ChateauMargaux

Hi all, I have a flight into Manila at 8pm at night, and then departing around 1am two days later (for a total of 29 hours in Manila). I do not plan to do much besides relaxing by an outdoor pool and maybe walking to some local tourist sites or walking for some local food. Where can I stay so I can explore on foot and not need to use cabs (besides to/from the airport/hotel)? I am currently looking at the Conrad, the view is very nice there, but seems a bit off center.

In a similar light, I am also looking for a private tour guide to do a half-day day tour of Manila, recommendations much appreciated. Thank you in advance!

gpia

Personally, I would stay around the Greenbelt/Glorietta Mall areas in Makati, not the Mall of Asia area where the Conrad is located. Manila is really not a place like Hong Kong or Tokyo where you would have easy access to "local" areas, and IMHO certainly not a place to experiment with the location of your hotel, especially if you want to walk around. There's a number of FTers from MNL though, maybe they'll chime in.

One suggestion: The Dusit Thani is newly renovated and has a nice little pool to hang out at during the day. You wouldn't need a cab to go anywhere for food and drinks. Most options won't be particularly local anyway, the shopping malls are largely dominated by international chains much like everywhere else these days.

As for the tour: Intramuros is a must, and I did enjoy seeing the Rizal Monument. Hope someone can suggest a driver / guide for you.

tvhead

The Sofitel has an amazing pool, and one of the best buffets in Asia (breakfast, lunch, dinner). Peninsula in Makati is also nice. A charming, small boutique hotel is The Henry Hotel. They are all close enough to the airport. At those arrival and departure times, you should not have any serious traffic problems. Intramuros is quite interesting. Mall of Asia has nice cinemas.

ChateauMargaux

tvhead

Are you a solo traveler? Or are there others in your party? What sorts of things are you interested in seeing? I might be able to recommend a local guide

ChateauMargaux

Solo traveler, interested in cultural sites (not necessarily historical sites) and local cuisine. Also beautiful places to photograph.

CrazyInteg

What does this mean? I know nothing about Manila.

gpia

Manila is not accessible by foot, and there is no subway or any other means of public transportation available to the common tourist.

Hotels in Makati, which is probably the closest Manila has to a "city center" are integrated into / next to shopping mall districts, where you wouldn't find anything local. Outskirts can be sketchy to dangerous - plus, it would take ages to get anywhere for the heavy traffic where a couple of kilometers can take hours. So while Taxis/Grab work fine, you'd need forever to get anywhere.

SAT Lawyer

RustyC

As others have mentioned, Intramuros is roughly the center of the old touristy Manila, with Rizal Park to the south and Binondo/Divisoria to the north having some places of interest. South of the park you've also got Malate and the Baywalk for sunsets. It's all even navigable on foot (or with the cheap but crowded LRT), but you could get some serious humidity and a lot of horsecart drivers wanting you to get a ride with them that way.

Two restaurants in the general area that are distinctive are the Harbor View (with seating on a covered pier over the water, good for sunsets) and, at the other end of the Baywalk, the original Aristocrat (ultra-popular Filipino food redoubt since 1936).

tvhead

+1. I've stayed there, too. And it was good. Rooftop bar/restaurant is very nice.

Chancensam

ChateauMargaux

Oh yea I'm interested in food tours as well. Thanks!

clubeurope

As others have mentioned, Manila isn't very accessible, and the Intramuros would be where you would find many of Manila's historical sights, among which includes Rizal Park, the Manila Cathedral, and many monuments of sorts. The Manila Hotel is physically located within the Intramuros and was recently renovated. You may be interested to know that it is a historical monument in itself and has quite a storied past.

The Conrad is located in Pasay, and is not quite in Manila itself, being in Metro Manila. It shares the area with the casinos of the metropolitan area (the most famous of which is the City of Dreams). There's not much to see aside from malls and casinos, and judging by your interests, I don't think is very suitable.

Alternatively, I recommend The Peninsula, located on the intersection of Ayala Av. in Makati. Makati is the Central Business District of Metro Manila, and is really built. Located nearby, in Greenbelt Mall, there's this restaurant called Sentro which serves great "modern" Filipino food. Just by Greenbelt itself is the Ayala Museum which may be of your interest (pay attention to its opening times as they are closed on Mondays)

Finally, do bear in mind that getting around by car will be a hassle at certain times of day when the traffic is really bad.

ChateauMargaux