FlyerTalk Forums - Philippines

Quote:

Originally Posted by 747LWW (Post 7238961)

Can you provide a list of your favorite hotels in Manila?

I mainly stay in Ortigas and Makati and can give a brief review of each I've stayed at:

Ortigas:
Richmonde Hotel -- about $80/night. Have studio, 1BR and 2BR rooms available. Only stayed in a 1BR and had a mini kitchen. Not a bad location--walking distance to SM Megamall, Podium and Shangri-La Plaza (all malls). A little further is Robinson's Galleria. About 5 long blocks to Emerald Ave with lots of call-centers. Twice I found 4-5 huge cockroaches in the room. Hotel was nice and apologized and sent a gift basket after the 2nd time but these were about 1.5 inches and I couldn't take it and moved to Linden Suites a block away. Buffet was decent but it seems like it was always crowded.

Linden Suites -- Same pricing and room types as Richmonde. More convenient to some food places and a Mini Stop next door. The rooms were a little bigger and a little nicer but, I had money taken twice. I complained to the GM and the president of the company and they accused my relatives of taking the money and assumed no responsibility. They wouldn't even admit the possibility of their employees taking the money.

The first time, we were changing rooms. We emptied the safe but my wife left her wallet in there. Someone brought it to our new room but when she counted it, $100 was missing. She had just arrived the day before and had brought $1000 cash. When the wallet was returned, only $900 was in it.

The second time, I had left a little over 5000 pesos in a pocket on my laptop case that disappeared. Since I work US hours, I work at nights and my case was always in the room during the day. I could narrow it down to 2 days that it would have disappeared. The GM stated that the guards at the door said I had nieces and nephews come over a lot and that they were the ones who took it.

Needless to say, I was extremely upset and after staying there for about 3-4 weeks straight, I checked out and went to the Mandarin Oriental in Makati. I will never stay at the Linden Suites again. I want to stay somewhere that I feel the staff is honest.

Edsa Shangri-La – about $150/night. I have stayed in both towers. The tower closest to the Shangri-La Plaza mall is the newer one and is the one with the Concierge Lounge. I think it’s called the Garden tower. I remember the breakfast being decent but I think it’s about 800 pesos for a guest for breakfast. It’s been a few years since I stayed there so I don’t remember the exact amount. We had some family visit for breakfast and spent a lot treating them to the buffet.

They do have a nice spa and gym but the salon is expensive. I think a haircut for men is about 850 pesos. I was just there last Wednesday asking them but I forgot the exact amount. We got to one of the salons in the Shangri-La Plaza across the street for about half that price in a much nicer facility. Or, I went to the barber shop in the basement and got a haircut for 100 pesos. Only went there because the stylist at the salon that I usually go to was not in that day and I was leaving the next day.

It is convenient for shopping because the Shangri-La Plaza is across the street, SM Megamall is a block away and the Megamall is connected to St. Francis Square (where you can buy pirated software and movies) and that is practically connected to Podium.

Other hotels in Ortigas are Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Discovery Suites, Malayan and Astoria but I haven’t stayed in them. Astoria is by far in the worst location of all the hotels mentioned. I may be missing some but I think I have the larger ones covered.

Makati:

Makati Shangri-La – about $200/night. This is probably one of the nicer hotels in Manila. I stayed here a few times and the rooms are pretty nice—again it’s been a few years so I don’t remember exact details. Never been to the Concierge Lounge either. There are bars and restaurants in the hotel and I remember the buffet to be decent. Glorietta Mall is across the street which has Western restaurants such as Hard Rock, CPK, TGIF, Outback, and Tony Romas. Greenbelt is also connected to Glorietta with a lot of shopping and restaurants also.

New World Renaissance – about $150/night. Rooms are not bad but I’ve only been on the Concierge level since I am a platinum with Marriott. Their lounge is open 24 hours a day and they have 3 computers for use in the lounge. Breakfast buffet in the lounge is limited but the buffet downstairs in the restaurant is not bad.

The hotel is right across the street from Greenbelt which makes it very convenient. If it wasn’t for the Mandarin Oriental, I would stay here more often.

Mandarin Oriental – about $100+/night. Although it’s smaller than the Shangri-La and New World, I have spent a lot of time at this hotel and this is my hotel of choice. I find that because of the smaller size, I have gotten to know many of the staff here pretty well. The Concierge Lounge has friendly staff and serves drinks until 10 or 11pm. The breakfast buffet downstairs at Paseo Uno is pretty good also. There are 2 restaurants upstairs on the 2nd floor that I haven’t tried and a deli in the corner of the hotel.

I’ve gone to the salon quite a few times but haven’t tried the spa since they changed ownership about a year ago. I went before and can’t imagine it being too different. For the 3500 or so pesos that they charge, I’ll go to Shangri-La or The Spa in Greenbelt or Podium for about 1000 pesos.

The hotel is not convenient to the malls but since we are usually picked up, it is easier for a driver to get to than the Shangri-La, Renaissance, Peninsula, Oakwood, Dusit or Inter-Continental. There are a bunch in the $50-$80 range right in the middle of the red-light district but I’ve never stayed at any of those. I've also never stayed in the Ermita/Malate area but I know there are dozens of hotels over there also.

Hope this helps. PM or post if you have further questions.