Review: The Peninsula Manila

The Peninsula Manila lobby


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Date of stay: February 4-5, 2018
Address: Corner of Ayala and Makati Avenues, 1226 Makati City, Metro Manila
Room: Booked Superior Room, upgraded to Deluxe Room
Size: 41 sq.m.
Nightly Rate: 165.29 USD with breakfast
How to get here: From the airport, taking a taxi is easiest.

Hotel Water Feature

Hotel Entrance

The Peninsula Manila main entrance

The Peninsula Manila

The Peninsula Manila

The Peninsula Manila van

If you are coming from the shopping centers on the other side and taking the underpass, there is a sign to the hotel which is a 5 minute walk.

Hotel Lobby, Reception & Concierge

While I've seen a lot of beautiful lobbies, there is something about the lobby of The Peninsula Manila that makes it so memorable. Maybe the "sun" in the ceiling... or the butlers dressed in white wearing gloves.... or the live orchestra. Or maybe all of it. Whatever the reason is, this simply has got to be my favorite hotel lobby of all time 😍

The Peninsula Manila lobby

The "Sunburst" sculpture on the ceiling of the lobby has 21 rays and 33 spears ... created by Philippine National artist Napoleon Abueva. It was such a delight to stare at 😉

Mr. Abueva passed away about a week after our stay but his masterpiece at The Peninsula Manila will shine forever.

Another thing you will surely love in the lobby is the live orchestra.

Live orchestra in the evening 😍

Lobby Lounge

Lobby Lounge

Concierge (left) and Reception (right)

Check-in

We arrived at the hotel around 1:10pm and was immediately helped by one of the bellboys with our luggage. We were then directed to the reception area which was pretty busy, with about six guests ahead of us. Fortunately, it went quickly as they were also using the concierge staff during this peak hour. Ben, the associate working in the concierge greeted us with a friendly smile and proceeded with the check-in process. He upgraded us to a Deluxe twin room (thanks Ben 😍) after which he asked for a 5,000 Peso deposit. He also gave us the usual hotel information like the breakfast hours, etc. Check-in was efficient and moments later, we were on our way to the  elevators with our room keys.

The Peninsula Manila room keys

Elevators & Hallway

The room we got was located in Makati Tower, located to the right of the reception. The other tower being Ivory Tower is located on the other side.

Elevators, Makati Tower

Floor guide

*The highest floor is 11th floor.

Elevators, 6th floor

Makati Tower, 6th floor

Hallway

Twin Deluxe Room, 658

Our room was lovely, with two beds, two arm chairs and a table by the window as well as a work desk.

Twin bed

Bedside control panel, phone, writing pad and pencil

Sitting area

Welcome fruit platter 😉

Executive work desk

Internet and power ports

Inside one of the drawers, you'd find the usual pads, paper clips, rubber bands, eraser, pen and pencil.

The next one contained stationery, postcards and the breakfast menu.

The content of the last drawer (which actually surprised me) was a fax machine 😉 I know using fax machines is not that popular anymore but of course, you never know when you might need it. Just a few days after returning to Sweden, I needed to send a fax to a hotel in Seoul, South Korea and how I wished I had this fax machine beside me that time 😉

Opposite the beds was a Samsung 40" LCD flat screen TV.

Then there's the coffee and tea making facility, with the lovely The Peninsula cups 😉

Below that is an ice bucket and an electric kettle.

The rest of the drawers contained mini bar items. This one had  some nuts, chips, etc.

There's some mini bottles of alcoholic drinks inside the middle drawer ...

... and a ref with beers, softdrinks, juices, etc below it.

The luxurious marble bathroom was spacious with a bathtub and a walk-in shower with mood lighting👍 There were also two bottles of mineral water.

The bath amenities were from Oscar de la Renta 😍

There were also dental kits ...

... and shower caps, cotton pads, etc.

The hair dryer is inside the drawer to your right.

The Peninsula Manila bathrobes

Bathtub

SPA treatments card

In the corner of the bathtub is another Oscar de la Renta bath soap.

The Peninsula Manila towel

Walk-in shower

Inside the shower, you'd find bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel, all by Oscar de la Renta.

To the right of the walk-in shower is the toilet ...

With a hands-free phone unit 👍

Light and temperature controls

There's also a nice place to keep the luggage.

Inside the wardrobe, you'd find the safe, slippers and umbrella.

Laundry bag and hangers

Wifi is complimentary and fast 👍


Since our room was located in the Makati Tower, we had views of the offices in the vicinity.

Evacuation map

As usual, there was the morning newspaper when we woke up the following morning.

Hotel Amenities

22 Meter Pool, ground floor (6am to 10pm)

Fitness Center, ground floor (24 hours)

Bathroom

Business Center, ground floor (M-F 9am to 6pm)

Business Center

Business Center

The Peninsula Boutique, Basement 1 (7am to 9pm)

From the boutique, I got the lovely "Peter Bear" for my collection 🐻

Escolta, Breakfast Restaurant (6am to 10am)

Escolta entrance

Newspapers

Seating

Seating

Here are some of the pictures from the buffet. The quality of food and the extensive choices truly showed that this hotel is truly a 5-star hotel 👍

Bread, Danish pastries

Cheese (Edam, cheddar) and cold cuts (lyoner, beef pastrami, smoked ham)

Salads, yogurt

Waffle, Baguette French Toast

Salad, smoked salmon (the salmon was perfect 😋)

Egg station and other warm dishes

Corned Beef, Paksiw na Bangus (Milkfish Stew in Vinegar)

Asian dishes

Carving station

Fruits

Fresh coconut juice 😍

Cereals, juices

CONCLUSION

Choosing a five-star hotel in Makati is not really easy since there are just so many good hotels in the area, especially with the new ones like Fairmont and Raffles. As a Hilton Diamond member, I also considered staying (again) at the Conrad Manila in Pasay where we were upgraded to a one-bedroom suite during our stay. We ended up choosing The Peninsula Manila since it is a well established five-star hotel with great reviews (from Trip Advisor) and the rate was also reasonable. The moment we arrived, we knew that we would have a great stay here. All the staff we encountered were just so friendly and helpful. The beautiful lobby with it's Sunburst on the ceiling was a haven. Too bad we didn't have the time to try their famous "halo-halo" from the Lobby Lounge while listening to the live orchestra. As for the room, it was lovely with all the things you would need and  more 😉 (yes, the fax machine). Although the breakfast buffet in the Radisson BLU Cebu was one of the best buffets we've had, the offering and the food quality from the Escolta breakfast restaurant was even better. And yes, the fresh coconut juice was a big plus 😉😋 Of course, the hotel's location is perfect since you are in the center of Makati and only steps away from the numerous shopping malls and restaurants. More and more five star hotels are being built in Makati but The Peninsula Manila with it's own "charm and elegance" will always be one of the top hotels in the city 😍