Tell me about the Philippines
 

in particular, Manila.

When is the rainy season in Manila?
How miserable is it during the rainy season?

How are Americans treated?

How much for lodging in a clean, safe hotel. Does not need to be extravagant lodging...but nice.

No need to tell me about the food. I love it!

mmcd, that's a bit like asking "How long is a piece of string?" There is so much information available on the internet that it truly is worthwhile doing a search, and not just on FT. For hotels try www.asia-hotels.com. They have pretty good rates and a decent selection of hotels.

Like any major city you have to be streetwise, keep you eyes open and refrain from doing anything provocative (such as wearing conspicuous jewelry or waving wads of money around). Otherwise I find the Filippinos friendly and helpful.

I always found it a strange paradox though that a country that is so openly devoutly Catholic has such a large number of people walking around with guns!

I know June, July and August get the most rainfall. May & September might be included in the rainy season but I'm not sure.

If you want to go to Manila, you should go now. It gets really hot around mid-march. UA has a great fare right now to Manila. From ORD-MNL (UA ORD-HKG Philippine Airlines HKG-MNL) for like $705+ taxes. For one day in January, the price dropped to like $660 all-in.

The hotels are relatively cheap compared to similar quality ones in the US or Europe. The best ones are in Makati. The last time I checked, I believe the Shangri-La was like $150-175/night (closer to the later #). That's the best hotel there. You can get the Peninsula for $100/night but the reviews I've read said that the hotel looks like it needs to be remodeled. When I was there, I stayed in the Mandarin Oriental for a few days b/c my aunt's house ended up having fleas. I paid like $120 a night plus service fees (I forgot to add that all the hotels add on a good percentage of fees for service and taxes.). If I go back, I want to stay at the Shangri-La. The Mandarin Oriental was nice, but the Shangri-La is newer and the rooms look much better from the pics I've seen.

I can't really tell you how American's are treated as I'm sure I had a different experience that you would. I'm assuming by your question that you're white. I'm an American but of Filipino decent so I can blend in better. You'll be fine in the Makita area which has a huge shopping area close by (I believe it's called Glorietta).

I can say that getting around in the cabs is cheap, but some drivers try to scam you by not running the meter. Also, many will refuse to take you on far trips when it's busy b/c they'll make more money but just doing short trips.

If you have any other specific questions, I can do my best to answer them. I haven't been there in two years, but I am considering going in March or April if I can.

The Philippines is a great country with very friendly people. I have relatives there and since we built a little vacation-house, we go there twice a year.
Raining season is between June and October. In Manila, there's usually a lot of rain during that time, but if you go further south, like the Visayas, the weather is quite ok.

In Manila, I like to stay in Makati. As the former poster mentioned, there are some very nice hotels. I've stayed twice at the Peninsula during the last 12 months and it's a wonderful hotel. It's very close to an area called "The Greenbelt", a beautiful park/shopping-mall/eating place.

Usually, foreigners are treated well, no matter where they come from. Filipinos are open-minded and outgoing. Although, if you behave like a jerk, they can become angry and unfriendly. So it's absolutely up to you how you will be treated. Most of them speak very good English, but if you talk too fast with a strong american accent, they sometimes have difficulties to understand you. They will never let you know and just give you a smile, but it's recommended to slow down a bit. Don't get involved in political discussions, they know that lots of things are not perfect in their country, but they don't like foreigners to comment on it.

I wish you a nice trip!

Thank all of you for the very informative replies!

I realize my question was VERY broad/generalized but the responses have been great!

I have also been checking hotel rates from other sites but it always seems helpful to get first-hand information from people in the know.

If YOU go let US know how it was and what YOU found ^

I was there in January, first visit in 35+ years. Stayed at the Shangri-La in Makati which is a fine hotel, at least on the club floor where I was. The Shangri-La Makati (there are other Shangri-La's in Manila) and the Peninsula are across the street from each other, and I suspect the Peninsula is also very good although I only looked at the lobby.

On a sidenote, the Peninsula Fountain has a sign that I found amusing. It said in Tagalog that bathing in the fountain was prohibited. That just cracks me up b/c that should be obvious. So is no urinating in the street, but there are plenty of signs reminding you not to do that too...

Renaissance Makati Hotel (a Marriott property, formerly called New World) is another fine hotel within a 5-10 minute walk from the Shangri-La Makati. It is located within a stone's throw of Greenbelt (the aforementioned entertainment district) and is more reasonably priced.

Hotel InterContinental Manila is another one. As I recall it recently underwent renovation.

A notch or two down from the ones already mentioned in this thread is Dusit Hotel Nikko which is a popular hotel among Japanese businessmen.

Another travel site to try is www.asiatravel.com which offers great bargains on these and other midpriced hotels. Don't forget to check out their prepayment rates.

As you descend toward Manila, check out the visibility. Do you enjoy air pollution? Does the soot intrigue you when you blow your nose?

If not, immediately connect at MNL and fly down to somewhere nice, like DGT (Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, in the Visayas region).

The only other Shangri-La in Manila is Edsa Plaza Shangri-La located I believe in a nearby suburb of Makati and more interestingly right next to a gigantic shopping mall. This mall has everything... brand name fashion, knock-offs, restaurants, supermarket, souveneir shops, Internet cafes, bowling alleys, movie theaters, medical and dental clinics... you name it. Might be a good choice if you like to mingle with the Filipino hoi polloi.

I visited Manila for the first time last year since 1971. The climate was very hot and humid.

I stayed at the Pan Pacific, a terrific four star hotel for less than 100/nite at first but then moved to the Shangri La Makati, a five star for about 160/nite. For my purposes, it was in a better location than the Pan Pacific.

The people are great in Manila but there are terrorist concerns so security is tight, i.e. metal detectors, bomb sniffing dogs etc. There is a great disparity in wealth so there are many very poor areas that you do not want to go to. However, if your behavior is the same as anywhere you travel; being respectful of the local people and their culture and using common sense as to where you go, you will have no problems whatsoever.

In my case, my business hosts were on the wealthy end of the scale so I went to many wonderful restaurants with great cuisine. They did have chauffeurs and body guards so security was never an issue. I only walked around unescorted outside the hotel in daylight hours on main streets.

Enjoy Manila!!

What was the rate? $175/night like rhwbullhead mentioned?

When did you visit?

Oh no. Round trip tickets (DSM to MNL) were $780 yesterday. Today they are $1400!

How on earth did they go up so much so quickly!

Are there any 'tricks' to finding better rates?

Isn't there a time of day/week that fares drop?