Snapshot review: The (Dated) Heritage Hotel, Manila
Located on Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City, Metro Manila, The Heritage Hotel has been a mainstay of the skyline since the mid-nineties. It’s a hotel that could do with a bit of love from old fashioned façade to the dated rooms inside - here’s a look at The Heritage Hotel, Manila.
This is a snapshot review designed to be shorter in length but focussing on the main positives and negatives of the property.
What’s good about the hotel?
Location
While I didn’t think the hotel was great, it did home some redeeming features. While it is not the closest hotel to the Ninoy Acquino International Airport (NAIA), it’s only around ten minutes to the international terminals making it convenient. We stayed here for one night prior to a flight from Terminal 1 making for a stress free transit to the airport for our onward flight to Coron in the west of the Philippines.
This is a much better place to stay on a short visit to Metro Manila if you need to get to the airport quickly. I would certainly recommend looking in the Pasay area rather than in areas further away such as Manila (proper).
Lounge access with inclusive F&B
If you stay in a Junior or Executive Suite, as we did in the latter, you will get inclusive access to a The Millenium Club lounge. We completed our check-in formalities here while we enjoyed a snack and coffee from a machine that was reasonably decent. The space itself was a decent with only us and a few staff visiting during the hour we were there, as we couldn’t yet physically check into our room. An awkwardly placed balcony is available which, I think, could be used by smokers.
Spacious pools, plenty loungers, a so-so gym and ok spa
This hotel seems a good option for families with excellent pool facilities available to all guests. While the weather wasn’t great on our visit, the pool was a decent size and would be a good spot to catch some rays in sunnier times.
Located nearby was a fitness centre with very old equipment. However, it all worked and it would do the job for a decent workout while travelling. Freeweights went up to a respectable size, which can’t be said for all hotels. We also received a ‘giveaway treat’ upon check-in for a one hour massage session for two people. We duly used it and I came away feeling refreshed.
Decent sized rooms
While they’re far from modern, the rooms are a decent size. We booked a massive 75sqm Executive Suite (below right) along with a 30sqm Twin Room (below left) for family visiting with both making for a good space to relax in without feeling claustrophobic. Many newer hotels in cities worldwide will have much less space than this. While on the firmer side the beds were comfortable and we managed to get a great night’s sleep at The Heritage Hotel, Manila.
Good variety breakfast
Our stay included a buffet breakfast at the on-site restaurant featuring a good variety of Filipino, Asian and Western options. It was a little busy during our stay so the hotel could’ve done a better job at refilling some items which went away quickly, but took a long time to be replenished.
What could do with improving?
General maintenance and upkeep
While a complete refurbishment would be preferable to modernise the hotel design, they should really prioritise making some minor adjustments to areas around the rooms. Aspects such as rusty and limescale-ridden metals in the bathroom and doors or chipping paint show a lack of willingness to keep the property looking good by the owner.
The rest of the bathroom is a pretty standard design and featured warm water throughout of visit.
A pretty bland design and poor use of space
While the rooms are certainly capacious, they Executive Suite wasn’t particularly well laid out with a lot of dead space that couldn’t be used for anything making it feel a little bare in places. The sofas and chairs were laid out more like your grandparents’ living room while the sofa was uncomfortable to watch the television for any period of time - just a bad choice for somewhere to sit and relax.
Likewise, but similar to many hotels, a hard wooden chair had been selected for the desk. It would not be comfortable to sit and work here remotely for any longer than two hours. As their premium room offering in a mid-market property, the hotel should also consider providing something like Nespresso or another coffee pod system - rather than just a basic Nescafe powder.
Conclusion
While the hotel was far from a ‘holiday from hell’, it obviously wasn’t the best place I visited. During the time we stayed, the regular room was around GBP 80 per night (close to PHP 6000) and the Suite was GBP 60 per night (~PHP 11.2k) - this is way too expensive for what they are offering.
However, looking at prices over the next few months and they’re far lower from GBP 40 (PHP 3k). At that price in a standard room, this hotel is a comfortable and reasonable place to say despite the dated design across the building.
