Manila Hotel Reviews

Ermita is a rough neighborhood and a little scary at times. However, the hotel is located near the big Robinsons Shopping Mall - Within walking distance. There are a number of bars in the area as well as restaurants. There are museums nearby and bank machines as well, however, be very careful with your money - don''t withdraw cash and then stand there counting it in front of everyone as many people have had their cash stolen right out of their hand! There seem to be many Japanese men in the area hanging out with young Philipino women. As well, there is the LA Cafe/Bar that is basically a pick up joint for Foreign men and young Philipino women. My girlfriend and I stopped in for a drink and she was asked to pay a P100 entrance fee while I was permitted to enter free of charge (she is Japanese).

The Mandarin is within walking distance from the famous Glorietta shopping center with plenty of restaurants, all kinds of entertainment and excellent shopping facilities.

Hotel central, cabs easily accessed. Restaurants within walking distance.

Excellent location for getting to Robinson''s Mall. Very rough surrounding neighborhood. Ermita actually frightened my girlfriend. I thought some of the locals were pretty aggressive when asking for money or selling. Street kids smacked my girlfriend on her ass and asked us for money every day. The area is rough. Be careful when taking money out of an ATM on the street. Robberies do occur.

Corregidor tour was outstanding, no thanks to Bayview Hotel, Manila. City Garden Hotel in Makati was most helpful.

Having visited Manila many times over the past 15 years, I am pleased to say that many things have improved during that time. The majority of taxis used their meters, the hustlers and beggers were far fewer. There are many superb restaurants in all the malls, particularly Greenbelt.

Traffic and pollution terrible but apart from that ok

I would recommend a stay in Hyatt Regency and take some time out to visit their beaches. I stayed in Tagaytay, and it is a wonderful experience. If you hate the heat in Manila, Tagaytay is the second best after Baguio. It is an hour and a half drive from Manila so it is very accessible. Try and visit Puerto Galera, a very wonderful place...good food, lovely sight, wonderful entertainment. Good value for money too.

La Tienda is an excellent (and non-smoking) Spanish restaurant in Makati area. Manila taxi drivers are not as bad as the guide books say! Just know where you are going and, if they are not using a meter, agree the cost in advance.

For tours and places to be visited, you can rely on the information available at Discovery Suites and asia-hotels.com. Regarding restaurants, I do recommend travellers to go to the Mega-Mall, just beside the hotel. In the 4th. floor you can find dozen of restaurants, some better then others, with excellent value for money.

Manila is Manila. But at least in Makati you have the best of what there is. Some really nice restaurants at the Landmark complex - Hard Rock, Japanese, Thai even a German restaurant very close to the hotel.

It has been 10 years since I have been in Manila. More people, more traffic, food remains wonderful and the people are warm and friendly as ever!

I found the philippines both a very interesting and yet sad place to visit. I was not ready for the amount of poverty that I saw. I did enjoy all of the great shops, street sellers and the many malls. <BR><BR> The best way to get around Manila is by taxi. If you are staying at the Bayview Park and need a taxi do not get a taxi from the lobby entrance. You will pay 200 to 300 peso flate rate for a taxi. Instead, walk 50 yards to the street, there you can get a taxi for 75 to 125 peso. The taxi ride is 15 mintues from the airport and 5 mintues to the nearest mall.

Go see Boracay Island and Banaue Rice Terraces with Annsett Holidays, Inc.

Makati is ok for a couple of days as there isnt enough to do and the traffic is too heavy.The shopping malls are excellent, the nightlife is pretty good but the drinks are slightly overpriced in general especially in P Burgos street.People are generally friendly and helpful and most speak good english

The Copacabana is across the street from the Edsa Entertainment Complex. This complex has an assortment of go-go and karaoke bars catering to the male clientele. The music at the go-go bars tends to be very loud, and the buying of drinks for the ladies is aggressively encouraged at all places.

The hotel arranged a trip to Boracay for me which was excellent. I''d recommend Makati as a good area to stay, it has plenty of bars and restauarants around the Landmark mall. I had a scary ride back to the airport from the hotel when I left, the traffic was stationary so the driver had to break all kinds of rules to get me there in time for my flight, make sure you allow 90 minutes to get from the hotel to the airport if it''s in a busy period.

If using a taxi ALWAYS insist they use the meter. Should start at P25. They like to tell you the meter is broken but it is not, just get another cab. Don''t let them rip you off.

Travelled only within Manila which is always a challenge.

This is written may 2003 where exchange rate is US$1 = P52. <BR><BR> Everything is within walking distance from City Garden Hotel. Shops, bars, restaurants, money changers, 7-11 shops, etc. <BR><BR> Start from Robinson''s mall, about 7 minutes walk from the hotel. Everything is here. Food, bars, movie/cinema, billiards, bowling, you name it. Most place in Robinsons accept Visa/Mastercard/Visa electron card. <BR><BR> Typical food in Robinson''s food court will cost around P40 - p80 (US$0.80 - US$1.60) per portion. Cabalen restaurant in Robinsons is a good buffet all-you-can-eat restaurant offering authentic Filipino food, price is around US$6 per person. This is already quite expensive by local standards. For a more upscale Filipino buffet restaurant you can try newly opened Kamayan restaurant in Padre Faura, also near Robinsons. <BR><BR> Just wear your casual dress when you walk around as Manila can be very hot. (Eg. jeans and tshirt/short sleeve shirt.) the hotel is in a reasonably safe area, I walked alone at 11pm, 1am, 3am no problem. in a couple of blocks south towards malate (ermita is adjacent to malate area) people will sometimes approach you and either beg for money, offers you to see some bar, offers girl, just ignore them nothing will happen. nightlife: not much around the hotel, there are some bars, notably is cowboy across the road. if you want more activities, go towards malate. from robinsons, use adriatico exit, and go direction pan pacific hotel (100 meters from robinsons). there is a nice restaurant called portico in adriatico st. about 100 m south of pan pacific hotel. next door is library night club. this area is a very vibrant and safe area. money changer: mabini street is practically filled with authorized money changers. best rate is edzen, open 24 hours. mabini street, about 200 meters from the hotel direction south. laundry: near edzen there are several laundries that counts by kilo. examples are imelyn, laundromat, etc. One kilo cost P30(US$ 0.60)for wash, dry, and fold. Just drop your laundry, they will weigh it, and you can take it next day. Pressing is P10 (US$0.20) per piece. budget, budget, budget: near robinsons towards taft avenue is an area where 4 universities are located. you can find fast internet access here for US$0.50 per hour. clean budget meals are plentiful starting US$0.50 per plate. I don''t advise it though if you dont have strong stomach. casino: casino filipino is located in pan pacific hotel, 100 m from robinson''s. fitness center: slimmer''s world in 6th floor pan pacific hotel offers top-notch gym and aerobics facilities. I was told that this place is often frequented by local celebrities. you can buy a 10-session gym entrance fee for P1.500 (US$30), 20 session for P2.500(US$50), or 30 session for P.3500(US$70). paragon hotel in flores st., just round the corner of city garden suites, also offers fitness facilities. go to 9th floor. other place is in kimberly hotel, pedro gil st. 2nd floor. P1.200(US$24) is good for one month unlimited use.