Since August is the month with the most rainfall in the Philippines, most people just opt for a staycation and avoid the risk of delayed/cancelled flights or boat rides. And if you are in the main metropolitan area of Metro Manila, you have numerous choices.
In terms of mid to upper range hotel choices, Metro Manila houses familiar international hotel brands. And one of them is the Manila Marriott Hotel in the Newport Resort World complex. I also selected it as my featured hotel since it has one critical advantage over the other hotels - its close proximity to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) - the Philippines' primary airport.
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| view from my hotel room showing NAIATerminal 2 (the building on the left, not the tower) |
This Marriott has been featured in numerous blogs ever since it opened three years ago. But I noticed that most of those blogs only covered the Marriott buffet and sometimes just took a quick look at the rooms. Well since I've probably stayed here for more than three weeks cumulative during the past three years, I've amassed enough photos and experiences to write a blog about it.
Though toiletries in the bathroom are pretty standard for hotels, I just had to show them because I like the nice wooden box that houses them.
During my first stay here, I did not realize that the closed box pictured below contained the toiletries. Well I brought my own since this was my first time to stay at a Philippine hotel. So I did not really look for toiletries when I got here. Just wanted to point that out in case readers start wondering how I managed without a toothbrush during my stay. :)
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| Lower the bathroom shade if you find the see-thru bathroom view too kinky! |
If you are feeling lazy and don't want to get out of the hotel to buy significantly cheaper stuff at the convenience store in front of the Newport complex, feel free to grab a drink and just pay for it in your hotel bill. Sometimes that extra charge is not worth braving the rain or tropical sun (especially during summer!) I guess if hotel guests can afford an above $200 - $250 room a night room, most probably won't mind paying a hefty premium for convenience.
Once you've chilled and relaxed in your nice room, you might want to explore the hotel's amenities. The hotel's second floor houses the gym, the spa, swimming pool, and the business center.
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| Quan Spa from the gym/pool area |
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| Quan Spa |
In case you get thirsty and hungry, there is a pool bar that is open until 6PM. The pool closes late, around 8PM, and it opens really early at 6AM. I usually had the pool to myself since I was there around around 7AM. Note that they may not open the pool during stormy weather.
You can also enjoy the nice views of Makati and The Fort while sipping your favorite drink at the bar. The pool bar staff can also take some meal orders (e.g. sandwiches) which they get from the ground floor Cafe kitchen
I did not review the spa's amenities and services since I've never tried them. I'm not really a spa person anyway. But here are Marriott's Quan Spa's rates for hotel guests. As of August 2013, the Peso (PhP) is hovering around P43.50 to $1.
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| Prices as of May 2013 (Quan Spa room brochure) |
Like most hotels geared for business travelers, Marriott Manila also has a business center area staffed by friendly people. I would usually go there just to read the various free newspapers. They also rent computers for your Internet and printing needs, but I was already okay with the room and hotel lobby's free WiFi connection for Marriott rewards members. The center also sells cellphone load prepaid cards, though at higher prices.
After having dinner at Marriott's restaurants, you can relax and chill at the hotel lobby. I will cover the food part in another post so as to avoid making this post too long.
The lobby lounge usually has a live band playing while you sip wine or beer.
There are also other activities in the ResortWorld Manila complex. And the nice thing is that the places are interconnected under one roof, so you don't even have to go out.
Nevertheless, enjoy the following activities:
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| Shopping |
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| Bars and Restaurants (Orleans) |
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| Clubbing! |
Well, that's it for now. Let me organize a different blog post for the Marriott Cafe buffet.
A few important tips:
- Marriott Manila is actually in ResortsWorld Manila IN PASAY near Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino airport. It is NOT IN the City of Manila which is around 12 kilometers north.
- Security here is pretty tight compared to other Philippine hotels. Like most US hotels, you cannot go up the elevator without your hotel keycard. Also, note that whenever you enter the buildings, you always have to go through an airport-like security check, meaning, metal detectors and x-ray machine for bags and luggage. Its somewhat standard here in the Philippines but a lot more stringent than the security checks done at malls.
- The casino cashier gives you better exchange rates for your US$ than the hotel.
