Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila – Hotel Review

Happy New Year!

For years, we have celebrated the New Year at our home in Laguna. However, things and times have changed and we decided to deviate from the tradition. Since most of my relatives wanted to celebrate New Year at their own homes in Lipa, Batangas (everyone used to celebrate it at the ancestral house in Laguna), we opted to just leave the province and my father decided to book a room at Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila.

It was a new sound to my ear and I have to admit, I had no idea that such property exists. I am no expert at doing hotel reviews and our 1 night stay might not give you a full view of what you can totally experience in the property. But heck, still hear me out as I think I have valuable insights to help you consider if it is a nice place to stay at.

This is the building’s facade. There are ATMs and convenience stores at the ground floor.

My father booked through Agoda and paid around PHP 5,000. I checked now and saw these rates:

And here’s the one from the hotel’s website:

So apparently, we saved some bucks by booking through Agoda.

Location

Before we checked in, I already browsed different websites and hotel review pages. Yes, I read that the hotel is near Mall of Asia (MOA), and that you can actually walk from there. To be honest, I didn’t believe it knowing that there are hundreds of bogus hotel reviews, or at some point exaggerated ones. But it was TRUE. My kids and I walked from the hotel to MOA and didn’t get exhausted. So I guess that tells you that it is REALLY near! But if you want to do some serious shopping, hail a cab on your way back. We just paid PHP 50! (It was my kids’ first time to ride a cab)

Credit: Photo grabbed from Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila’s website  

Indoor Parking Space

The indoor parking space is ideal even for big vehicles. We brought our towering trusty Pajero, which by the way, doesn’t easily fit into most indoor parking spaces.

A staff will help you with your bags until you reach the elevator. Upon reaching the elevator, you will be on your own. Not that it was a bad thing as we only had few bags to carry.

NOTE: Please advise your room number because I think there are multiple entrances. We were about to reach the elevator only to find out that our room was in a different wing. 🙂  

Deluxe Twin Room

In a nutshell, it wasn’t overwhelming. It’s what you can expect from most hotels. The size of the sleeping area and the bathroom are just fine. But I have to commend the bed. Oh my word! It was so comfortable, my kids actually overslept! The floors however, had to be polished. The Wi – Fi is fast so I can recommend this if you still want to work a little on your next staycation.

In my opinion, there are some few things that went missing – or maybe I forgot to thoroughly check.

• Laundry bag
• Lotion (I forgot mine so I just bought a small one at the nearest convenience store – same building) 🙂

Food / Dining Area

I can’t say much about the food because I haven’t tried it. But I’d take my parents’ word for it. The breakfast was fine, the dinner was mediocre.

The dining area – or my parents 😁

I went to the dining area and I felt that it was a bit disorganized. The used plates and other utensils can be seen by the guests as there was no direct access to the kitchen, I believe. It is not awfully disturbing, but it can somehow distract you.

New Year’s Countdown

We were all excited to attend the New Year’s countdown because…

1) It will be our first time to celebrate with strangers

2) Knowing that it will be on the rooftop, we can watch different fireworks display

But it rained…

We went to the rooftop but no sign of party. It was only when we bumped into someone that we found out that the venue was moved to the 2^nd floor. We were a bit disappointed. I mean, they should have at least called.

Off we went to the 2nd floor and just waited for midnight to strike. Since our room was on the 6^th floor, we went up and enjoyed the fireworks display. We were so lucky that our room can see the display from MOA and from random parties in Makati and Manila. 🙂

A different New Year’s Eve Celebration

Pool Area

We were so excited to take a dip because I was directly informed that it is open. But to my surprise, it is still inaccessible. Initially, I have read reviews that the pool is not yet open so I decided to send them a message prior our stay. Here’s the response I got.

It was a good thing that the mall was just few minutes away. Or else, the kids will get bored to death.

Checking Out

It was January 1, so I expected that it will take some time before the concierge can accommodate all the guests who were about to check out. I was right! In fact, 2 foreigners complained about it. But most people kept their cool and tried to understand the situation. It was, after all, the start of the New Year.

Long queues for checking out

My Verdict

It wasn’t the grandest staycation I had, but it was good. Again, the location is great because you can visit the mall while the amenities are still under construction. Speaking of which, I think it will be a better property once everything in it is fully operational. But I suggest that they keep their staff informed on which facilities can be used or not. 🙂  Plus, they need to be more organized most especially if they are going to conduct parties. Contingency plan, people!

Will I come back?

Oh yes! And this time, I’m expecting a leap on the services.

Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila is great for having small parties like bridal or baby shower, or if you just want to have a relaxing staycation that will allow you to shop a little when you need something for your small get together or simply if you get bored. 🙂

And here’s my daughter’s special guest! She just can’t live without her. 🙂