[Philippines] 3 Hotel Reviews in Makati near P. Burgos - Pros and Cons

January 18

What's up guys hope this post can help evaluate the experience of 3 budget/mid-luxury hotels. I pulled girls back to all 3 so can share that experience as well. I was there during NYE week before moving out to Mandaluyong City to stay in a more permanent living space.

1. St. Giles: Perfectly average. You get what more than what you pay for but not too much else. I would highly recommend 4/5.

Super close by, less than 5 min walk to the heart of it all.
Decent amenities, great room service
Clean room
Great staff super nice
CON: wifi is mediocre. Definitely not the slowest but definitely not fast. If you are staying long term I'd recommned elsewhere.
CON: this is not a ding on the location but the timing -- 2 days before NYE and the day of the elevators were a complete cluster fuck. Im talking like fully loaded, people waiting on every floor. Those 2 days I didn't leave the hotel room after having to climb up and down 20+ sets of stairs to get my food or leave.
GIRL: Brought 2 girls here. Both times very drunk so bare with me on the details but the staff don't care. You walk in with the girl, she goes to the front desk and leaves her ID downstairs. You go up I always did LT she would leave the next morning.

2. hotel Durban: This was actually an unplanned location. My airbnb fell through so I needed to improvise. Perfectly servicable but stay away if you're a DN or need to work 2/5

Literally right inside P Burgos. You arguably cannot get closer to Filling Station unless you're staying right on the street which I wouldn't.
Despite being so close its still very quiet
The nicest staff in Makati
Water dispenser on each(?) floor for free potable water -- this was probably my favorite thing. Ice cold and so nice to have
CON: Everything else is a bust -- rooms are extremelly simple. Like TV didn't work (in either room) but idgaf I'm not there to watch philipino tv.
CON: room itself didn't feel great. Bad lighting, no good ambience, kinda felt like a dorm room. If you're used to plush sheets and amenities they are not here
CON: wifi is nonexistent. The first room they gave me had 5mbps. I had to tell them I work remotely I need faster wifi they gave me a free upgrade (if you can call it that) to a room on the 3rd floor where it peaked at 20 but on average was around 10-12 mbps. I call this room an upgrade because the AC was moderately better, maybe a hair bigger, but most importantly it had a 3 pronged outlet for my computer.
GIRL: They know whats up. ID. Don't even ask to confirm when she leaves. I mean its literally a hotel right in the RLD.

Honestly, for what it is its a great place. It the room is clean, the bed is comfortable. If you're just looking for a place to sleep and fuck then cannot beat value for money. If you're a DN I'd stay away.

3. 1898: Affordable luxury, prime location, great staff, by far the best but all things considered I would actually recommend St. Giles over it if budget is important. 5/5

Little more context - After the hotel Durban experience and the airbnb mishap, I was unbelievably stressed. So what I did was walk to almost every hotel and ask for what was their booking price. This is obviously going to be higher than on Agoda or whateveer but I also asked them for their wifi speeds. I walked into 6 hotels (basically everything in a reasonable walking distance from St. Giles other than I'M hotel) And they all showed a lobby speed of 15-20mbps. Servicable but 1898 had 50 mbps. At the walk in price of A LOT more than I wanted to pay but still cheaper than some of the other options (forgive me I don't remember what it was because I was so fucking stressed) and relatively not that much more expensive than option number 2 it was a no brainer. My favorite of the 3.

Take everything I said about St. Giles and make it 10-20% better.
Even location is closer. Its on the corner of the main through street and P. Burgos.
Don't know about the amenities because I didn't care at this point, just wanted to work and fuck.
Staff was nice but St. Giles was just great, slight attitude when I first came in. Can't ding them for that though.
Have a bar downstairs which was amazing for vetting this girl I met on PL. Not a FL, genuine good girl (didn't pay a penny) If anyone is curious about that I have the story over on Philippines Addicts or can drop it in the appropriate forum here. (Mods let me know). None of the others had a bar in the lobby.
CON: most expensive it was like 4k-ish peso per night
CON: I didn't like how long it took for them to take away food trash. I left it outside the door and it was gone relatively quicker (still long) but some other people just left it out on this table near the elevators and it was there almost until I checked out. Maybeeeee they thought someone left it there and they were being respectful but it was just a bad look.
GIRL: Again they know what's up, ID downstairs. But as added security, they call you and say "your guest is leaving, is everything okay". And then authorize her departure.

I definitely have rose tinted glasses about this place. My favorite and #3 girls (would have been number 2 if she was less expensive and I actually finished) were here. Also I had the horrible stress from Durban, and airbnb, and work so I didn't have to worry about that. So I'm definitely remembering this more favorably. But this was objectively still the best.

Summary (TLDR): Pick St. Giles if you want a no frills but everything still good experience at a very very reasonable price. Pick Durban if you don't care about anything other than location and cleanliness. Pick 1898 if you need to work and just have a touch of the luxury. But using the "Pareto Principle" St. Giles delivers on everything you need at a price that can't be beat.

NB: My x/5 ratings are based on total experience. I would still recommend St. Giles (4/5) over 1898 (5/5) for a budget traveler