Hi all, here's another historic hotel review. I decided to stay in the oldest, most famous hotel in the city of Manila called surprisingly enough the Manila Hotel. The Manila Hotel was conceived in the early 1900s when William Taft, later the 27th president of the United States, served as governor-general of the Philippines. A New York architect, William Parsons, was hired to design the hotel in the California mission style and construction was completed and it opened its doors on July 4th, 1912, as Manila's first five-star hotel. From its inception, it served as the destination hotel in Manila, hosting Presidents, Royalty, celebrity actors and actresses, and authors including Ernest Hemingway and James Michener, and visiting government officials from the United States and other countries. Its most famous guest, however, was General Douglas MacArthur. In Residence from 1935 when he was appointed military adviser to the Philippines Army and with the rank of Field Marshal.
This was after his retirement as Chief of Staff of the United States Army. In order to accommodate MacArthur, a major renovation of the fifth floor of the hotel was carried out to construct a penthouse in which he and his wife and son lived until they were eventually chased out by the Japanese invasion in 1941. I love grand hotel historic hotels like this so I took the opportunity to stay for a few days.
A very important note:
While the Manila Hotel may not be to the standard of other more modern five-star hotels in Manila, it remains highly popular as a venue for weddings and other business and social events. It can get very busy on weekends and access to the MacArthur Suite, which I really enjoyed, can be impossible. I'd strongly advise a Monday through Thursday visit and this was the advice as well given to me by the staff at the hotel. The location is excellent for visits to the historic district of Intramuros, the inner walled city of old Manila, and it's nearby the national museums so great for making some tours out to visit those sites.
One note about the location: there's really nothing as far as restaurant options in walking distance around the hotel. You'll be at the mercy of sketchy local taxi drivers or the arrival of an elusive grab car if you want to try to get to a restaurant outside the hotel. More about the food there later. I really enjoyed visiting the National Art Museum, I walked around inside Intramuros a couple of days, and I took a guided visit through the museum attached to the 17th century Church of San Augustine, quite impressive and worthwhile. A very enthusiastic young lady who was an intern studying tourism took me around through the through the museum and explained some history.
Arriving at the hotel I met all my hopes and expectations. The gracious entry is staffed by attendance in crisp traditional vintage style uniforms. After entering you passed through security and a metal detector into the huge beautiful and dramatic lobby. There is a coffee and pastry counter to the left on the way to the champagne room restaurant and a formal and nicely decorated Chinese restaurant called Red Jade at the back right of the lobby. When I arrived, the piano was being played in the background. Check-in is on the right. Check in was smooth, professional, and friendly. Of note, walk-in rates were about 10 percent cheaper than what I could find on the web. I extended my stay another night availing of this offer. I'd say it's worth calling the hotel directly. Now, for my visit, I selected a veranda suite in the old building of the hotel. I selected a veranda suite as price wise it falls between the standard rooms and the more expensive sunrise and sunset suites. I was happy with my selection as the suite was spacious, included a large semi-private outdoor seating area reached through French doors, and be aware they're only about a half dozen of these particular suites all in a row all sharing a common outdoor deck and many of the internet sites that I searched for hotel reservations did not offer the veranda suites. Again, another good reason to contact the hotel directly. My room was rather dated in style and decor, but I liked its nostalgic flavor and style and it's very spacious. The bathroom was more modern and quite spacious. The toiletries and amenities provided were limited but adequate. There was a safe and a mini fridge which was handy, but the mini fridge contained no drinks or snacks. A nice fruit basket was waiting for me on my first day and the thermostat-controlled air conditioning was on, so I walked into a nice cool room. Overall, I loved my stay just not the food. My suggestion, if you want a more modern hotel in this area, I can recommend the Diamond Hotel in Malate or if traveling with kids the novelty of an aquarium room at the hotel inside Manila Ocean Park. I've had good stays at both of these hotels in the past.
17 дек 2022
