Hotels in Manila

Reviews of the best hotels in Manila, Phillippines

Manila has an enormous selection of hotels to choose from and while they may not be up to the very high standards of hotels in Bangkok or possibly other parts of Asia, due mainly to the age of the hotels in Manila, this is all about to change. Most of the major 5 star hotels in Manila are now undergoing or about to start some enormous renovation programmes which will bring them on par with the best 5 star hotels around the world. Hotels in Manila, which are undergoing or about to undergo such programmes include leading hotels such as the Makati Shangri-la, Peninsula, and Mandarin Oriental. 

Choosing a hotel in Manila however very much remains a choice of a) location and b) category of product. The traffic in Manila while not as bad as four or five years ago, can still be very time consuming and we do strongly advise that you choose your hotel with care to where you will need to be travelling to when in Manila.

All the major hotels in Manila offer a very wide selection of television channels, in fact one of the broadest you will find anywhere in Asia. Channels will normally always include the BBC, CNN, CNA, CNBC, HBO, ESPN, Star Sports to name but a few. However if you are an avid sports, or more specifically, English football (soccer in the Philippines) fan then you will have a very hard time finding any hotel in Manila that will have the games shown live in the room, or anywhere else in Manila for that matter. To date we have only found one way around this, and it is not 100% foolproof, however if you select a hotel which shows Thai TV Channel 7, then this channel although with Thai language commentary does normally have the live English football matches on to give you your weekly fix. See our review of Bars in Manila for more on this.

You also need to be aware that the majority of hotels in Manila, only offer one telephone line, so if you use your laptop a lot whilst connected to the internet this can be rather annoying. The renovations mentioned above will change all that and our reviews below will highlight those hotels that do offer you the convenience of two telephone lines in a room, which is really now becoming a mandatory feature of five star hotels around the world.            

Please do take a look at our interesting survey of the hidden hotel costs in Manila Hotels.

Atrium Suites Hotel - is in the heart of Pasay City, Manila and only 25 minutes away from the central Makati area. Mid market property. See pictures, special rates and online reservations here.

Bayview Park Hotel - Located along the famous Roxas Boulevard, just opposite the American Embassy, and with the entertainment areas of Adriatico only a short walk away the Bayview Park Hotel is an ideal choice for mid market travellers to Manila. Each room comes complete with tea and coffee making facilities, and cable TV, and in room safe.  The hotel has different room categories to choose from. The standard rooms offer a choice of  two single beds or one queen size bed, and we can highly recommend the corner rooms in this category as they are slightly larger and even have windows in the bathroom. As some of the rooms only have shower, and others do have bathtubs please be sure to make clear your preference. The hotel offers guests 4 different choice of views, which include the slightly quieter back view overlooking Makati, the sides, or the Bay view to the front of the hotel. Floors 8, 9, 10 and 11 recently finished a renovation of the rooms. The hotel is a very comfortable property with friendly and efficient staff, and the roof top pool offers guests a wonderful place to relax and watch the sunset over the bay. See pictures, special rates and online reservations here.

Citadel Inn Makati - - Possibly the first "Condo" style hotel or condotel as it is known, in Manila. The Century Citadel enjoys an enviable location in the heart of Makati along the infamous P. Burgos Street, which is home to one of the most famous strips of bars in Manila. The hotel has different categories of rooms available from a small studio to a three bedroom suite. As this is a condotel you enjoy the same amount of space from a regular appartment yet at better rates than most hotels could ever offer, plus on top of that you also enjoy cooking facilities with your own private kitchen. The Century Citadel is part of the highly respected and well known Century Hotels International Group of hotels and as such has a good reputation to maintain among its regular customer base. This is just one of the reasons why the hotel has undergone an enormous renovation programme to ensure that all its rooms are of the highest quality. The Citadel Inn Makati as with its sister property only a few doors away, the Primetown Tower Makati offers some of the most amazing views of Makati and Manila available, with rooms extending up all the way to the 33rd floor, and large floor to ceiling windows ensuring unobstructed views. The studio rooms are reminiscent of a regular hotel room, while the one bedroom suites are very large with a separate living area, dining area, and kitchen. The bathrooms are complete with shower, toilet and handbasin. As with most hotels in Manila, the Citadel Inn is complete with full cable TV which offers you almost too many channels to be able to watch. Excellent value for money. See pictures special rates and online reservations here.

Holiday Inn Manila : Located in Ermita with plentiful restaurants and bars in close proximity the Holiday Inn Manila is a good choice for travellers aiming at mid market hotels. The security at this hotel is taken very seriously and possibly is one of the strongest in Manila, which is saying a lot as all the hotels have very tight security. The hotel has almost 600 rooms, and we would highly recommend requesting a higher floor when making a reservation. The hotel has an executive floor and lounge where guests can enjoy breakfast served from 6:30 - 10am and evening cocktails from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. Frequent travellers will be happy to know that they are offered the option of having breakfast in the lounge, in their rooms or even downstairs depending on their preference. Whilst this small yet some would say important aspect is becoming more and more frequent in other parts of Asia, it is still relatively new in Manila. The hotel also has three non smoking floors on 12, 16 and 17. It has to be said that the Deluxe rooms on the Executive floor are very impressive indeed. A lot of hotels would be cheeky and classify them as suites, due to their size and layout, however the Holiday Inn has decided to ensure that guests are as comfortable as possible and have retained the Deluxe room classification. Deluxe rooms on this floor have a living area that is almost entirely divided by a separate partition giving you a feel of having almost two rooms, and they even have two TV's in the room. The Deluxe rooms on the executive floor also has a bath tub with hand held shower (rather than the regular fixed shower head). The floor to ceiling windows in all the rooms are impressive with equally impressive views over Manila. The Holiday Inn offers guests tea and coffee making facilities. in every room. The regular floor rooms are adequately furnished and comfortable. Due to what we have already said above we can highly recommend the Deluxe rooms on the Executive floor, and our hats have to go off to the Holiday Inn Management for not overcharging these rooms as a suite, which they very easily could. The swimming pool is open from 7am  - 8pm. See pictures special rates and online reservations.

Imperial Palace Suites Quezon City - Quezon City is the largest city in the Philippines, and was once separate from Manila. Today however Quexon City is an integral part of Metro Manila. The Century Imperial Suites is located some 25 minutes (without traffic) away from the centre of Manila, making it possible to travel into Manila without too much trouble. The hotel has four room categories, from Studio to Penthouse. The rooms are simple in design, yet adequately equipped with all that a traveller needs. All rooms have cooking facilities which include a toaster, and water heater. The rooms have one telephone line per room, which is easily connected to the internet and achieves good quality connection with speeds at around 28.8 K from a 56K modem  (which is slightly above average for most hotels). The studio is your standard hotel room variety of a good size. One studio room does stand out from the rest and that is room 1118 which is carpeted and has mirrors all over the walls. The one bedroom suites have a living area separated by a see through sliding partition. We highly recommend room number 604 in this category, and strongly recommend those that do require a one bedroom to make a request for this room if it is available. The two bedroom suites, have one bedroom with a queen size bed and another with a single, again they have a separate living area and kitchen area. The Penthouse on the top floor is used more by long term residents and comprises of two bedrooms the master of which has ensuite bathroom, otherwise they are almost identical to a two bedroom suite. The hotel has a nice swimming pool on the Penthouse floor, offering views of Manila City in the far distance. The surrounding area of the hotel has an abundance of restaurants and lively bars to help keep you entertained. See pictures special rates and online reservations here.        

Inter-Continental Hotel Manila - A beautiful hotel that lives up to the quality and refinement you expect from an Inter-Continental Hotel. With most major business and shopping and even entertainment on your doorstep the hotel is ideally situated for both business and leisure travellers. All the rooms are well furnished with radio alarm clock and tea and coffee making facilities being standard in every room. The Business Floor rooms are the only that have two telephone lines in the room but the all the Executive rooms have a fax machine in the room for you to be able to use. The hotel also offers guests four non smoking floors. The executive floor non smoking lounge is quite impressive with breakfast being served from 6:30 - 11am, afternoon tea from 3-5pm and the all important evening cocktails from 6-8pm. See pictures special rates and online reservations here.

New World Renaissance Hotel : Located in the heart of Makati, Manila the New World Renaissance has been a popular choice among business and leisure travellers for many years now. The rooms of the hotel are very nicely decorated and comfortable. All the rooms come complete with in room safe, tea and coffee making facilities and separate shower and bath tub in the room. The Deluxe rooms are well sized and have nicely decorated sofa, and sitting chair, with a useful bedside control panel from which you can control the air conditioning, TV etc. The executive floors are on floors 23, 24, and 25 and are one of the most impressive in Manila. The executive floors have security key card access in the elevators to ensure that only guests of the floor can go there. The executive lounge is enormous and offers tremendous views over Makati through almost a 180 degrees. Breakfast in the lounge is served from 6am -10am, and evening cocktails from 5-7:30. The lounge even has unlimited free of charge access to the internet on one computer terminal, which is very impressive as most of the other 5 star hotels only offer guests 20 or 30 minutes free of charge per day and then charge, so unlimited access will be a welcome relief to those travellers who do not carry there laptop. We can highly recommend all the rooms especially the executive floor however one room that does stand out over the others is the Superior Deluxe rooms which are slightly bigger but most importantly they have more windows and consequently more light. The hotel gym is small yet has all that non-professional health enthusiasts would require with free weights, and some select machines for you to work out on. The pool is very large with a large sun deck and offers some great views over Makati, it is also one of the most business traveller user friendly in Manila, opening at 6am and closing at 11pm. Very nice hotel. See pictures special rates and online reservations here. 

Primetown Tower Makati  Travellers always enjoy being upgraded whether it be from economy to business on a plane, or from a deluxe room to a suite in a hotel. Why ? Of course there is the prestige, the service gets better, and usually the amenities as well, but if we are honest the most important factor of either these is the increased amount of space we are able to enjoy. This is one reason in itself the Primetown Century Tower Makati is such a popular destination for travellers to Manila. Located in Makati just seconds off the infamous P. Burgos (bar area) and only a few minutes away from the amazing new Rockwell Centre (shopping/dining) the hotel is in an excellent location for both business and leisure travellers. Built as a condotel, you are given the option between studios and three bedroom suites offering all the space you could need. Managed by Century International Hotels, which were one of the pioneers of the condotel (what could be called serviced appartment) craze which is now sweeping the Philippines. Every room whether it be a studio or larger has its own kitchen area with certain cooking facilities provided. The studios are similar in size to a regular hotel room (but with as mentioned cooking facilities), and come complete with cable TV, remote control air-conditioning, a bathroom with shower and a useful wall mounted clock. From one bedroom and up you begin to have a lot more space, with the rooms having a large separate living area complete with small dining area, sofa, cable TV, working desk, and of course the kitchen. Most rooms, from studio up, offer bath tubs in the bathrooms however some of the rooms do only have a shower, so we would suggest you state your preference at the time of reservation. Security of guests is an important issue and this is one of the few hotels in Asia, where guests have the capability of tuning in, on their own TV sets in the room, to the CTV of the hotel, to enable them to see the reception and see who the guest is that wishes to see them. The hotel is one of the best choices in Manila if you wish to stay either for long term or only short term in a serviced appartment / condotel. After all with rates that are generally better for a one bedroom suite here, than at a regular room in a hotel, why not spoil yourself and enjoy the extra space that the Primetown Century Tower offers. See pictures, special rates and online reservations here.

The Pan Pacific Manila - - As one of the newest hotels in Manila, The Pan Pacific is without a doubt one of the leaders and best hotels in Manila, both in terms of in room quality, furnishings, and also the high level of service. Located along Adriatico just off Roxas Boulevard, the hotel is in a good location for both business and leisure travellers. What makes this hotel so special is the small things that the hotel offers guests in an endeavor to ensure as enjoyable a stay as possible. Such things include a stereo player in most rooms, with a library of complimentary CD's for you to choose from, an actual coffee percolator in every room rather than simply a kettle and coffee sachet, and even a pool table in the executive floor lounge. The rooms are all very finely furnished with comfortable furnishing and duvets (comforters) in every room, 2 telephones in the actual bedroom (one on the desk and one by the bed), plus one in the bathroom, and the hotel is one of the few to offer 2 separate telephone lines per room. The rooms which have floor to ceiling windows offering staggering views of most of Manila are also complete with a nice working area, with the power points and sockets conveniently located by the desk. A printer, scanner or even a pc can be provided to you free of charge for your convenience. Every room even has a separate shower in the specious bathroom, which is also complete with a remote controlled TV to help you relax before or after a long day. If you think we are talking of the suites you will be presently surprised to learn that we have only covered above the standard rooms. The rooms only get better from there on. The Executive room for example is larger than the standard, with a small walk in closet, the TV cleverly built into the wooden panelling decorating the room, and the larger bathrooms even have a sliding window that you can open to look out onto the main room. As if this were not enough to persuade any corporate traveller or in fact any traveller who demands the best, to actually stay at this hotel. WAIT - and read on ! The hotel has what must be one of the most amazing executive lounges in Asia, with almost wall to wall and floor to ceiling windows the views from this top floor lounge are staggering and must cover most, if not all of Manila. Breakfast is served in this lounge from 6 - 10:30 am, and the evening cocktails are from 5:30 - 7pm. The lounge is comfortable and spacious and an excellent place to conduct informal business meetings, or just enjoy the views. The hotel even has 18 Food and beverage outlets within its premises, from which you can order room service from any of them. One thing that sets this hotel apart is its very high level of service, the hotel will accommodate your almost every need. If you require Halal food, not to worry, the hotel already has an arrangement with one of the best Halal restaurants in Manila to organise this for you. Need the pool to stay open after 7 pm, then not a problem, simply ask the staff will try whatever it takes to fulfill your needs.  An excellent choice for those who demand the best. See pictures, special rates and online reservations here.

The Peninsula Manila - With what is undoubtedly one of the two best lobby's in Manila, staying at the Peninsula Manila is an experience in itself, and one not to be missed. The Peninsula Manila is part of the famous and highly respected group of hotels which includes the famous Peninsula Hong Kong and the more recent and equally if not more amazing Peninsula Bangkok. While some hotels within the group may be slightly older than others, there is one thing that remains a true constant and that is that these hotels offer some of the highest quality of service you will find anywhere. The Peninsula Manila, may not be the most attractive hotel from the exterior but once inside, you will be comforted by a luxury and quality you would expect from any Peninsula Hotel anywhere. Each room at the Peninsula is richly  and comfortably furnished, comes complete with tea and coffee making facilities, dedicated fax number, 2 telephone lines, and 2 telephones with speaker phone  in bedroom (one for the desk and one for by the bed), personalised voice mail which can be retrieved from outside of the hotel. The bathrooms are plush and are complete with separate shower, bath tub with a hand held shower, and even mood lighting. A signature of the Peninsula Hotels to varying degrees is the control panels that adorn the rooms, from these control panels you can automatically control the air conditioning, lighting,  and even see if you have received a fax etc.  The majority of the Deluxe rooms, have their beds facing the window, which offers you nice views of Manila while enjoying a morning cup of tea in bed. Again it is the attention to detail which is important to the Peninsula, and such care is reflected in details such as the 5:30 am opening of the swimming pool (how many times have you stayed in a business destination on business and been told the pool does not open until 7am and closes at 7pm ?!), or even in the fact that the Peninsula Manila is the only hotel in Manila to have its own fleet of hotel cars, in fact 12 leather clad interior Mercedes 320S. When it comes to restaurants and bars the hotel has some excellent selections for you to choose from, they have one of the largest and most varied lunch buffets we have seen at Nielsens which is open throughout the day and at 785 Pesos is very popular. Their, Asian restaurant is regarded by many as one of the best for Indian food in Manila, open for lunch or dinner, Spices as it is called over looks the pool area while the spices and smell of sumptuous cuisine, will only make it the more difficult to choose between the Indian, Thai and Vietnamese dishes available. The Bar as it is aptly named is an excellent choice of venue for informal meetings, with happy hour running from 5 to 19:30 The Bar, offers hot Italian snacks with drinks at the price of buy one get one. The Italian restaurant with a distinctly Mediterranean feel offers Italian cuisine prepared by an Italian chef in a relaxed atmosphere, while the Old Manila restaurant is the place to go for an important business or personal meeting. The master chef at the Old Manila has many novel ideas up his sleeve or at least in the kitchen and we do suggest you ask for his recommendations. Staying at any Peninsula is an experience in itself and one you should never be disappointed with, staying at the Peninsula Manila is no exception to this rule. We do though recommend you spoil yourself and be picked up by the nicest hotel car in Manila when you go. It is no wonder that this hotel is a winner in our 2000 Premier Travel Awards for Excellence. See pictures, special rates and online reservations here.

Makati Shangri-La - - Some would argue that this hotel is probably in the best location in Makati. Surrounding the property you have all the shopping, restaurants and bars you will ever need. The hotel is very much a five star hotel and is undergoing an enormous renovation project on its rooms. The renovation project is being done under stages and does not in any way affect you as a guest, in fact if we had not told you, you wouldn't even be aware of the renovation going on. The new rooms are going to be quite something, with a nice working area, ergonomically designed working chair, nice curved lines within the rooms that add a lot of space and a very relaxed feel to the room, in fact if you have previously stayed at this hotel you will not at all recognise the rooms from before as they are a complete overhaul. However, these rooms are not yet open to the public. The existing rooms are adequately furnished, and come complete with separate shower in the bathroom, fax machine in every room. The Horizons Club, is the hotels executive floor, and these rooms come with the bonus of a VCD player, but very strangely for a hotel of this category, the hotel does not provide any music or VCD's for your to use, instead they have to get them from outside the hotel and are consequently charged to you, so bring your own. Horizon Club guests (guests staying on the executive floor) are able to enjoy the service of the Horizons lounge. The lounge has a smoking and non smoking section, breakfast is offered in the lounge from 7am to 10am, high tea from 2pm-4pm and the necessary cocktails with a few hot and cold snacks from 5pm to 7.30 pm. The lounge offers one computer with internet access to guests with a time limit of 30 minutes per guest per day.  The benefits of the lounge also include free use of the board/meeting room for up to 2 hours per day. The hotel has a truly excellent gymnasium and health centre, which offers a wide variety of exercise and body building machines, free weights, massage facilities within its spa area, and a  Jacuzzi, steam room and cool pool in the changing rooms.  The Makati Shangri-La has a variety of food and beverage outlets that include Conways (read our review of the bars in Manila)  Bar, a beautifully decorated Chinese restaurant that offers Cantonese cuisine, a small Thai restaurant, a fine dining French restaurant (appetizers average out at an average price of 500 or so Pesos), and a very nice Japanese restaurant. The Makati Shangri-La is a Winner of the 2000 Premier Travel Awards for Excellence. Check Special Rates and Availability.

Manila Hotel Possibly the most famous hotel in Manila, and due to its outstanding history, is regarded as the old dame of Manila, the Philippine equivalent (due to this history) of the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Staying in a hotel with such a heritage and standing is in itself always an experience, and this simple fact of history and nostalgia will be sure not to disappoint anyone who is fortunate enough to stay at this splendid hotel. The experience starts from the moment you arrive with the simple beauty of the lobby casting a spell on every visitor, creating a memory that will last for years. The Manila Hotel, has even managed to become a tourist attraction with visitors from all over the world coming to soak in its history, or dine in its fine restaurants. The rooms themselves have retained a lot of their nostalgia and are little changed from the golden days of the hotel. This is except floors 6 - 11 which have been renovated. We can highly recommend these floors, as the rooms, still richly and comfortably furnished are lighter in design, and some would say more appealing. The rooms offer either views of the Bay area or Intramous golf course, the latter is stunning at night while the golf course is flood lit and with the surrounding old city walls has a somewhat surreal feel to it. The Bay area enjoys views of the famous Manila Bay, its activities, and the sunset. The Manila Hotel has a nice outdoor swimming pool which is open from 7am - 9pm. For those on a honey moon or wishing to spend a little extra, we would recommend considering the Verandah suites which are longer than your average room, with steps from the bed area leading down a short way to a small and comfortable living area, which leads out to an enormous verandah for you to be able to enjoy. Even if you are not staying at this hotel we do recommend, time permitting,  you pay a visit. The hotel has a good selection of restaurants that are very reasonably priced. The French restaurant, called the Champagne Room is very much fine dining, and is decorated to take your breath away and make you feel like royalty, yet as mentioned is well priced with a bottle of house wine costing only 1,300 Pesos. The hotel also offers, a Steak or Rib restaurant that is decorated with 7,107 Cowrie shells which represent the number of Philippines Islands. The Japanese restaurant is also very good serving a nice variety of different Japanese dishes that are authentically made. An experience that only the Manila hotel can offer. The Manila Hotel is a Winner of a 2000 Premier Travel Award for Excellence. Check Special Rates and Availability.

Manila Midtown : A popular hotel just off Roxas Boulevard, in the Bay area which is ideal for those on a budget. The hotel has quite a few different room categories but we would recommend you to ask for a room on floors 16-19 which have been refurbished and more modern and comfortable than the others. Some of the rooms offer some amazing views of Manila, especially rooms ending from 01 to 11. The hotel offers tea and coffee facilities in every room.

Grand Boulevard  formerly known as the Silahis and then Grand Boulevard, then Sofitel Grand Boulevard and now, back to being Grand Boulevard. It is on a great location on Roxas Boulevard over looking the bay. They also have a casino in the hotel. If you do stay here MAKE SURE that you are on one of the new floors, they are really great, very clean and bright. As for the old floors (un renovated)  we have only seen them from afar, and do not recommend them, take our advice on this one.

The Heritage Hotel Located along Roxas Boulevard, on the Bay the Heritage Hotel is in an ideal location for business and leisure travellers alike. The International Entertainment Complex with the famous Firehouse inside is literally across the road, which gives any like minded traveller a very good reason to stay here. The Heritage Hotel is built in the shape of an H and so is split into the four different wings, with rooms on the 3 - 9 floors.  The hotel is able to offer non smoking wings for those who prefer. The Superior rooms in the hotel run from floors 3-6 and the Deluxe rooms from floors 6-9. The main difference between the two apart from the floor, is that the Deluxe rooms have tea and coffee making facilities and slightly plusher interiors. Every bathroom in the hotel has a handheld shower in the bath (rather than a fixed shower head) and for women the hotel is even able to offer power hair dryers upon request if those in the rooms do not meet your expectations. The Executive floor at the hotel is the 9th floor, and is where breakfast (6.30 - 10.30 am) and evening cocktails (6-8pm) are served, the hotel also offers on the executive floor the choice of having breakfast in the lounge or downstairs in the main breakfast area. Guests staying on the executive floor also enjoy complimentary telephone calls, complimentary airport transfers and a few other benefits. The hotel does offer suites in all the corner rooms (numbers 17,18, 51, 52) however we would highly recommend the executive rooms, which are very nice and large. They are basically one very large room which is very beautifully decorated with a large living area included within the room. The executive rooms come complete with a fax in the room and a nice working area. The outdoor swimming pool is small but adequate for that much needed refreshing dip and is open from 6am-7pm, the hotel also offers guests a small gym with some free weights and a few work out machines. At the Heritage hotel you will not be short of restaurants to choose from, as they offer a Japanese, International Buffet and a la carte, and a Chinese restaurant. They even offer Ballroom dancing lessons free of charge (consumption of drinks required). Check Special Rates and Availability.

Traders Manila - - This was formerly the Holiday Inn. It is on Roxas Boulevard, and to be perfectly honest... if you are used to the standard of the Traders Hotels (part of Shangri-La Hotels)  in Singapore or Yangon (Wow !) for example then you may be disappointed with this hotel. Check Special Rates and Availability.