First visit to Manila in 15 years

I need some information about how to travel safely from the Airport
to downtown Ermita, without being fleeced by Taxi drivers or thieves.

What is the fare in Peso's or US dollars??

I also need some info about any 3 star hotels in Ermita

Any info would be highly appreciated.

Qansett wrote:

I need some information about how to travel safely from the Airport
to downtown Ermita, without being fleeced by Taxi drivers or thieves.

What is the fare in Peso's or US dollars??

I also need some info about any 3 star hotels in Ermita

Any info would be highly appreciated.

There are several taxi companies at the exit area.
They'll all try to get your attention by waving, and smiling from
their booths.
We payed €10, (around PHP 600).

Ermita, well, why not stay at the Manila Hotel ?
It's quite cheap to be a 5 star, at least as long as you leave
the minibar untouched ;-)

MH
Amsterdam

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 22:15:00 +1000, "Qansett"
wrote:

I need some information about how to travel safely from the Airport
to downtown Ermita, without being fleeced by Taxi drivers or thieves.

What is the fare in Peso's or US dollars??

There's a cartel operating at the airport, so you don't have much
choice (see below) other than to take the official airport taxis from
outside the arrivals area. Fares are more or less fixed and would cost
around 350 to 400 Pesos to Ermita. You pay in advance.

I also need some info about any 3 star hotels in Ermita

The Iseya Hotel - http://www.angelescity.com/iseya_hotel.html - or the
Swagman - http://www.swaggy.com/ - are both around 3 star quality. The
Swagman will pick you up free of charge at the airport if you have a
room reservation with them. Its possible that the Iseya will also.

Chris

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 22:15:00 +1000, "Qansett"
wrote:

I need some information about how to travel safely from the Airport
to downtown Ermita, without being fleeced by Taxi drivers or thieves.

What is the fare in Peso's or US dollars??

There's a cartel operating at the airport, so you don't have much
choice (see below) other than to take the official airport taxis from
outside the arrivals area. Fares are more or less fixed and would cost
around 350 to 400 Pesos to Ermita. You pay in advance.

I also need some info about any 3 star hotels in Ermita

The Iseya Hotel - http://www.angelescity.com/iseya_hotel.html - or the
Swagman - http://www.swaggy.com/ - are both around 3 star quality. The
Swagman will pick you up free of charge at the airport if you have a
room reservation with them. Its possible that the Iseya will also.

Chris

When arriving on the airport go from arrivals to departure. Take a taxi
there who can bring you where ever you want. No waiting time and mostly you
can make a better deal there. Also much more quite, not 100.000 drivers
waiting 4you.

Good luck

"Qansett" schreef in bericht
...
I need some information about how to travel safely from the Airport
to downtown Ermita, without being fleeced by Taxi drivers or thieves.

What is the fare in Peso's or US dollars??

I also need some info about any 3 star hotels in Ermita

Any info would be highly appreciated.

I would probably recommend Robinsons. Visit their website
http://www.manila-condos.com/robinsons/makati/index.htm

However, this is one area where there are numerous choices in terms of
hotels since it is close to Roxas Blvd. Someone already mentioned the Manila
Hotel. Some chain hotels on Roxas are the Hyatt and the Westin. I have
stayed at both and the Westin is a bit more plush and correspondingly a bit
more expensive but the Hyatt is more than adequate and may be more cost
effective.

"Qansett" wrote in message
...
I need some information about how to travel safely from the Airport
to downtown Ermita, without being fleeced by Taxi drivers or thieves.

What is the fare in Peso's or US dollars??

I also need some info about any 3 star hotels in Ermita

Any info would be highly appreciated.

On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 16:26:33 GMT, "punk" wrote:

I would probably recommend Robinsons. Visit their website
http://www.manila-condos.com/robinsons/makati/index.htm

However, this is one area where there are numerous choices in terms of
hotels since it is close to Roxas Blvd. Someone already mentioned the Manila
Hotel. Some chain hotels on Roxas are the Hyatt and the Westin. I have
stayed at both and the Westin is a bit more plush and correspondingly a bit
more expensive but the Hyatt is more than adequate and may be more cost
effective.

They're all nice hotels but rather odd recommendations to someone
asking for 3-star hotels. I would assume from what he says that he's
looking to pay less than 2,000 Pesos a night.


"Qansett" wrote in message
u...
I need some information about how to travel safely from the Airport
to downtown Ermita, without being fleeced by Taxi drivers or thieves.

What is the fare in Peso's or US dollars??

I also need some info about any 3 star hotels in Ermita

Any info would be highly appreciated.

On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 11:41:47 +0200, "Roland Pleiter"
wrote:

When arriving on the airport go from arrivals to departure. Take a taxi
there who can bring you where ever you want. No waiting time and mostly you
can make a better deal there. Also much more quite, not 100.000 drivers
waiting 4you.

Its very difficult, if not impossible, to do that now with the
increased security at NAIA

Chris

"Qansett" schreef in bericht
u...
I need some information about how to travel safely from the Airport
to downtown Ermita, without being fleeced by Taxi drivers or thieves.

What is the fare in Peso's or US dollars??

I also need some info about any 3 star hotels in Ermita

Any info would be highly appreciated.

On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 11:41:47 +0200, "Roland Pleiter"
wrote:

When arriving on the airport go from arrivals to departure. Take a taxi
there who can bring you where ever you want. No waiting time and mostly you
can make a better deal there. Also much more quite, not 100.000 drivers
waiting 4you.

Its very difficult, if not impossible, to do that now with the
increased security at NAIA

Chris

"Qansett" schreef in bericht
u...
I need some information about how to travel safely from the Airport
to downtown Ermita, without being fleeced by Taxi drivers or thieves.

What is the fare in Peso's or US dollars??

I also need some info about any 3 star hotels in Ermita

Any info would be highly appreciated.

What you considered "odd" was really my attempt to read between the lines
and do some extrapolation. The star system may be fairly consistent in the
US but it tends to break down when you go overseas. A 3-star hotel in the PI
is probably the equivalent of a 1-star hotel in the US. Someone recommended
the Manila Hotel which is supposedly a 5-star hotel and last time I was
there, it is really a 3-star or at most a 4-star hotel when compared to US
hotels. Besides, the hotels you recommended are infamous for renting out
rooms on a "short-term" basis, i.e. by the hour and I'll give you 1 guess as
to what these rooms are being used for. You may check into a room and find
out they didn't even bother to change the sheets after a short-term rental
and God knows what was left behind.

"Chris Blunt" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 16:26:33 GMT, "punk" wrote:

I would probably recommend Robinsons. Visit their website
http://www.manila-condos.com/robinsons/makati/index.htm

However, this is one area where there are numerous choices in terms of
hotels since it is close to Roxas Blvd. Someone already mentioned the
Manila
Hotel. Some chain hotels on Roxas are the Hyatt and the Westin. I have
stayed at both and the Westin is a bit more plush and correspondingly a
bit
more expensive but the Hyatt is more than adequate and may be more cost
effective.

They're all nice hotels but rather odd recommendations to someone
asking for 3-star hotels. I would assume from what he says that he's
looking to pay less than 2,000 Pesos a night.


"Qansett" wrote in message
u...
I need some information about how to travel safely from the Airport
to downtown Ermita, without being fleeced by Taxi drivers or thieves.

What is the fare in Peso's or US dollars??

I also need some info about any 3 star hotels in Ermita

Any info would be highly appreciated.