Makati

[QUOTE=Aussie Mate]You may also want to try the Bronx. It is located on Burgos and believe is open until 5:00. It's a disco with GRO's and freelancers. Some girls go there after their bar closes.

Sugoi, I agree with you 100% on Ringside! My mate and I were taken for a 25,000 Php bill in less than 2 hours. Apparently, they charged my mate for 3-4 Boxing matches with him being the Manager. They would ask if he would represent one of the Girl Boxers, he agreed not knowing that there would be a charge added.

We partied hard and did buy many lady drinks for our companions, however it did not add up to 25,000 Php. After some complaining and negotiating the management gave us a "discount" of 7,000 Php for being good "Customers". I will never go back! Lesson learned.[/QUOTE]Nice to see so many here get the shaft. You have to stay on top of every peso and piece of paper when in the bars. Never pay with plastic and never offer a thing, they will get what they want somehow be sure of it.

B.B.

[QUOTE=Steve74]I'm coming to the PI in May and my flight doesn't get in til about midnight. I figure by the time I get my bag, get through customs, get taxi, it'll be after 1 a.m. After a 20 hour flight, I'll be anxious to get find a nice girl to spend my first night with. I'll probably get a hotel in Burgos area since its convenient & I'm already familiar with it. By the time I get checked in & quick shower I'm guessing it'll be 2-3 a.m. I can't remember when the bars close there on weekdays. I haven't been there in a year so I'd appreciate if anyone has any suggestions on bars with good selection of girls recently. Also, do girls still hang out at Filling station when they get off work? I figure if I'm too late for the bars, I can at least give that a try.

I'd appreciate any advice and suggestions anyone may have.[/QUOTE]Watch whats going on under the flashlight at your table at all times! And remember to tell mummy to take the 3-400-p ladies drinks off the bill after you get the honey barfined.

YES, after you pay the BF you pay regular drink prices just like everyone else in that bar. Watch out, they get ya if you let em.

B.B.

thanks for all the advice. i've stayed in makati before so i'm fairly familiar with it, but its been a while & i know things can change, especially with the bars. i don't remember the bronx, but i may check it out & i'll definitely avoid ringside. i realize the burgos bars are expensive compared to angeles & other areas, but since i couldn't get an earlier flight i figure i'll stick with somewhere i'm already familiar with since i worked in makati several years ago. i'd rather find a girl in a bar than freelance since i think there's at least a bit less chance of a girl being **** or having a std. when i was there, flamingo was my favorite of the burgos bars since it seemed to have the best selection, but not sure if that's still true. anyway, thanks again for all the tips.

Actaully it was not to bad getting though customs when i was ther in February. My flight came in at 10:50PM. I was outside airport getting taxi at 11:45PM. I did not go to Makati but to angeles (P2600)(taxi). I got to angeles at 1:15 AM. Checked in Wild Orchid and showered and in bar at 2PM. Two nice Honeys in my arms at 3AM. So being Makati is closer it should be easire it would seem as far as time arriving. I will be there 5/3 and making first trip to makati instead of going to AC. Anyone heard of Blue Star Hotel near Gateway mall? Any suggestions of hotels for around $40 to $60 in Makati near action would be greatly appreciated.

[QUOTE=Dcand4]Actaully it was not to bad getting though customs when i was ther in February. My flight came in at 10:50PM. I was outside airport getting taxi at 11:45PM. I did not go to Makati but to angeles (P2600)(taxi). I got to angeles at 1:15 AM. Checked in Wild Orchid and showered and in bar at 2PM. Two nice Honeys in my arms at 3AM. So being Makati is closer it should be easire it would seem as far as time arriving. I will be there 5/3 and making first trip to makati instead of going to AC. Anyone heard of Blue Star Hotel near Gateway mall? Any suggestions of hotels for around $40 to $60 in Makati near action would be greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE]

Close to Burgos Street in Makati you can find Oxford Suites, Millennium Plaza Hotel and City Garden Hotel. Those three are nice hotels in that price range and you would be right near to all the action. Oxford Suites is actually in the middle of Burgos.

[QUOTE=White Wolf]Close to Burgos Street in Makati you can find Oxford Suites, Millennium Plaza Hotel and City Garden Hotel. Those three are nice hotels in that price range and you would be right near to all the action. Oxford Suites is actually in the middle of Burgos.[/QUOTE]
In Oxford Suites and Millennium Plaza, there are some number of privately owned condos. If you deal directly with their owners, you can sometimes get a good deal, especially for a long-term stay. But do not deal with the landlord named Ivy. She is a known ripoff. She owns at least three condos in Millennium and at least one more in Oxford, iirc.

[QUOTE=Sugoi]I'm surprised that you find the Mandarin disappoinging. I used to stay there all the time until I bought my condo over here.

I'm not sure what rate you're paying but the only 5* serviced apartment that I know of is Oakwood and it's usually more expensive than Mandarin--about in the range of the Makati Shangri-La. I don't look for serviced apartments so I could be wrong. Cebu Local would know--if he's still on these boards.[/QUOTE]I stayed at the Mandarin Oriental and the InterCont. last year. I have stayed at Mandarins Worldwide and was not impressed with the one in Makati. I preferred the InterCont., better location, rooms, breakfast and pool for the same price. I also didn't like the Mandarin's lobby, very small and always congested with businessmen not mongers.

The Mandarin's front desk tried to stick me in a room with two beds the size of cots, after some complaining they put me in a room with a queen size bed which is what I initially reserved. The room was musty, the carpet was stained in many places and the bed already had an uninvited guest. A Cockroach the size of a mouse was waiting my arrival.

Not sure if I am allowed to ask, so apologies if not.

Does anyone know a girl from Billboard called Vanny? Also known as Anne?

Just wondering if she is still there. She was a month ago.

Thanks

It's perhaps not the cheapest, but an excellent hotel with nice rooms, huge lobby, a lobby bar, and a bar on the second floor with live music.

In both bars you can always find some catch if you are too lazy to go out.

Some months ago I stayed there, and it's clearly girl-friendly. You see the chicks walking in and out at any time of the day, and guys with chicks at any time as well - despite the security everywhere.

Nobody cares, and you can enjoy.

Therefore, if you like the luxury of a five star hotel and do not want to give up mongering, it might be a though.

Wonderer - who is longing his next time in the Philippines

I'll second Aussie Mate's recollection of the Makati Mandarin and add, that the room I had reeked of cigarette smoke when I stayed there a few years ago, for the first and last time. Small lobby. This is a supreme disadvantage if you want internet girls to visit you for the first time.

I went to the Shangri-La on my recent trip to check out the buffet. It was great. Sushi, Indian food, steak and the most expansive dessert display I've ever seen. About $30us, so bring an appetite.

As to the hotel itself: its at least $50 more per night than the Peninsula and is luxurious, but crowded. Whereas the Peninsula staff really treat their guests with deference, usually remember your name, and strive to satisfy the guest; my few encounters with the Shangri-La staff conveyed adequacy, nothing more. The lobby of the SLA is divided; upstairs, downstairs. This cranny, that nook. The lobby of the Pen is spectacular and has a centrality to it, a focus if you will. The six-piece-orchestra can belt out Cole Porter or the Beatles and the elegant dining area is an excellent place to eat or meet an internet friend for the first time.

As to 'I am all World's suggestion that Aussie Mate is actually Guinness... I doubt it. I do, however, have my suspicions as to who 'I am all World' is though. 'I am all IDs' would be more apropos.

Don

[QUOTE=Aussie Mate]I stayed at the Mandarin Oriental and the InterCont. last year. I have stayed at Mandarins Worldwide and was not impressed with the one in Makati. I preferred the InterCont., better location, rooms, breakfast and pool for the same price. I also didn't like the Mandarin's lobby, very small and always congested with businessmen not mongers.

The Mandarin's front desk tried to stick me in a room with two beds the size of cots, after some complaining they put me in a room with a queen size bed which is what I initially reserved. The room was musty, the carpet was stained in many places and the bed already had an uninvited guest. A Cockroach the size of a mouse was waiting my arrival.[/QUOTE]I made the exact same mistake about the breakfasts. I stayed in the intercon and Oriental on the same trip. The intercon had a great buffet breakfast, and the Mandarin's really sucked. I got upgraded to a club room in the Oriental (I guess they were out of standard rooms), so I had no complaints about the room. But I was so disgusted with the cold cereal and omlet guy who told me he was out of eggs (really, he told me he was out of eggs, but some amazingly appeared when I said I would have to complain to the hotel manager). Never would I stay at that shithole again! Anyway, my friends checked in later and I told him "great hotel, but the breakfast sucks". He then tells me, "actually, the hotel is not that great, but I just had the best breakfast of my life". Turns out, for whatever reason, they searve breakfast on the 4th floor, as well as a place on the ground floor. And I walked around the place and it truly was the best breakfast spread I had ever seen in my life. A guest can choose either place to eat, both complimentary. Now, I have no idea why they would have both a shithole and a 5 star place to eat in, and why I didn't figure it out in the 4 days I was there. But I was really pissed. I felt even more ripped off. And the intercon is in a much better location, especially for a long term stay, as it right in the mall. You will find it much cheaper to buy new clothes from the mall every day then to have them laundered at the hotel. As I was checking out, the bell boy brings down a bag of clothes that he thought I "forgot". It was a good opportunity to vent my frustration at a hotel that charges $6 to wash a tee shirt when I could just buy a new one at SM, right next door, for $1.50.

Lol!

As far as the Breakfast goes at the Mandarin. Yes, the 4th floor had a very nice spread but I was not allowed to indulge myself! They refused my entrance and I was relegated to the 1st floor lobby "cereal" breakfast. Apparently, my Internet reservations (I think Asia Rooms.com) didn't qualify me for the feast. What a sham!

I spent last Saturday in Makati again and thought I'd update a couple of things for my fellow mongerers. It's a tough job but it's a sacrifice I don't mind making.

First off I stayed at the Oxford. I like this place because of the price and location right on Burgos. If you're looking for a place under $60 a night and right in the action, this is the one for you.

The night in Makati was my last night in the PI after a week in Angeles. I'll write a post on AC later when I've got the time. Since I was pretty tired after a week of crazy in AC and I still couldn't find my liver, I decided to take it easy on my last night. A quickie schwarma dinner at the Persian Kebob and I was ready.

Rogues was (and always is) my first stop on Burgos. My favorite waitress there told me they have lowered the barfine and ladies drink prices recently to P2500 and P250 respectively and since they did they have been busy most of the time and they were busy when I was there. You won't find many stunners here but you will find girls with personality and I like the pool table and live sports they show. Plus I like the variety of music. I heard everything in there from AC/DC to Kool and the Gang which is a welcome reprieve from the techno thumping at the other bars. A good place to start my window shopping without too much pressure.

Next was Banditos. This place has always been pretty good but now they win the gold medal. Nearly every girl they had was a stunner. The only thing keeping me from grabbing one out of here is I wanted to check out the other WWG bars Flamingos and Wild West.

Moving on I hit Billboards. Unfortunately they have switched to uniforms for the dancers. I liked it before when they let the dancers wear their own clothes but those days are gone. A few good ones in here but not like my last trip in September when they won the gold medal. At least the girls do dance and not just shuffle.

Fridays was next and they had a few stunners. I almost took one but the P3500 barfine plus P2500 tip the girl wanted turned me off after spending only P1200 or less a pop all week in AC. I'm not a cheap charlie but I'm not the type to pay P200 for a pack of cigarettes when I can get them for P50 either. I know the Wild West group is much cheaper and I hadn't been to all of their clubs yet. Fridays was completely empty that night. I'm wondering if these bars aren't pricing themselves out of the market.

Next I hit Wild West. Their barfine here is P2250 but if you buy up to 3 LD's, they'll discount that off the BF price down to P1200. In the past, this place was always rocking but it was kind of empty on Saturday. I think one reason might be the pushy mamasan and her pack of old crony waitresses. From the minute I walked in they did not stop hassling me to buy them drinks. It was NON-STOP. I didn't get any pressure from the dancers but the old hags were relentless. The owner here needs to get these witches under control. Despite the constant crowing from the Harpies, I barfined a little firecracker out of here and she turned out to be one of the best pinays on my entire trip. Something about those spinners. With little firecracker in tow, I just headed back to the room and skipped Flamingos. The rest of the evening was just the right combination of LBFM and TLC that I needed for my final night.

I only hit the bars that tend to be my favorites but all in all, Burgos still has some of the best looking girls in the PI. I didn't see any "baby bellies" the entire night. The problem is prices here keep going up but they stay the same in the other areas like Ermita and Pasay. Even the girls I talked to seem to be disappointed with how things are going lately. The stunner in Fridays told me she hadn't had a barfine in almost a month because of the lack of customers.

Rogues is the only bar (besides the Wild West Group) that seems to have clued in that customers have a choice and will go to the other areas that are only a P150 taxi ride away to save P2000. For the Makati area, their prices are the most reasonable. Based on what I saw, I think the bars on Makati are close the shooting themselves in the foot like what happened in Korea with the high prices. I hope I'm wrong about this but I've been to Makati over 20 times and I've never seen the streets and bars so quiet as they are now. I do understand rent is higher in Makati but the owners should also understand there are limits to what people are willing to spend especially when there are so many other options in Manila.

Rtff, it's a couple of months since any member has reported on Greenbelt's Cafe Havana. How is it there? Are Friday and Saturday nights the busiest, or is it busy most nights. Are there any typically quiet nights? Does it close at 0400 or another time?

@Soju Lizard,

exactly that is what I told every mamasan in every bar I was in Makati. For that price I can have a pretty pro in every country in Western Europe (except England of course).

I barfined a Dancer from Rogues only for 1500 Pesos. It was after 1 pm and maybe that's why. I thought the Barfine includes also the Tip for the girl like it is in AC and so I didn't asked her what she expect for a longtime.
I had her twice during the night and gave her 1000 Pesos as tip. Had a bit a bad feeling, because I feared I spoil the prices. She didn't said anything and just that she want's see me again the next night.
Later I was with her at that Mesopotamien Restaurant in a sidestreet from Burgos.
The price was quite high. For a ice tea, a coffe, two Shawama and rice they want 600 Pesos.