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I’ll review luxury hotels and cheaper alternatives. The best hotel I stayed at is the tallest building in the Philippines: the Grand Hyatt. It’s located in BGC which is the nicest part of the city and very walkable. Unlike most rooms I’ve stayed in, Grand Hyatt’s feel very open and spacious. That’s the main reason it stands above all the other hotels I stayed at. You get double sinks, separate rooms for the toilet and shower…and a bathtub that’s out in the open. You get a walk-in closet with a bench, a nice welcome package of goodies, and excellent service with an on-site nurse if needed. Typically the photos of hotels exaggerate how good they are in person. With the Grand Hyatt, I feel it’s the opposite. The room is more impressive than the photos.
Disadvantages. Other hotels like the Shangri-la and Seda have slightly better locations. Grand Hyatt is a few blocks away from the core walking center of BGC. Other negatives are unimpressive TVs and a high price.
Okada Manila is regarded as one of the best hotels in Manila, but to be honest, I was slightly disappointed. They don’t seem to put the customer first because of very strict policies like no outside food allowed or no guests after a certain time. They even have a sign saying something like “if you remove a food item for more than 30 seconds you have to pay for it.” I felt like I was being treated as a child. I also had to wait in line to check in and out. One plus at this hotel is you can control everything from a single tablet. You also get a nice tub next to the window. The rooms are nice, but not quite what you would expect from the photos. And my bed had a little bit of a strange smell to it. In my opinion, the biggest reason to stay at Okada is because you want to experience the rest of the complex which includes a really cool fountain show, a casino, clothing stores, and restaurants. The main lobby is impressive, though the second lobby I checked into was not. You don’t go here so much for the hotel rooms as for what’s outside your room. It’s not a nice hotel but overhyped.
Conrad is a luxury brand owned by Hilton. The best advantage of this hotel is that it’s directly connected to Mall of Asia. Once you go down the elevator, you’re practically in the mini mall called “S’Maison” which has Starbucks, some great restaurants and desserts, and a luxury movie theater that has Lazy Boys, food service directly to your seats, and a bathroom right in the theater itself. You don’t even need to go outside to enter the 6th largest mall in the world, Mall of Asia. Just walk through the fully enclosed overpass and you have access to anything you want, including a bowling alley, archery range, and endless shopping. The hotel has an elegant, somewhat minimalist design. In other words, it’s not very ornate. The room has a similar elegant feel as the cheaper Brittany Hotel in BGC and is somewhat similar to the Marriott in Bangkok, though larger and a bit older. One downfall of this hotel is that there is no tub and like most hotels in Manila, no hot tub in the public space either. One perk is they gave me a cute stuffed animal as a welcome gift. The service is nice but a bit slow despite looking overstaffed. It’s an excellent pick if you plan to spend a lot of time at Mall of Asia. The Conrad brand is supposedly on the same level as Park Hyatt, which is slightly above Grand Hyatt, but in my experience the Grand Hyatt was more impressive.
The Westin is one of the newest 5-star hotels in Manila that was mistakenly labeled as having only 4 stars. The design was modern and clean but somewhat small. The shower and bathtub are nice, but you only get one sink. One perk of this hotel is the hot tub next to the pool. The Westin is known for its focus on wellness, but I found it odd that they had no scales to weigh yourself. The location is a little bit awkward. It’s a short walk to the Shangri-La Plaza, but involves some weird twists and encounters with traffic.
Crowne Plaza is an excellent option if you’re looking for a mid-priced hotel at about half the price of the brand name 5-star hotels. It’s connected to the Robinson mall and has newly renovated rooms.
Brittany Hotel is a very new hotel located in BGC directly beside the main mall in the area. The design is very elegant and the price is great for what you get. The room design is similar to the Conrad Manila or the Marriott in Bangkok, but much cheaper. You also have a nice roof-top style pool. One downside is the small bathroom with a slightly peculiar smell.
If you’re looking for cheap 5-star hotels, you likely want to check out the Poblacion area of Makati. The I’m Hotel, for example, is cheap.
In my opinion, the best hotel in Makati is in the Rockwell area near the Power Plant Mall.
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