I had finally reached Ambassador status with Marriott Bonwoy, and that came in handy for this trip. I had some business to attend to, so had booked one night (for 38.000 points) at the Marriott Manila hotel from September 1 to 2, 2024. However, late at night the day before I was traveling, I got an email saying my reservation was canceled with no explanation.
I had, the day before, applied to use one of my nightly award upgrades which are given when you reach Platinum and Titanium status, and this had been approved, changing me from a standard room to a 1 bedroom corner suite. I was of course surprised and upset about this sudden cancellation, so I reached out to the Bonvoy Ambassador team. This was my first time using this service, and I was very pleasantly surprised. On the first ring, the phone was answered by a representative which immediately understood the situation and tried to contact the Marriott Manila, but got no reply from them. He then promised to call me back as soon as he had an update, but as I was about to go to work, I asked him to email me instead. 30 minutes later I got an email from him, staying he’d been in touch with the Marriott Manila hotel, and the booking and upgrade was still valid in their system, so the email was just an error.
I had booked this hotel due to the proximity from Manila Airport Terminal 3, which I normally arrive at. The resort area (there are several hotels, a big mall and a casino) is connected to the terminal via a footbridge, and it was a quick 10 minutes walk from immigration until I arrived at the hotel.
Check-in was completed quickly, and I was sent on my way to the West Wing, where the Lounge and my room was located. It is a big hotel and it took me a few minutes to arrive. A note, during check-in I was asked to choose my welcome gift, and I went for 2 locals beers to be delivered to my room, but they never arrived. However, as an Ambassador member, I also got access to the lounge, and it had a lot to offer, so I didn’t really mind not having the beers to my room.
The corridors on the floor of the rooms were nicely lit and decorated, and gave me a feeling of cosines.
As I entered my room, there was a small corridor with a similar small guest toilet / washroom.
The washroom was not big, but had the essentials.
Further in the room opened up into a combined living room and dining area and small kitchen. The kitchen had a minibar, coffee machine, sink and a sitting area for 4.
The living room part consisted of a large, and very comfortable, sofa, big TV and a nice view of the golf course just behind the hotel.
The sofa was very comfortable, and I was close to taking a nap on it…
The TV was a nice size, but it felt a bit weird with the large black wall behind it, it felt like the TV should have been a lot bigger….
On the table there were addition welcome gifts waiting for me, some small sandwiches, a nice bottle of red wine and some candy-
The sandwiches they had prepared were very tasty (except from the olives, I hate olives.)
They also gave me a complimentary bottle of Perrier, which nicely compliments the bottle of wine.
The living room was separated from the bedroom and master bathroom with a proper door, which I always appreciate, as that gives you more privacy if you have guests. The bedroom featured a large king size bed, another sofa and the same golf course views as the living room. I do find it a bit weird though that there are only windows on one side even though it is a corner room, but I guess there might be a building next to the hotel or something. Also, in the bedroom there was a TV of same size as the living room.
The bedroom was then connected to a walk-in wardrobe, which again lead to the bathroom, which had a double vanity, and separate shower and bathtub.
The shower and bathtub were separated from the bathroom itself by a glass wall, but the area was still quite large, and didn’t really warn up while taking a shower. Also, what seems to be the industry standard now, the soap, shampoo and conditioner comes in large, refillable bottles, and I always worry about what the previous guest left for me…
It doesn’t look like it in the picture, but the bathtub was large enough to fit a fully grown person 😀
After exploring the room, it was time to go and explore the lounge. Looking at the opening hours, it was just time for afternoon tea to start, so I decided that sounded better than sleeping. The lounge was located in the same building that I was in, and was impressively large, probably the biggest lounge I have been to. Entrance was granted via the keycard to m room, and I was promptly greeted by the staff when I entered.
Then there were a dining area, which is where I decided to take a seat.
For the afternoon tea I expected it to be a buffet style set+up or the options of ordering a classic tray with sandwiches and sweets, and some sparkling drinks, but I was kind of disappointed to find only some biscuits to eat, and softdrinks and coffee available. And a sign telling what was the sandwiches of the day.
I did however locate a hostess there, and was able to also order the sandwiches, which were very nice! (lack of alcoholic drinks were still disappointing though.). The individual table service was a nice touch!
After this it was time for a quick nap, before it was time to come back to the lounge for the evening Hors D’evures and cocktails. What I felt slightly disappointed for with the afternoon tea was more than compensated for here. There was a wide selection of hot and cold dishes, beers, wine, spirits, sparkling wine and cocktails!
The kitchen worked exceptionally hard to keep all the dishes fresh and warm, and also had their own nightly special which you could order (which I did, and it was great,, but not as great as the chicken, I kept going back for more)
Then there was a nice desert table as well, but I had too much chicken, so didn’t get to enjoy this too much
Also worth noting, at the lounge, there was a ‘secret’ outside sitting area (with no smoking, which I though was great), so you could enjoy some food and drinks there, while having fresh air and a nice golf course view.
the staff was very friendly, and when I asked if I could watch the Formula 1 race there, they apologized and explained that the race was not shown on any of the hotels TV channels, but fortunately I was able to watch it on my tablet instead. They also made sure that I had enough drinks to last until the end of the race (even though that finished quite a bit later than the closing hours of the evening cocktails.) It did seem like the norm though, as a few people stayed later and loaded up their tables with drinks even after the official closing hours
The next morning I choose to have my breakfast in the lounge too, and that was really nice. Again, all the food felt really freshly made, the trays were constantly refilled with fresh food, and the selection was good. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my phone, so no pictures of the breakfast set+up. Really worth mentioning though – one of my favorite filippino breakfasts is the tapsilog (beef tapa with egg and rice), and when I asked one of the lounge staff if they had that, she went to the chef to ask, and 5 minutes later it was served at my table. This was not a part of the normal breakfast set-up, so I really appreciate the effort by the chef to accommodate.
After breakfast I has a quick look at the pool and gym, but as it was constantly raining I didn’t spent any time there – but if the weather had been nice I think the pool bar would have been a great hide-out
The pool had very similar view to my room.
Also on the top floor there were a gym, which was well equipped.
As i mentioned earlier, the hotel was also connected to the Newport Mall and a large Casino, which is where I spent quite a bit of money, but left richer than I arrived, so overall a very good experience. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking to stay just a couple of nights in Manila, the facilities were great and the staff exceptional!