Manila

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;3036004]My AirBNB in BGC specified that I MUST tell everyone I'm a GUEST of the owner. They made it clear to me that if I ever mentioned AirBNB to the condo I would be charged a penalty and had to pay for it in addition to my prepaid AirBNB cost.

I thought this was lame. As if the condo doesn't know that unit is being rented out as an AirBNB with new guests coming every few days.[/QUOTE]Yes. Even more bizarre. During covid, the unit I airbnb rented in Manila, the owner had me meet him at a convenience store down the street from the condo. Once in his car, he had me lay low in the back seat while he drove past the condo guards and into the building's parking garage. He drove the car close to an elevator and stopped, and had me lay low in the back seat while he looked around to see if anyone was around. Finally he said "Get out, go directly to floor 21 and let yourself into the unit. Its not locked. The key is on the table. I will stop by and see you in an hour". Dude, why the clock-and-dagger stuff? "Get out". Off I went up to the unit. An hour later he knocked and explained that the residence was not allowing any unit rentals during covid. "Stay away from the front desk if you go out". What? "Consider yourself lucky to have a place to stay in Manila. Its all gone to sh*t here. Lay low. There is almost nothing open out there and little reason to go outside. Don't get caught they will boot you. I will get in trouble also. No refunds". And off he went. Every few days he stopped by and brought fresh bottles of water and sometimes Red Horse, and took my laundry to his place and had his wife clean and fold my clothes, and brought them back the same day. Same went for bed linens. He was also correct about nothing being open out there. No restos or bars, coffee shops or malls. You could walk a KM in any direction and not find anything open. Depressing. One day he and his missus showed up with a batch of lumpia and some water for me. She was brutally ugly. Told them that I wasn't hungry and put the food in the ref, thinking they would make small talk and go home. They sat around for more than an hour, with little talk. Finally I asked when they were leaving. Is there anything else we need to talk about? "Oh, no. They think were are working on our unit. We have to stay here for a while". You mean you are keeping up appearances with the front desk concierge as fixing up the place and need to stay here for a while? "Ya that's it". Bajesus! Tell me next time? Also no guests were allowed. Stayed for my airbnb contracted 30 days and bounced.

Found another place slightly less restrictive. I pre-registered myself and one of my long time regular girls and she was able to come / go as she pleased. During those days, lesson learned: When moving to a new digs online, always register one of your gals as your asawa in airbnb. Was limited to one mid-30's skinny MILF, but that's much better than nothing, and had my run of her for unli pops for a month. She stayed with me for 2-3-4 days, went home for 1-2 night, and returned. We lived on Foodpanda.

BB, I doubt there was any way he could charge you a penalty thru airbnb's system.

On every respective airbnb page for any given unit, there is almost always a written description (see pic #1). If after arriving you find the unit is a different unit, or that something in or about the unit (or residence) is inconsistent with the description (including guest policy), you have a case for either breaking the contract, or getting a partial refund. When attempting such, airbnb offers you an easy out: There is a checkbox for "Unit is not as described". Checking that option, and explaining the discrepancy to airbnb, will get you started on a short dialogue with the owner, then airbnb will make a decision on whether you can cancel the contract (minus any nights you spent there, prorated) or get a partial refund. I have utilized this a number of times.

Additionally, you should check the "Things to Know" section for each unit you are considering (pics #2, 3, and 4). Anything listed there are owner restrictions. Renting this unit binds you in advance to these restrictions. If it says NO SMOKING, that means you can't smoke (even if the HOA rules allow smoking on the premises). If it says maximum 4 persons, and you invite an extra hoe as a fifth wheel, then you have effed up. Its just that simple. This will be the location of NO UNREGISTERED GUESTS. Usually you never see this, and you are free to have guests. UNLESS the residence (HOA) does not allow guests. Period.

The red circles. COOKING IS NOT ALLOWED. This might be an owner restriction, or a residence restriction. Cooking by gas is not allowed, and cooking by electric stove smokes up the unit and sets off the fire alarm, possibly for the entire floor (or more). I find this is also not often mentioned on airbnb, and when I check in, the owner / host mentions NO COOKING. But, dude, there you put an electric stove on the counter. Its the same one from the airbnb pics. Hey, why are you shoving that into the cupboard? "NO COOKING. USE THE MICROWAVE".

CARD KEY IS ISSUED WITH P1000 DEPOSIT. If it says that, you have to have p1000 on you before they will let you move in. You get it back later. If you don't have the p1000, they might tell you to go find an ATM. There you are stuck in the lobby with your suitcase, after a long flight, now you have to go find an ATM. Great! Once, in Birch Tower (Malate), the owner met me in the lobby and wanted p2000 for a key deposit. I nearly fell over at the amount. Sorry ma'am, I was not aware of this p2000, and I don't have it with me. "Can you GCash it to me?" I won't. Why would I hand you 2000 pesos? "Its required. Its on airbnb". Really? We both whipped out our phones to check. "Things to know. You look that part sir". We both scrolled to there, and. . . It wasn't mentioned. She was upset with herself for not having it there. "But you have to give it. Its required". I took a screenshot of Things to know. Sorry, toots. You have to let me into the unit now, or deny me entry. Which is it?

It was easy to do at that moment, as Birch Tower has 2 real estate companies in the lobby, eager to rent to anyone (albeit at a higher price). Finally she gave up the ghost and let me into the unit. But she didn't give it up entirely. Once inside: "But. Can you send it Gcash tomorrow? Please?" No. Now, show me that wifi password, sweetie.

But, but, but Westie, I have to look thru the description of every unit? YES, its the fine print.

If you'd like information about partial refunds from airbnb, PM me.

Staying on the point of stays, would any learned soul know if Somerset Mataki is a hotel or serviced apartment? And is it Green? I have a trip to KL later this month and was thinking of a 3 days stop over in Manila. The trip late last month has left me wanting for me LOL.

Cheers!

[QUOTE=OxygenFresh;3036017]Staying on the point of stays, would any learned soul know if Somerset Mataki is a hotel or serviced apartment? [/QUOTE]Which one (see pic)? From the pictures on Google Maps, they both look like serviced apartments.

[QUOTE=OxygenFresh;3036017]And is it Green? [/QUOTE]Apology. What does 'Green' mean?

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3036046]Which one (see pic)? From the pictures on Google Maps, they both look like serviced apartments.

Apology. What does 'Green' mean?[/QUOTE]Thanks Westie. I was referring to the one circled on top. And they do indeed look like serviced apartments. What confused me was that they were listed even when I specifically checked on "hotels" option on the booking site.

By "Green" I meant if they would allow me to get the girl inside my room. Going by all the discussions here, it looks tricky if they are not conventional hotels.

Cheers!

[QUOTE=OxygenFresh;3036056]By "Green" I meant if they would allow me to get the girl inside my room. Going by all the discussions here, it looks tricky if they are not conventional hotels.

Cheers![/QUOTE]Welcome.

I would argue, and like to hear from others on this recent discussion. I would hazard that you have a very small chance of residential rejection for your girls, either from hotels or serviced residences. Here is a list of hotels and condos either on, or within a 10 minute walk of Burgos St, where you almost certainly will not have any problems (its the red light district, they don't turn girls away). Have stayed at most of these, and have heard of no problems with any of these since covid ended (all of 2023 - present):

Sunette Tower residence, Durban hotel, Oxford Suites, Lokal (ST) hotel, Makati Palace hotel, Royal Bellagio hotel, Bel-Air Soho res, Sogo (ST) hotel, City Garden hotel, St. Giles hotel, and City Garden Grand hotel (CGG is known for not even bothering to register your guest at all; she can just come in, hop into the elevator, and go to your room, even if you are not with her). Within a few blocks and 5-10 minutes walk: Gramercy res, Milano res, Knightsbridge res, Berjaya hotel, Coro hotel, and Makati Prime Tower res. Have stayed in most of these, and only had trouble at Knightsbridge during Covid* (2022), but not after.

Absolutely for a short stay of a few weeks or less, City Garden Grand is your best bet. Its the most Gfriendly place anywhere. Anyone can waltz in at any time (there is no door guard), enter the elevators at any time, and go where they want. Its fairly upscale, with a lovely rooftop pool, restaurant, and live band nightly. Never stayed there, but have taken several dozen dates to the rooftop. Its a block from Burgos St.

Its almost unheard of in the nawty zones for places to turn your girl away (unless she caused trouble there before).

And of course, as suggested by RK and myself, you can put all such fears to bed by simply CALLING THE RESIDENCE ADMIN AND ASKING GUEST POLICY before booking the unit.

* The trouble at KB was both with Admin, and an owner. After checking me in, the owner (who lived elsewhere in the building) told me: "No guests. Its Covid". I asked her why she hadn't put that in her unit description in airbnb, but got nowhere with her on this. Later I went to dinner and checked with the guard. He said same old policy the girl just gives up her ID and can come in. ** All good (for a while). I ignored the owner's request / demand for no guests and went on about my poon-vaxxin' mission for several days. The owner figured out (chismosa) what I was doing and chewed on me at the unit, telling me that it was her place and she would contact airbnb and boot me and. . . Blah, blah, blah. Apparently we both contacted airbnb, and she got the short end of the stick because she hadn't included her own no guest policy in her description. My vaxxing mission continued.

** Not quite the same old policy. A few days after I got there I brought in a girl for the night. The next day we went out somewhere for a while without her picking up her ID at the front door guard, as we were coming back. Upon arriving back the guards refused her entry. "Sir we have a 24 hour rule. You can not bring in the same guest inside 24 hours. Sorry po". They handed her ID back and she came back later that night, outside the 24 hours. I checked with the Admin office and they confirmed the 24 hour rule. Can't argue with the HOA rules, but I was a bit steamed and contacted airbnb with a second owner complaint: The owner hadn't put in the description, nor in any of our communications, the 24 hour rule. I got an airbnb partial refund back from the owner for that. I posted part of that story at the time.

These problems were caused by the COVID scare. That was THEN, not NOW. Have stayed at KB several times in 2023-24, no problems.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3036008]Yes. Even more bizarre. During covid, the unit I airbnb rented in Manila, the owner had me meet him at a convenience store down the street from the condo. Once in his car, he had me lay low in the back seat while he drove past the condo guards and into the building's parking garage. He drove the car close to an elevator and stopped, and had me lay low in the back seat while he looked around to see if anyone was around. Finally he said "Get out, go directly to floor 21 and let yourself into the unit. Its not locked. The key is on the table. I will stop by and see you in an hour". Dude, why the clock-and-dagger stuff? "Get out". Off I went up to the unit. An hour later he knocked and explained that the residence was not allowing any unit rentals during covid. "Stay away from the front desk if you go out". What? "Consider yourself lucky to have a place to stay in Manila. Its all gone to sh*t here. Lay low. There is almost nothing open out there and little reason to go outside. Don't get caught they will boot you. I will get in trouble also. No refunds". And off he went. Every few days he stopped by and brought fresh bottles of water and sometimes Red Horse, and took my laundry to his place and had his wife clean and fold my clothes, and brought them back the same day. Same went for bed linens. He was also correct about nothing being open out there. No restos or bars, coffee shops or malls. You could walk a KM in any direction and not find anything open. Depressing. One day he and his missus showed up with a batch of lumpia and some water for me. She was brutally ugly. Told them that I wasn't hungry and put the food in the ref, thinking they would make small talk and go home. They sat around for more than an hour, with little talk. Finally I asked when they were leaving. Is there anything else we need to talk about? "Oh, no. They think were are working on our unit. We have to stay here for a while". You mean you are keeping up appearances with the front desk concierge as fixing up the place and need to stay here for a while? "Ya that's it". Bajesus! Tell me next time? Also no guests were allowed. Stayed for my airbnb contracted 30 days and bounced.

Found another place slightly less restrictive. I pre-registered myself and one of my long time regular girls and she was able to come / go as she pleased. During those days, lesson learned: When moving to a new digs online, always register one of your gals as your asawa in airbnb. Was limited to one mid-30's skinny MILF, but that's much better than nothing, and had my run of her for unli pops for a month. She stayed with me for 2-3-4 days, went home for 1-2 night, and returned. We lived on Foodpanda.

BB, I doubt there was any way he could charge you a penalty thru airbnb's system.[/QUOTE]Another fucked up covid story, we were lucky in Vegas, as everybody (almost) figured it out that it was a scam about a week into it, and nobody gave a fuck about the masks or other useless similar stuff. You can still see idiots 5 years latter driving alone in their car with the mask on.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3032512]I wish I had the luck you fellas have. Bit worried that I will not be able to find anyone in Manila. Woe is me.

70 lb-er has moved her hand down. . . There. . .

What does that mean!?

She got them cute fossae zambales thingys also.[/QUOTE]Did you meet her off PinaLove?

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3036096]Welcome.

I would argue, and like to hear from others on this recent discussion. I would hazard that you have a very small chance of residential rejection for your girls, either from hotels or serviced residences. Here is a list of hotels and condos either on, or within a 10 minute walk of Burgos St, where you almost certainly will not have any problems (its the red light district, they don't turn girls away). Have stayed at most of these, and have heard of no problems with any of these since covid ended (all of 2023 - present):

Sunette Tower residence, Durban hotel, Oxford Suites, Lokal (ST) hotel, Makati Palace hotel, Royal Bellagio hotel, Bel-Air Soho res, Sogo (ST) hotel, City Garden hotel, St. Giles hotel, and City Garden Grand hotel (CGG is known for not even bothering to register your guest at all; she can just come in, hop into the elevator, and go to your room, even if you are not with her). Within a few blocks and 5-10 minutes walk: Gramercy res, Milano res, Knightsbridge res, Berjaya hotel, Coro hotel, and Makati Prime Tower res. Have stayed in most of these, and only had trouble at Knightsbridge during Covid* (2022), but not after.

Absolutely for a short stay of a few weeks or less, City Garden Grand is your best bet. Its the most Gfriendly place anywhere. Anyone can waltz in at any time (there is no door guard), enter the elevators at any time, and go where they want. Its fairly upscale, with a lovely rooftop pool, restaurant, and live band nightly. Never stayed there, but have taken several dozen dates to the rooftop. Its a block from Burgos St..[/QUOTE]Definitely girl friendly but they need a card key to use elevator unless you want to meet them at roof top bar. But if I have met the girl before they just leave ID at desk and they let her up. Also desk calls to make sure you are OK.

[QUOTE=Phil65;3036203]Definitely girl friendly but they need a card key to use elevator unless you want to meet them at roof top bar. But if I have met the girl before they just leave ID at desk and they let her up. Also desk calls to make sure you are OK.[/QUOTE]Muchos gracias the update. I have gone up to the rooftop without a key card many times, and had girls meet me up there when they did the same, no card, that I just assumed that you could hit any floor without one. This also answers Onojdi's and OxyFresh's question about finding a place that is GFriendly.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3036209]Muchos gracias the update. I have gone up to the rooftop without a key card many times, and had girls meet me up there when they did the same, no card, that I just assumed that you could hit any floor without one. This also answers Onojdi's and OxyFresh's question about finding a place that is GFriendly.[/QUOTE]Most will allow card free access to restaurants and bars but will not stop on room floors.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3036046]Which one (see pic)? From the pictures on Google Maps, they both look like serviced apartments.

Apology. What does 'Green' mean?[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;3036209]Muchos gracias the update. I have gone up to the rooftop without a key card many times, and had girls meet me up there when they did the same, no card, that I just assumed that you could hit any floor without one. This also answers Onojdi's and OxyFresh's question about finding a place that is GFriendly.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Phil and Westie. I booked City Garden Grand. Looking forward to my second trip within a month.

Cheers!

[QUOTE=OxygenFresh;3036333]Thanks Phil and Westie. I booked City Garden Grand. Looking forward to my second trip within a month.

Cheers![/QUOTE]The one downside of cgg is that the elevators are slow. Have a great time. I won't be able to go until Feb 2026.

Visiting Manila next week and looking for the best looking girls, ideally a student who can hold a convo and wants to go out on dates. Based on my research Seeking will give me that, PinaLove isn't as great and escort sites like MC are below that in terms of optics. Did I get that right, or are there even better options?

[QUOTE=TedFerguson;3036343]Visiting Manila next week and looking for the best looking girls, ideally a student who can hold a convo and wants to go out on dates. Based on my research Seeking will give me that, PinaLove isn't as great and escort sites like MC are below that in terms of optics. Did I get that right, or are there even better options?[/QUOTE]Hi Ted, I'm not too sure about Seeking, and I may have missed previous reports, but I can't remember that platform being mentioned here much.

Ideally, finding a great looking student who can hold a convo and wants a date seems ambitious, yet you might get lucky.

Aim high, just don't be disappointed if things don't go to plan.

You'll find some of the best horizontal action can happen when you 'lower the bar' a little.

Just my experience _ Phil.