I was one of the lucky few who got invited to the press preview and launching of SM Seaside City Cebu at the South Road Properties last November 26, 2015. The preview was done a day before the actual opening. The people who were present during the event were important Cebu figures, SM executives, city officials, members of the local and national press, celebrity guests, and bloggers.
Here are some of the photos I took during the event – before the maddening crowd completely took over all breathable space the following day. Enjoy the photos! 🙂
P.S. The photos at the bottom were taken two days after the mall opened its doors to the public.
The Parking Area
The basement and above-ground parking areas of SM Seaside City Cebu are humongous. There are almost five thousands slots and each one is equipped with a LED indicator (green if vacant or red if occupied.)
Like the parking levels of SM City Cebu, SM Seaside City’s parking areas are accessible via several sets of spiral ramps.
As SM Seaside City will be operating its very own bus system, the new mall has a special area for loading and unloading. And it’s beautiful.
SM Seaside City’s MyBus in action.
Passengers waiting for the next bus to arrive.
The MyBus line now makes travelling from Mactan Island to the mall or from Talisay City to the mall short and easy.
Mall Interior
Unlike most SM malls, SM Seaside City Cebu is big on curves and smooth swerves. Based on its tagline on social media, it is indeed #AboveAllElse.
Several high-speed glass elevators can be found in the mall’s major wings.
These beautiful access spiral staircases can also be seen in various parts of the mall.
The mall has generous floor-to-ceiling clearance. And this makes the already massive mall seem even more gigantic.
A very visually enthralling ceiling piece differentiates the Cyberzone from the rest of the mall.
With the use of new and modern designs, the mall’s important areas – like the Centerstage – all seem very stylish and high-end.
Hugely different from its SM City Cebu counterpart, Seaside’s foodcourt boasts of a beautiful ceiling design, a multidimensional set-up, and a jaw-droppingly beautiful view.
Gracing the opening of the foodcourt was the general himself – John Arcilla aka Heneral Luna.
SM Seaside City Cebu has a stylish and state of the art Bowling Center with a pool hall and more than a dozen lanes.
The mall’s Cube Wing foyer areas give a beautiful view of the Mactan Channel.
Too tired to walk towards the escalators, don’t fret. The mall has a handful of access staircases that take you to different floors quick and simple.
The Central Roundabout
In the very middle of the development is a long, metallic skyscraper.
The tower will house several food and lifestyle outlets and a viewing deck.
A long skybridge connects the mall’s Mountain Wing to the Cube Wing.
On the ground, a beautiful central garden adds beauty to the already impressive architecture.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama chats with SM’s Hans Sy as they take a look at the central roundabout below.
SM Cinemas
SM’s top guy Mr. Hans Sy and Mayor Michael Rama lead the opening of SM Cinemas.
Hallway of SM Large Screen Cinemas.
SM Cinema restrooms.
Cinema foyer area with a totally sleek look.
Another great addition is the Directors Club Cinema.
The cinema has only 56 La-Z-Boy seats and a dedicated butler to take care of your orders.
SM Skating
Returning to Cebu is SM’s very own ice skating rink.
Guests only need to pay Php 380 to go ice-skating non-stop as long for as they want.
Sky Park
A scenic walk which offers guests a wonderful view of the sky park outside.
Right smack in the middle of the Sky Park is the Sky Hall – a function hall which can accommodate probably around 500 guests.
Scattered all over the sky park are ampitheater-like structures for guests who want to enjoy the fresh air or the sun.
Several specialty dining destinations can also be see at the Sky Park.
Probably the busiest part of the Sky Park is the Children’s playground.
Big, wide open spaces await guests at the Sky Park.
Opening soon at the Sky Park: the water playground.
The Cube
Cube Wing entrance as seen from the bottom of the iconic giant Cube.
SM Seaside City as the South Road Properties.
The Cube – which changes colors are night – as seen from the Cube Wing promenade.
Photos Taken 2 Days after the Opening
The cavernous main lobby at the Mountain Wing facing the San Pedro Calungsod Chapel.
The massive main activity hall at the Mountain Wing.
Jollibee is a crowd favorite.
Business is doing great. Despite having only around 60% of the shops ready in time for the opening, thousands visited the mall on its first week.
Have you been to SM Seaside City Cebu? Tell us what you think!
They are so clever on not having an outside parking area and I dont know how much they charge a vehicle per hour inside, but just a ROUGH ESTIMATE: 300 vehicles X 5 peso/hr, X 12 hrs in a day (open at 10am,closed on 10 pm.) total = 18,000.00 per day. Then mulitply it by 30 days = 540,000.00 in a month!! then multiply by 12 (months) = CACHING!!! 6,480,000.00 – that’s 6 million peso a year!! again just an average estimate! 🙂 these chinese people really making a lot of money!
And were only talking on the parking area, excluding the stores renting inside!
Amazing!!!
Parking area sensor – Red if occupied, Green if vacant ^^
haha. just realized that. sorry. will fix it asap. 😀
halu ley! impressive jud ang structures sa sm seaside but skills in camera make it more impressive and undeniably great. salamat ley mura pud kog ga tour sa sm as i went through your photos. great job! more pictures. robinsons galleria cebu napud. what’s next?
ato ni bay ley! naa napud bai hotel ug mandani resort bai. hehehe
Awesome shots Ley! It’s like being there too (minus the smell of newly cured concrete).
Well, personally, SM Seaside opened their mall not completely done. So impressions were not that so nice as Robinsons Galleria did.