Hotels in Manila Question....

Hi,

With a choice of the following hotels, which is best for a week-long stay in
Manila?

1. New World Renaissance - Makati
2. Peninsula Manila - Makati
3. Inter-Continental - Makati

They are all in the Makati neighborhood, where I need to be and *supposedly*
all are 5-stars.

I like quality, service and such & the place should be relatively new, have
a nice *swimming pool* and not over-kill on the $$$ ( i love to swim ).

Any recommendations?

Thanks,
-Avian

Both the Inter-Con and Peninsula have slowly declined of late from their
heyday about 10 years ago. I don't know about the Renaissance. Personally,
if I were in Makati, I would stay at either the Mandarin Oriental or the
Makati Shangrila. The Mandarin probably has a bit better service and is a
tad less expensive than the Shangrila, although a lot of folks claim the
Shangrila is the best hotel in that area. Anyway, both of these hotels have
great spa and pool service.

"Avian" wrote in message
et...
Hi,

With a choice of the following hotels, which is best for a week-long stay
in
Manila?

1. New World Renaissance - Makati
2. Peninsula Manila - Makati
3. Inter-Continental - Makati

They are all in the Makati neighborhood, where I need to be and
*supposedly*
all are 5-stars.

I like quality, service and such & the place should be relatively new,
have
a nice *swimming pool* and not over-kill on the $$$ ( i love to swim ).

Any recommendations?

Thanks,
-Avian

"punk" wrote in message
...
Both the Inter-Con and Peninsula have slowly declined of late from their
heyday about 10 years ago. I don't know about the Renaissance. Personally,
if I were in Makati, I would stay at either the Mandarin Oriental or the
Makati Shangrila. The Mandarin probably has a bit better service and is a
tad less expensive than the Shangrila, although a lot of folks claim the
Shangrila is the best hotel in that area. Anyway, both of these hotels
have
great spa and pool service.

I regularly stayed in the Pen and the Mandarin every couple of months until
a couple of years ago (and sometimes in the Shangri La and others).
I much prefer the Pen to the Mandarin, which I feel was far below the
Mandarin group's usual high standards. Service in the restauarants was often
very slow and poor. There is nowhere to have a quiet beer after work once
the showband has started up in the Captain's Bar; if like me you can't stand
their style of music. There is a whiskey bar but they simply refuse to serve
beer etc.
Plus I had some service problem virtually every time I stayed, such as
housekeeping kindly thowing out all the papers I left on the desk one day,
incuding some work papers and some unread (and expensive!) newpapers from
the UK.
You really think the Mandarin has a great pool? I found it very ordinary.
It is my last choice among the Makati 5 star hotels, which was annoying as
it was the closest to my office.
The Shangri La is very good but I did not think it was worth the extra money
(maybe partly as I had a very good rate at the Pen).

I guess this is all a matter of personal choice. I personally liked bands
like "MOBB" or Men of Blue Blood or "747" that regularly play at the
Captain's Bar in the Mandarin. As for the "whiskey" bar, it's called
Kiplings and it's more of a "cigar bar" than anything else. Ahh those Cubans
with a tawny port. Excellent. If you're a cigar smoker, beer doesn't usually
go with the "puros".

"RAK" wrote in message
...

"punk" wrote in message
...
Both the Inter-Con and Peninsula have slowly declined of late from their
heyday about 10 years ago. I don't know about the Renaissance.
Personally,
if I were in Makati, I would stay at either the Mandarin Oriental or the
Makati Shangrila. The Mandarin probably has a bit better service and is
a
tad less expensive than the Shangrila, although a lot of folks claim the
Shangrila is the best hotel in that area. Anyway, both of these hotels
have
great spa and pool service.

I regularly stayed in the Pen and the Mandarin every couple of months
until
a couple of years ago (and sometimes in the Shangri La and others).
I much prefer the Pen to the Mandarin, which I feel was far below the
Mandarin group's usual high standards. Service in the restauarants was
often
very slow and poor. There is nowhere to have a quiet beer after work once
the showband has started up in the Captain's Bar; if like me you can't
stand
their style of music. There is a whiskey bar but they simply refuse to
serve
beer etc.
Plus I had some service problem virtually every time I stayed, such as
housekeeping kindly thowing out all the papers I left on the desk one day,
incuding some work papers and some unread (and expensive!) newpapers from
the UK.
You really think the Mandarin has a great pool? I found it very ordinary.
It is my last choice among the Makati 5 star hotels, which was annoying as
it was the closest to my office.
The Shangri La is very good but I did not think it was worth the extra
money
(maybe partly as I had a very good rate at the Pen).

Right, a cigar bar, I stand corrected. And I agree that when I smoke a
cigar (rarely) then a brandy or whiskey goes down best. And music is of
course a matter of choice, and sometimes I have enjoyed the bands in the
Mandarin.
But I still can't think of another 5 star hotel where I can't have a quiet
beer and a chat in a normal bar without a loud band. When I mentioned this
to the Mandarin management they suggested I drink beer in the coffee shop.
Clearly these people do not understand what a bar is!!
Hence I prefer the Pen which has far more choice.

"punk" wrote in message
...
I guess this is all a matter of personal choice. I personally liked bands
like "MOBB" or Men of Blue Blood or "747" that regularly play at the
Captain's Bar in the Mandarin. As for the "whiskey" bar, it's called
Kiplings and it's more of a "cigar bar" than anything else. Ahh those
Cubans
with a tawny port. Excellent. If you're a cigar smoker, beer doesn't
usually
go with the "puros".

"RAK" wrote in message
...

"punk" wrote in message
...
Both the Inter-Con and Peninsula have slowly declined of late from
their
heyday about 10 years ago. I don't know about the Renaissance.
Personally,
if I were in Makati, I would stay at either the Mandarin Oriental or
the
Makati Shangrila. The Mandarin probably has a bit better service and is
a
tad less expensive than the Shangrila, although a lot of folks claim
the
Shangrila is the best hotel in that area. Anyway, both of these hotels
have
great spa and pool service.

I regularly stayed in the Pen and the Mandarin every couple of months
until
a couple of years ago (and sometimes in the Shangri La and others).
I much prefer the Pen to the Mandarin, which I feel was far below the
Mandarin group's usual high standards. Service in the restauarants was
often
very slow and poor. There is nowhere to have a quiet beer after work once
the showband has started up in the Captain's Bar; if like me you can't
stand
their style of music. There is a whiskey bar but they simply refuse to
serve
beer etc.
Plus I had some service problem virtually every time I stayed, such as
housekeeping kindly thowing out all the papers I left on the desk one
day,
incuding some work papers and some unread (and expensive!) newpapers from
the UK.
You really think the Mandarin has a great pool? I found it very ordinary.
It is my last choice among the Makati 5 star hotels, which was annoying
as
it was the closest to my office.
The Shangri La is very good but I did not think it was worth the extra
money
(maybe partly as I had a very good rate at the Pen).

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 16:03:42 GMT, "punk" wrote:

Both the Inter-Con and Peninsula have slowly declined of late from their
heyday about 10 years ago. I don't know about the Renaissance. Personally,
if I were in Makati, I would stay at either the Mandarin Oriental or the
Makati Shangrila. The Mandarin probably has a bit better service and is a
tad less expensive than the Shangrila, although a lot of folks claim the
Shangrila is the best hotel in that area. Anyway, both of these hotels have
great spa and pool service.

Although the Mandarin Oriental is nice, it is a bit more isolated than
the other hotels mentioned. At all the others you've got a very large
shopping mall with plenty of restaurants and nightlife right outside
the door, whereas there's not much of interest at all in the immediate
vicinity of the Mandarin.

Chris

"Avian" wrote in message
. net...
Hi,

With a choice of the following hotels, which is best for a week-long stay
in
Manila?

1. New World Renaissance - Makati
2. Peninsula Manila - Makati
3. Inter-Continental - Makati

They are all in the Makati neighborhood, where I need to be and
*supposedly*
all are 5-stars.

I like quality, service and such & the place should be relatively new,
have
a nice *swimming pool* and not over-kill on the $$$ ( i love to swim ).

Any recommendations?

Thanks,
-Avian

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 20:59:48 +0100, "RAK"
wrote:

You really think the Mandarin has a great pool? I found it very ordinary.
It is my last choice among the Makati 5 star hotels, which was annoying as
it was the closest to my office.

Then we must be almost neighbours. I live just across the road from
the Mandarin, close to Citibank Tower.

Chris

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 16:03:42 GMT, "punk" wrote:

Both the Inter-Con and Peninsula have slowly declined of late from their
heyday about 10 years ago. I don't know about the Renaissance. Personally,
if I were in Makati, I would stay at either the Mandarin Oriental or the
Makati Shangrila. The Mandarin probably has a bit better service and is a
tad less expensive than the Shangrila, although a lot of folks claim the
Shangrila is the best hotel in that area. Anyway, both of these hotels have
great spa and pool service.

10 years ago I lived at the Pen for two months. The service was
excellent, staff friendly (one bellboy a little too friendly, he
seemed to think I shared his particular persuasion. I had to borrow
two girls to set him straight).

It was also the home of the mango based Mai Tai, a great tasting
coctail. The only problem was the lead content of the fruit. After
spending a night drinking with friends, the lead would concentrate in
one of your ears. Many times I've seen people attempt to stand up,
but the lead caused them to get a distinct lean to one side &
occasionly fall over.

John L.

"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 20:59:48 +0100, "RAK"
wrote:

You really think the Mandarin has a great pool? I found it very ordinary.
It is my last choice among the Makati 5 star hotels, which was annoying as
it was the closest to my office.

Then we must be almost neighbours. I live just across the road from
the Mandarin, close to Citibank Tower.

Chris

Yes, my office was in Citibank Tower. I did not really extext to live long
when I was crossing the road there on a daily basis. The green light system
there for pedestrians must have been designed by a true sadist.
Are you in that block built maybe 4 years agao? A very nice place, a friend
lived there when it was first opened.
I lived in the Olympia apartments for a while in 98, not much recommended
unless you like cockroaches!

But my main base is Jakarta, not Manila.It would be nice one day to live in
a place without wall-towall traffic and pollution.

Roger

On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 09:17:41 +0100, "RAK"
wrote:


"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 20:59:48 +0100, "RAK"
wrote:

You really think the Mandarin has a great pool? I found it very ordinary.
It is my last choice among the Makati 5 star hotels, which was annoying as
it was the closest to my office.

Then we must be almost neighbours. I live just across the road from
the Mandarin, close to Citibank Tower.

Chris

Yes, my office was in Citibank Tower. I did not really extext to live long
when I was crossing the road there on a daily basis. The green light system
there for pedestrians must have been designed by a true sadist.
Are you in that block built maybe 4 years agao? A very nice place, a friend
lived there when it was first opened.

I guess you're thinking about Fraser serviced apartments. I live a
couple of buildings further down Valero Street, in Antel Platinum
Tower, which is the one next to Shell House. Let me know the next time
you're going to be in the area and maybe we can have lunch somewhere
around there.

Chris