For Filipinos, it is nothing new. Since its first use circa 19-forgotten, the word “kilig” has been synonymous with a number of situations—from those warm and fuzzy feelings an enamored person gets when love is requited, to laying eyes on a matinee idol in the flesh for the very first time, or even simply hearing a favorite ballad over the radio.

More succinctly put, Oxford defines it as, “when used as an adjective, refers to what a person feels when exhilarated by an exciting or romantic experience; thrilled, elated, gratified, and when used as a noun, kilig means exhilaration or elation caused by an exciting or romantic experience; an instance of this, a thrill.”

Speaking of thrill, it is a word that lifestyle and entertainment hubs like Resorts World Manila (RWM) thrive on, because as the country’s first one-stop nonstop integrated resort, it has built its reputation after just seven years in operation as a place of world-class attractions and top caliber events that have made not just local guests feel “kilig”, but also tourists from both near and distant lands.

In 2010, RWM set the entertainment bar high with its first stage offering “KAOS” at the Newport Performing Arts Theater (NPAT) that had both Filipinos and foreign nationals in awe—or simply kilig—by the sheer scale of its production. This grand spectacle executed in the spirit of Cirque du Soleil combined the best elements of Las Vegas and Broadway entertainment in one show that signaled the arrival of the world’s best productions in our shores.

Then, in 2014, RWM saluted the resilient spirit of the Filipino by providing aid to victims of Typhoon Yolanda in the wake of the disaster. Fundraisers in the form of star-studded musicals such as Do You Hear the People Sing? produced by none other than Les Misérables and Miss Saigon lyricist and composer Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg proved to be high in “kilig” factor as theater superstars Lea Salonga, David Harris, and Marie Zamora belted out hit after hit—all in the name of a good cause.

Most recently, fans of rock band The Police and Grammy award-winner Sting all shrieked a collective sigh of “kilig” when their idol Gordon Sumner, aka Sting, serenaded them for two straight hours at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in an intimate concert as special guest of renowned trumpeter and fellow Grammy award-winner Chris Botti. A few lucky fans even got up close and personal with both artists before the show—with a photo beside both of them to prove it.

The thrills that RWM delivers and the “kilig” factor that ensues are omnipresent all throughout the property; from the rapture one experiences upon biting into a Heavenly Bun found only at Happy 9 within RWM’s Genting Club, to the grandeur of a New Year’s Eve countdown party at the Marriott Grand Ballroom featuring numbers by Divine Diva Zsa Zsa Padilla, International Pop Star Charice, and Concert King Martin Nievera, to Marriott Grand Ballroom hosting the world-famous YouTube Fan Festival for the first time in the Philippines—certainly enough to make the country’s army of netizens feel hopelessly “kilig”.

With RWM’s seventh anniversary happening later this year, plus the staging of its seventh major production Annie the Musical in September, there are a whole lot more thrills in the pipeline for those who just can’t get enough of that loving feeling that is to be “kilig”. Visit www.rwmanila.com or call the Tourist/Visitor Hotline at (+632) 908-8833 for information on the many thrills that await at Resorts World Manila.

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