# Hotel Rates up



## Scott E (Jun 1, 2015)

Hey ,, it has been awhile, like 5 years since I have been in Manila from my province and I noticed all the Hotel rates are "UP" ,, May not be possible for me to stay in my favorite coz of this, so I need advice !!

I need a more Affordable Hotel with good Security and A-Coms !!:confused2:


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Security? ugh... if you want to save money it would end up being a room or dormitory to rent there are many.

https://www.google.com.ph/webhp?sou...s_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=rooms+for+rent,+philippines


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## Cebu Citizen (Dec 13, 2013)

M.C.A. is right...dorms and rooms will certainly save you a small fortune when coming to Manila. Good security can be found at all of the premier hotels but their prices have been steadily increasing in recent months. The Dormitory options would certainly save you a lot of money but not much privacy or security.

Another option you may want to look into is a room mate...many foreigners are sharing the expense of a hotel room when they visit Manila. You get a top quality hotel, good security measures and a much better price, (and two full sized beds so you are not sleeping with your room mate). The only thing you need to worry about is the integrity of your room mate...but their are room safes so you can always keep your most prized possessions locked up and secure and the front desk will typically have a big hotel safe available to guests.

You can find a lot of ads looking for room mates to share room expenses on GOOGLE...

As an additional option, you may want to look into renting a condo for a short term period of time. I did this about two years ago and rented a fully furnished condo for one month and it was nearly one fourth of what a hotel room would have cost me!

Even if you are only staying here for a week or two, you will still save money renting a condo by the month, (even if you do not stay the entire rental period)! The condo owners are always looking for long term renters but if their units are empty, they will certainly entertain renting to you for a quick month while they continue searching for a long term tenant. All the arrangements can be done online and the unit will be waiting for you when you arrive and pay your fee. Pay after you arrive but the owner may ask for a deposit and that's cool...

I arrived in Manila, took a taxi to the condo building and the condo security guard had a key waiting for me so I could get some sleep after my long trip from the US and then the next day the condo owner met me and collected the remaining balance of the monthly rent. It was an awesome choice because I had a fully furnished condo with a kitchen, 24 hour security, a pool, a gym, privacy, a good location and saved a load of cash!

My hotel room was going to cost me about 120,000 peso's per month but the condo was only 27,000 peso's for the entire month, (about $550.00 US Dollars)...the only down side was that I had to allow the owner to show the unit if he had a customer for a long term lease on the condo but it turned out during my stay that no one ever came by to see the unit...so, I was never bothered by that.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

Don't know what your budget is so hard to recommend. We stayed at the White Knight in Intramuros over the New Years weekend. We enjoyed the hotel and loved the Intramuros area for history, location and restaurants.

Budget Hotel in Manila, Philippines | Rooms & Suites


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## pakawala (Sep 10, 2014)

"Manila" consists of many "areas". What area are you referring to?

Manila Hotels

look at the left area of the page where it lists "areas"


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## esv1226 (Mar 13, 2014)

Also look into airbnb.com - there's a wide price range. Hope you find something nice within your budget.


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## Scott E (Jun 1, 2015)

Hey Thanks for the replies ,, I did reserve a room at my favorite ,, I don't think I would be comfortable at an unfamiliar place ,, Last time I was there (5years ago) the price was well below 2,000 pesos ,, today I called the desk and they quoted 2,850 or about 60 dollars ,, I went to Booking .com and that price came down to 2,317 @ 49 dollars ,, still high for a longer stay ,, Hah I remember 10 years ago

Anyway ,, this 3.5 star hotel is still much more accommodating than any USA Hotel/Motel for the cash ,, and just forget about 1 in a U.S. city

I would not consider a dorm and a Condo share would leave me up on end, wondering if somebody would come in !!

Hotel rates is what I would be inquiring about ,, anybody know about Swaggman Hotel ,, ever been there ??


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Scott E said:


> Hey Thanks for the replies ,, I did reserve a room at my favorite ,, I don't think I would be comfortable at an unfamiliar place ,, Last time I was there (5years ago) the price was well below 2,000 pesos ,, today I called the desk and they quoted 2,850 or about 60 dollars ,, I went to Booking .com and that price came down to 2,317 @ 49 dollars ,, still high for a longer stay ,, Hah I remember 10 years ago
> 
> Anyway ,, this 3.5 star hotel is still much more accommodating than any USA Hotel/Motel for the cash ,, and just forget about 1 in a U.S. city
> 
> ...


My son stayed there a couple of times over Christmas, didn't have any complaints. There's much cheaper around that is as good or better. Swagman tends to cater for foriegners that have just arrived and don't know any better. I should say the only reason my son and his friends used the 
Swagman was because of the airport pick up.


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

For best prices I use Agoda.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Tukaram said:


> For best prices I use Agoda.


We have used agoda but we aware that there are often extra fees so the headline price is not what you pay.


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## JRB__NW (Apr 8, 2015)

I have found Agoda the easiest to use for reservations all over SE Asia. That way only one company has my personal info instead of handing it out to a myriad of hotels and resorts. No one ever complains - Agoda must treat them (the hotels) fairly. 

When you book just be aware the taxes aren't included in the advertised rate, figure 10-15% more depending on location.

I do not care for Booking.com after a couple of screw-ups, inflated prices and extreme difficulty getting a refund, although they eventually complied since I was unable to stay (overbooked, lol).


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

JRB__NW said:


> I have found Agoda the easiest to use for reservations all over SE Asia. That way only one company has my personal info instead of handing it out to a myriad of hotels and resorts. No one ever complains - Agoda must treat them (the hotels) fairly.
> 
> When you book just be aware the taxes aren't included in the advertised rate, figure 10-15% more depending on location.
> 
> I do not care for Booking.com after a couple of screw-ups, inflated prices and extreme difficulty getting a refund, although they eventually complied since I was unable to stay (overbooked, lol).


I have used Booking.com since 2010 and never had a problem. Plus they make it very clear if taxes are included/excluded on their site. Also seem to have many more hotels that allow you to pay at the hotel versus paying in advance, comes in handy when booking in advance when plans may change. I do bookings for certain holidays 6 to 9 months in advance to secure a room at a hotel I prefer.



Chuck


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## SierraMadreMe (Mar 26, 2015)

Gary D said:


> My son stayed there a couple of times over Christmas, didn't have any complaints. There's much cheaper around that is as good or better. Swagman tends to cater for foriegners that have just arrived and don't know any better. I should say the only reason my son and his friends used the
> Swagman was because of the airport pick up.


^Yep.

The airport shuttle is a big plus.

If I knew a better place to stay,then I probably would


We used to stay at the Swagman when we would go back and forth to the US.I liked that they had an airport shuttle...but to be honest,they have/had a cockroach problem.It's not that there aren't cockroaches in other hotels,but it did seem like there were a lot of them in the room.I hope that this problem has been corrected,because I did like the economy and convenience of that hotel.

Maybe the trick is to leave the lights on.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Gary D said:


> My son stayed there a couple of times over Christmas, didn't have any complaints. There's much cheaper around that is as good or better. Swagman tends to cater for foreigners that have just arrived and don't know any better. I should say the only reason my son and his friends used the
> Swagman was because of the airport pick up.


Gary, FYI,,, I was at the Swagman in Manila just two weeks ago. You'd never know the place now. Same building but a company called Orient Hotels has taken over and renovated every corner of the place. Rooms, hallways, lounges; all beautifully done inside. Rooms look like new, high class hotel room and very nice.
I use to volunteer as the Guest Services Manager when Rod Hegerty had the place. Back then it was pretty run down -- but no more.
All good changes except the Patty Melt sandwich is gone from the menu at the restaurant. I was lucky in that I still know some people working there and got my patty melt.
But the hotel is first rate now and was a pleasant surprise going there.


Jet Lag


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Jet Lag said:


> Gary, FYI,,, I was at the Swagman in Manila just two weeks ago. You'd never know the place now. Same building but a company called Orient Hotels has taken over and renovated every corner of the place. Rooms, hallways, lounges; all beautifully done inside. Rooms look like new, high class hotel room and very nice.
> I use to volunteer as the Guest Services Manager when Rod Hegerty had the place. Back then it was pretty run down -- but no more.
> All good changes except the Patty Melt sandwich is gone from the menu at the restaurant. I was lucky in that I still know some people working there and got my patty melt.
> But the hotel is first rate now and was a pleasant surprise going there.
> ...


 Some years ago we regularly used the Rothmann Inn and for a change tried Swagman. It was more expensive by about 30% and not as good by a long way, very noisy. Nice to hear they have done something to it. May try it again although the wife is now into renting condo appartments for a night or two down by Mall of Asia, one of her favourite haunts.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Gary D said:


> Some years ago we regularly used the Rothmann Inn and for a change tried Swagman. It was more expensive by about 30% and not as good by a long way, very noisy. Nice to hear they have done something to it. May try it again although the wife is now into renting condo appartments for a night or two down by Mall of Asia, one of her favourite haunts.


The condo/apartment may be the better deal as it's closer to the airport and that Mall of Asia is a good place to spend time.
Use to be in the past that Swag did not offer rainy season lower rates and it cost them a lot of lost business. I
d be curious if under new ownership if that has changed.

Jet


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