Manila Hotels

[Amavida]

Bit of a random one this, let's say I was spending the weekend in a hotel in Phil and I didn't want the girl to know my full real name, could I use a false surname at check-in? I have one credit card with this different name, but not actual photo ID or paper ID.

Long gone are the days or securing hotel rooms with cash and no ID. Anyone have any experience with this?

Legit western style hotels are going to demand ID.

It shouldn't be necessary to go to the extreme of using false names. If for whatever reason you're concerned a bed partner is suspicious of your story and likely to check then use Filipino accomodation instead. These are basic, cheap, clean & available by the hour or day for cash.

You could try some of the seedier SOGO's or Victoria Secret love hotels, you may get away with it.

Frankly if it's getting that serious you might want to consider easier fields to plough nes pa?

[Dark Knight1]

Bit of a random one this, let's say I was spending the weekend in a hotel in Phil and I didn't want the girl to know my full real name, could I use a false surname at check-in? I have one credit card with this different name, but not actual photo ID or paper ID.

Long gone are the days or securing hotel rooms with cash and no ID. Anyone have any experience with this?

If its Short time hotel they don't ask for things like that. If its a long term hotel they will ask for ID such as a passport or something to that nature. They also will tell what room you are staying in if someone inquires. I have had it happen to me at the Dusit and the New World. If you trying to be discreet use Eurtotel, Sogo and Victoria court. I used to think those guys who used those hotels were just cheap, broke bastards but those hotels will protect you in the event something goes amiss.

[CallSign Papa]

Bit of a random one this, let's say I was spending the weekend in a hotel in Phil and I didn't want the girl to know my full real name, could I use a false surname at check-in? I have one credit card with this different name, but not actual photo ID or paper ID.

Long gone are the days or securing hotel rooms with cash and no ID. Anyone have any experience with this?

[SaltyPete]

Thanks DB,

How is the city garden grand hotel in Makati? I found it clser to burgos st? I wonder for the mongering is concern, more action in makati than manila? I never been to those burgos bar and beside I am alone, unlike in LAC, I have been there several time, just simply order drinks and do searching.

Last time I went to EDSA complex, which is like the nana entertaiment plaze in Bangkok but the BF and girl cost way too high, last time I heard around 6000 pesos fore the girl but I don't know how much the BF, and that was way so many years ago. I wonder in burgos bar, is almost the same as edsa comples structure way?

Cheers,

MD.

Your information about EDSA is wrong. 1950 for bar, girl asks for 2000-2500ST, 3000-4000 LT, depends on you and the girl. This info was current as of August '16.

[Macho Dik]

Hey MD,

If you have only 3 nights in Manila, and haven't been around for a long time, I personally would recommend Makati over the Manila Bay area. There are tens of hotels in Makati which is much nicer in the daytime with better quality hotels, restaurants and girlie bars. In my experience, using Waze will easily get you from Makati either to the bay area (including LA Cafe, several KTVs and EDSA Complex) or paranaque (if AF1 is appealing to you) in less than 30 minutes in the early evening / late night time. Of course, for just 3 nights the options inside Makati should suffice (P. Burgos, Cafe Havana, casas etc.), but if one would like to get out and about, I find Makati to still be the best bet.

If you want specific hotel recommendations in Makati you can fibd plenty here, I personally like the Salcedo village area, which is packed with hotels and residences, but really, all of Makati is.

As for A/C, both ABC and Lewis Grand are very good hotels, but are not "in the middle of the action" per se. I guess it depends what you refer to as action, but since you've mentioned dollhouse, sounds like walking street is your area. If that's the case ABC has an extension hotel names Fields Plaza Suites which is basically a mongering heaven, I would strongly recommend even though it is the priciest choice in town, just for two nights shouldn't be so bad.

Enjoy,

D

Thanks DB,

How is the city garden grand hotel in Makati? I found it clser to burgos st? I wonder for the mongering is concern, more action in makati than manila? I never been to those burgos bar and beside I am alone, unlike in LAC, I have been there several time, just simply order drinks and do searching.

Last time I went to EDSA complex, which is like the nana entertaiment plaze in Bangkok but the BF and girl cost way too high, last time I heard around 6000 pesos fore the girl but I don't know how much the BF, and that was way so many years ago. I wonder in burgos bar, is almost the same as edsa comples structure way?

Cheers,

MD.

[Wicked Roger]

Hi guy,

Is Midas Hotel and Casino a girl friendly Hotel?

Thanks in advance.

FRancescoz

Odd thing Frances is that you have 9 FRs all asking questions and you ask another about hotels in Manila when there is a wealth of information on this board about that question. About hotels. The hotel policy etc. Just odd you did not read about hotels in general, call the hotel, research before you plant another question on the board.

[Francescoz]

Hi guy,

Is Midas Hotel and Casino a girl friendly Hotel?

Thanks in advance.

FRancescoz

[MJ4U6969]

OK guys need a little help here been to PI several times and this time I want to find a hotel that doesn't require me to show ID to rent or for her. Very friendly place. I think you know what I mean. Anyway help would be great.

[Soapy Smith]

OTOH I just pulled it up on maps. google.com's satellite imagery, and from above it shows a completely outdoor pool on a higher level. YMMV.

But the only pool I see on the Google Earth image is on the north side of the building. Even at that latitude, with a 50 story building blocking the sun, it may still not get much direct sun. My "suite" was on the north side and I could look down onto part of the pool below that extended out from the building, but it mostly seemed to be in shade. The only exception was late in the evening when the sun had shifted around over Manila Bay, and at that point the sun was too low on the horizon to create much heat.

[WestCoast1]

There is a pool on one of the lower floors, but another ISG regular has told me the pool is often not very warm. It did seem that the check-in area in the building lobby made for very relaxed girl-friendly practices. The ads on Agoda insisted that every guest above two occupants must be paid, but I had extra guests overnight and was never asked to pay. I suspect this is because the security guard at the door works for the building rather than any one of the hotel companies, so he has little incentive to enforce such rules and even less capability to keep track of who everybody is that comes and goes.

The pool, the view, quick access to Robinsons Place, and girl friendly policy are the only things to recommend this place over other cheap monger hotels in the area, such as Rothman, Las Palmas, Palm Plaza, Riviera, Executive Plaza, and Cherry Blossoms. There are several elements on the negative side of that comparison.

Concur, its location next to Robinson's and near LAC / G-Point makes it good, and the nightlife is vibrant in the area (gritty might be a better word). Also right next door to Bellagio Square, a collection of indoor / outdoor resto / bars with live band on the weekend. However the several entities that rent out the various rooms at Birch Tower leave a lot to be desired, there is not a lot in the way of customer service (office might be on the first floor, 13th floor, or other floor). The wifi was always good on the ground floor (coffee shop area), and hit / miss in the room. A single building wouldn't have multiple service providers, right?

However that pool. I remember it on the 8th or 9th floor. While its open to the elements / air, it is completely covered by the floor above it from sunlight. I don't think the sun hits it at any time of day, and hence its rather frigid (no exwife jokes, please) all the time (brisk! OTOH I just pulled it up on maps. google.com's satellite imagery, and from above it shows a completely outdoor pool on a higher level. YMMV.

[BaboyDave]

Hi BD,

Many thanks for your kind feedback and advises. It surely give me a big help.

Yes, I surely will booked two different hotel for those 2 location, I plan to booked;.

1) ERMITA / MALATE area: New World manila bay hotel.

2) AC: either ABC or Lewis grand, are these both right on the right action area? I hate to walk too far after my pick as I want to minimize the "walk of fame with different girls every night".

One more thing, as I asked earlier, should I also booked a different hotel in Burgos? Or I can stay in New World Manila Bay hotel and go to Burgos for mongering?

I plan to stay Manila for 3 nights and in AC for 2 nights. Tight schedule hope this is enough..

Hey MD,

If you have only 3 nights in Manila, and haven't been around for a long time, I personally would recommend Makati over the Manila Bay area. There are tens of hotels in Makati which is much nicer in the daytime with better quality hotels, restaurants and girlie bars. In my experience, using Waze will easily get you from Makati either to the bay area (including LA Cafe, several KTVs and EDSA Complex) or paranaque (if AF1 is appealing to you) in less than 30 minutes in the early evening / late night time. Of course, for just 3 nights the options inside Makati should suffice (P. Burgos, Cafe Havana, casas etc.), but if one would like to get out and about, I find Makati to still be the best bet.

If you want specific hotel recommendations in Makati you can fibd plenty here, I personally like the Salcedo village area, which is packed with hotels and residences, but really, all of Makati is.

As for A/C, both ABC and Lewis Grand are very good hotels, but are not "in the middle of the action" per se. I guess it depends what you refer to as action, but since you've mentioned dollhouse, sounds like walking street is your area. If that's the case ABC has an extension hotel names Fields Plaza Suites which is basically a mongering heaven, I would strongly recommend even though it is the priciest choice in town, just for two nights shouldn't be so bad.

Enjoy,

D

[Soapy Smith]

After one night at Boulevard Mansion I moved to Grand Regency Suites for about eight nights. Grand Regency is one of about four hotel operations in the Birch Tower on Bocobo Street, less than a block south of Pedro Gil and Robinsons' Place Mall. This particular company has rooms on four floors, but not four consecutive floors, so maybe something like floor 24, then 31,32, 35, or something like that. They have staff more or less permanently stationed on each of the floors. In general, it's a crazy business plan. Since the space they rent is probably premium cost, they don't have space for their own services, aside from a coffee shop and check-in counter on the first floor. So they outsource everything: linen service, WiFi, guest laundry. One day I was without bed linen until nine at night because their linen service delivery had been delayed by monsoon flooding. I sent laundry out two different times, but they clearly overcharged me the second time. But the hotel couldn't resolve the problem, since some laundry several blocks away in Malate had done the work and the pricing. WiFi was inoperable in the room for the first three days. When I asked, they claimed the problem was with the provider, PLDT. The said, "the provider says it's because of the weather" (monsoon rain and flooding every day I was in Manila). But PLDT was the provider for their coffee shop, and the signal there was fine throughout. The third morning, probably out of guilt, they sent up free room service breakfast, which was not warm by the time it arrived. WiFi was fine once it was restored on day four. So to me the business plan is crazy, having to depend on all these outside vendors and having their employees scattered though four floors and the ground floor of the building. At least three other hotel companies are operating similarly in the building.

The rooms are sort of suites, but the bathroom is small, sleeping area is small, and the "kitchen" area consists of two stools, a small counter, a mini-fridge, and a microwave. A balcony (32nd floor) gave a nice view to the north (over Robinsons' Place) and out toward Manila Bay.

The four elevators were inadequate for a building with 50 floors of small units. I spent more time waiting for elevators than riding them. Others in the building seemed to be primarily Arabs and Koreans. The former were mostly late middle aged men, and the Koreans varied from 20's to late middle age. Many of both these groups were often escorting scantily-dressed and heavily-tatooed Filipinas in and out of the building. Filipino friends told me that many of these were probably running overseas employment recruitment businesses. I had not been in the area in several years and was surprised by the growth in number of restaurants, hookah shops, and other businesses with Arabic name signs, especially along Adriatico across from Robinsons' Place and their highrise building.

There is a pool on one of the lower floors, but another ISG regular has told me the pool is often not very warm. It did seem that the check-in area in the building lobby made for very relaxed girl-friendly practices. The ads on Agoda insisted that every guest above two occupants must be paid, but I had extra guests overnight and was never asked to pay. I suspect this is because the security guard at the door works for the building rather than any one of the hotel companies, so he has little incentive to enforce such rules and even less capability to keep track of who everybody is that comes and goes.

The pool, the view, quick access to Robinsons Place, and girl friendly policy are the only things to recommend this place over other cheap monger hotels in the area, such as Rothman, Las Palmas, Palm Plaza, Riviera, Executive Plaza, and Cherry Blossoms. There are several elements on the negative side of that comparison.

[Soapy Smith]

I am about a month late posting two reviews, but better late than never.

I stayed one night in Boulevard Mansion. Cringe, cringe. I did so thinking I might take a quick look at LA Cafe, and because I was unsure whether Grand Regency Suites (next review) had late night staff to handle registration. Many of us have depicted Boulevard Mansion as a well-worn hotel. It still is, especially in terms of carpet, furniture, and so on. But at least this time it was clean; employees seem to be doing their best to work with the existing structure. Staff were polite and responsive, bed was comfortable, AC worked well, and the view was actually quite good: I could see southward, except for tall buildings blocking the view, and also out onto Manila Bay. Complementary breakfast was adequate, barely; coffee was plentiful but not very good.

There is not much to recommend this place, except for two things: it is two short blocks from LA Cafe and it is easy to get to from the airport. I had landed at Terminal One this time, and the taxi ran into minimal congestion getting from the terminal to Roxas. Then it's a straight shot down Roxas, since the Boulevard Mansion is on the frontage road along Roxas, just a block beyond Pedro Gil intersection. So the narrow niche that this place fits is for guys who have two or three days in Manila, want to get quickly from the airport to horizontal recreation, and have accommodated themselves to the prospects at LA Cafe, Amazonia, G-Point, or Robinsons' Place mall freelancers.

BTW, my flight got delayed an hour by traffic control at NAIA, so that I did not end up going to LAC the first night. I went once a week later and was pleasantly surprised.

[MrWoolyBooly]

Holy Cow, I don't stay in Sogos except as a last minute short-term option, but while booking my next Metro Manila visit see several locations under 20 USD per night. I'm still not going to book there for an extended visit, but for the gentlemen looking for the most bang for his buck I don't see how you could beat it. For all it's tawdriness, they're all safe refuges. Maybe a room there for double- or overlapping lady dates.

[Member #4558]

Hi Vitaplex,

Thanks for your advise and feedback.

I usually booked my hotel reservation thru Expedia or agoda, it is normally automatically for 2 guest, I wonder if booking thru this will also enable me to be able to bring my girl or girls without any issue? I plan to stay in New World Manila Bay hotel too, I know it is near Malate / Ermita area but it seems a bit distance from Burgos? Should I also booked another one near burgos area? I try to stay in one single hotel than moving evey 2 days or so.

May be some idea on the bar fine market prices in Burgos or ermita bars? I also will visit LA CAFE that last visit way back 5 years ago I got some good pick but that was the only area I visited and already a long while now. Guest prices change?

Cheers,

MD.

Booking through Expedia and / or Agoda doesn't change anything both regarding girls (you can still bring them) and prices. In fact I have the latter years found to book directly with hotels to me even cheaper (for Manila I have the latter years stayed at Fairmont, Raffles, Shangri-la Makati, Sofitel, Hyatt COD, New World Manila Bay and Riviera Mansion). If you go through with your plan with only 3 days in Manila, then changing hotels and city area will steal a lot of valuable time. Travelling within Manila city borders only happens inbetween the hours of 10:30 pm to 6 am. If you stay Makati or Malate it will take you between 20 to 40 min travelling late night / nighttime. I would only stay one place. I've been to LAC 3 years ago or so so other BM's probably have better recent intel from here. But I read it is still a hit and miss place which is how I viewed it "back in the days". Some diamonds in the rough to be found. I have no experience from girliebars (EDSA, closer to Malate, or Burgous). I only observe through reading here Burgous and KTV girls start to get pricey. I am a datingsite guy myself.