Manila: Hotel/Neighborhood question

[dddave]

I need to spend a week in Manila in mid January. Most of my meetings will be around Makati.  Hotel is at my expense so I would like to keep the costs down but at the same time, want a decent place in a decent location (for Manila)

I understand Makati is probably the best area but also the most expensive.  Any reasonably priced ($50 or so)  hotels anybody can recommend in Makati?.  

Any other neighborhoods that are not too rough with decent accommodations at a lower price?

A pool would be nice but not necessary.  Cleanliness, comfort, cost and convenience are my main criteria.

[expatinbangkok]

 

 

http://nomadphilippines.com/san-agustin-residences

[coppywriter]

Stayed here a few times now and will do again.......

 

https://www.agoda.com/palm-rock-residences/hotel/manila-ph.html?checkin=2016-10-29&los=2&adults=2&rooms=1&cid=1646619&tag=3c897c60-6bac-785c-8151-6b6906ef78a2&searchrequestid=56606031-ea25-4b60-bdca-2083fabf36f5

[DoctorG]

Get onto Hotels.com or Bookings.com (or similar) and read the reviews. Many hotels misrepresent and I have found Manila hotels to be of poor quality. I stayed in Makati in June but I went backpacker for the atmosphere. Bad choice on my part.

[slippedisc]

I've lived in manila on and off last few years. Your budget is just about right for what you're looking for in Makati.

 

Personally i avoid hotels - too expensive for me in Manila.

 

I would check out Air BnB, you will get more bang for your buck for 2000 PHP per night and probably a discount for 7 days.

 

Use the map search function

 

The nearer you are to Makati Ave you are the better (plenty entertainment/malls in walking distance) otherwise you will spend half your trip stuck in Traffic.

 

Please feel free to msg, if you need any further help.

 

PS: for better value try Mandaluyong, it's next to Makati. This is where i stay. Taxi anywhere from 10 mins to 40 mins depending on traffic/which part you're in.

 

Traffic & transport dictate everything in Manila. It <deleted> sucks.

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by slippedisc
PS addition

[slippedisc]

Downside of Air BnB in Manila is many apartments don't have WiFi and mobile signal varies from 'crap' to 'not quite so crap'. Worth paying extra for a place with Wifi installed in the apartment - if you can find one. Will still be better that any hotel at same price.

[rogeroc]

The Red Planet in Makati (previously Tune Hotel) is in a good safe location next to all the entertainment and malls and has a pretty decent bar / restaurant attached. Rooms are small however but it will be in budget and is a simple, clean, functional option.

[siam2007]

Best Western Oxford Suites. in quite a safe location and in walking distance to many eating places and a small commuter shopping Center. Some red nightlife close by as well, but such thing is unavoidable in Makati in your desired price range. Could be 55-60 $, but a lot better value for money than the grossly overpriced tiny shoe box of a room (8sqm? probably less!) at Red Planet Makati. Don't expect too much from Oxford Suites either, Hotels in Manila and the Phils in general are pathetic value for money, if you are used to Thailand, Cambo, Malaysia, Vietnam.....

Don't forget to download the GRAB app, they even are now allowed to pick up from the airport. Regular Cabs can be dodgy, particularly for first-timers

 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2016 by siam2007

[hawker9000]

I would second Best Western, or possibly the Holiday Inn which is connected to Glorietta.  I"ve never really had problems with any taxis, and I think the ones that pick up at the reputable hotels are accountable and dependable.  But Manila traffic is just ridiculous - not the taxis' fault.  Getting on toward the holidays now it'll just be getting worse.  And the LRT is so over-crowded most of the time that it's not a great alternative.  Between the horrendous traffic & how hard it is to get around, NAIA which is a debacle at best (pretty much the only way in & out of the country for the most part except for Clark, but that's another story), and the crime at night, Manila's just on the avoid list.  But if your business takes you there and you gotta' go, then you gotta' go.

[dddave]

As the OP,  this is a follow-up to my Makati hotel question.  First of all, thanks for all the good advice. I checked most of the recommended hotels but they were either beyond my budget or not available on my dates.

Ended up staying at  "Zen-Riverside" a small hotel off Rizal, about a 10 minute, fairly difficult walk to the Makati business/restaurant/shopping area.

The room was small but spotlessly clean, as was the entire facility. Comfortable bed, good wifi and AC, small fridge, 40" TV with good cable channel options, reasonably quiet at night. I paid $25 per night which I thought very reasonable for the quality.  Great staff; always friendly and accommodating, free coffee but no meals served.

 

If I never see Makati again, or Manila for that matter I wont be unhappy;... dumpy and depressing.

I went into a couple of the Borgos (sp?) bars but was unimpressed...reminded me of the worst of Walking Street. Lots of girls wandering around, making their availability obvious.

I tried to see some local sites during my free time but traffic and the general hassle of getting around  soon had me watching tennis on TV.

Happy to be back in Bangkok...and a little more appreciative of it. 

Edited January 29, 2017 by dddave

[siam2007]

23 hours ago, dddave said:

As the OP,  this is a follow-up to my Makati hotel question.  First of all, thanks for all the good advice. I checked most of the recommended hotels but they were either beyond my budget or not available on my dates.

Ended up staying at  "Zen-Riverside" a small hotel off Rizal, about a 10 minute, fairly difficult walk to the Makati business/restaurant/shopping area.

The room was small but spotlessly clean, as was the entire facility. Comfortable bed, good wifi and AC, small fridge, 40" TV with good cable channel options, reasonably quiet at night. I paid $25 per night which I thought very reasonable for the quality.  Great staff; always friendly and accommodating, free coffee but no meals served.

 

If I never see Makati again, or Manila for that matter I wont be unhappy;... dumpy and depressing.

I went into a couple of the Borgos (sp?) bars but was unimpressed...reminded me of the worst of Walking Street. Lots of girls wandering around, making their availability obvious.

I tried to see some local sites during my free time but traffic and the general hassle of getting around  soon had me watching tennis on TV.

Happy to be back in Bangkok...and a little more appreciative of it. 

 

 

good to hear you found some advice here helpful.

 

ZENROOMS is actually a sort of booking system for cheap small and independent accomodation places and guesthouses that would otherwise be overlooked (many of them right so, I have to say). It is some sort of a booking system like airbnb. Would be interesting to know what the actual name of the place was as you seem to have been satisfied with what you got. This ZEN place has the highest rating of any ZEN places that I ever came across. There are literally hundreds of ZEN places all over South-East-Asia. They for example have signed 74 properties in Bangkok alone, plus 237 on Bali - all Hotels / guest houses / apartments that actually operate under another name but sell their rooms under the ZEN brand now too to attract more guests.

The Co was founded in Indonesia in 2014 by two French guys, under the roof of ROCKET INTERNET (a German company investing in Tech-start-ups)  and has its headquarters in Singapore now.

 

interesting read here:

http://www.thestandard.com.ph/business/227322/rocket-guys-shake-ph-hotel-industry.html

https://www.zenrooms.com/press-media

 

 

.

Edited January 30, 2017 by siam2007
ZEN

[dddave]

Than

On 1/30/2017 at 1:13 PM, siam2007 said:

interesting read here:

http://www.thestandard.com.ph/business/227322/rocket-guys-shake-ph-hotel-industry.html

https://www.zenrooms.com/press-media

 

Thanks for this link...very interesting read.  I had no idea it was a network similar to :AirBnB...I just assumed a small boutique style hotel chain.

I stayed at the "Zen Makati Riverside"   quite small, close to the canal ferry off Rizal by the Poblacion if that means anything to you...not an easy place to find.  

As I said before, small room but they seemed to go out of their way to make it comfortable.  The level of cleanliness was beyond criticism, the staff great.  I can understand the high rating. They deserve it.

If you sometime need a accommodation on the cheaper side, and can deal with a small but well appointed room then I would recommend it.

[siam2007]

On 31/01/2017 at 7:54 PM, dddave said:

Than

Thanks for this link...very interesting read.  I had no idea it was a network similar to :AirBnB...I just assumed a small boutique style hotel chain.

I stayed at the "Zen Makati Riverside"   quite small, close to the canal ferry off Rizal by the Poblacion if that means anything to you...not an easy place to find.  

As I said before, small room but they seemed to go out of their way to make it comfortable.  The level of cleanliness was beyond criticism, the staff great.  I can understand the high rating. They deserve it.

If you sometime need a accommodation on the cheaper side, and can deal with a small but well appointed room then I would recommend it.

 

seen it on googlemaps. Actually an interesting location as it seems walking distance to the Makati / Burgos strip. At night this is another story,  Makati is certainly safer than most places in Metro Manila, but at night you need to be extremely cautious everywhere