost the same. The only difference was the range of facilities and services. The management want to have a different brand catering to a specific type of market. That was the goal three years ago,” she explained.

During the day, the club lounge offers various dishes from the hotel menu as well as different drinks during the cocktail hour or sunset cocktail from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to club members. At 7:30 p.m. it opens to all hotel guests as a hangout place.

“Our menu is composed of light bites and cocktails plus the introduction of signature dishes and drinks. Mixed cuisine, we have signature dishes that are international but we have local dishes also. The in-room menu is also available for guests,” Lacsamana said.

The menu is a mix of international and local cuisines. Pick from classic bar chows like mozzarella sticks to buffalo wings. There's also sandwiches like the Ambassador's Burger (charcoal-grilled beef patty topped with cheese and mushroom confit) and the vegetarian option grilled vegetable sandwich. There's also a couple of pizza selection and Filipino classics like crispy pata.

The bar menu offers the typical alcoholic drinks and cocktails, like local and imported beers. But the bar recently launched its signature cocktails and dishes that is available at all Hotel Jen locations in different parts of the world.

What's more interesting is that the cocktails are served in different and quirky vessels. There's the Pina Kale Ada cocktail is a kale-infused pina colada drink served in a fresh coconut shell. The mocktail Tea Time in Tanglin, served in a plastic pouch, is a drink inspired by the Singaporean Kopi Tiam.

The China Lady is served in a clear tea cup and is made from different Chinese liqueurs. And the Beer Milkshake is a beer in milkshake form topped with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and chocolate sandwich cookie, served in a mason jar mug.