Budget hotel in a great location at a steep price: Microtel Manila Mall of Asia

The Microtel Manila Mall of Asia commands a great location near the SMX Conention Center, the Arena and Mall, but only offers small, basic rooms and middling service at a very high price. Unless you are a Wyndham fan or just have to be in this location, there are better alternatives – read my review of the Microtel Manila to find out more!

Location: The Microtel Manila Mall of Asia is located, you guessed it, near the Mall of Asia, the Convention Center and Arean with easy walking access to all of them. It’s right on the Manila Bay with nice ocean views from the rooftop and some of the rooms. The location is the best feature of the Microtel Manila, if you want to be near the Mall of Asia for an event or even before a flight. The ride from Manila‘s airport is about 30 minutes.

Service & Rewards: Service was friendly and professional, but by high Philippine standards just ok. Our check-in took a while and our room wasn’t ready till well past the official check-in time.  I had booked the wrong room category and changing it would have required a 4x fee compared to booking it outright – an odd choice, given that most hotels are quite eager to sell you a more expensive room at check-in! Check-out was also problematic and the front desk was not able to provide an invoice “because I booked online” – that’s the weirdest reason I’ve ever heard, given that I booked on the Wyndham mobile app!
Staff didn’t seem to be aware of Wyndham Rewards, despite the marketing posters, and didn’t provide any of the elite benefits.
Housekeeping had prepared our room appropriately and all towels and amenities were fully stocked. The pool was not staffed and it took some time to provide pool towels and deliver food from the restaurant.

Microtel Manila Mall of Asia Bedroom

Room: The rooms are small, basic, yet clean and modern. They have tile floors and Ikea-style furniture. The ttwo double beds (the standard room configuration) are comfortable and have a high, green’ish glass headboard, giving the whole room a modern look. The small closet, desk and chair were dark coffee-brown and rather flimsy, yet in good condition. There’s a TV, a small fridge and a large safe, but no coffee/tea facilities.
Our room had a side-view over the ocean (which was nice) and a canal with a sunk ship and lots of garbage (less nice).
The bathroom was also small, with a sink-in-countertop, toilet and shower with curtain on a straight rod, all clean and in good working order. The towels and bathroom amenities were basic.
The free WiFi internet was slow with an average speed of only 0.5Mbps and unreliable, so don’t expect to do more than basic web browsing or messaging and be patient. Video streaming, VoIP calls or work are out of the question.

Restaurants & Amenities: The hotel has a rooftop pool and while that is something I typically enjoy, here it was an odd contraption that was small, set up high and accessible by stairs, with little space around it and no view. The loungers were set up on the stairs, making it an akward place to be.
Most of the rooftop is used for bistro style tables. You get some great views, especially during sunset, over Manila Bay from here and it’s pleasant with a light breeze. There is no restaurant service, but you can order food and drinks by phone from the ground floor restaurant.
We didn’t try the ground-floor restaurant. They do offer a buffet breakfast at a charge (Microtels in the US include it for free).

Bottomline: We stayed during a Wyndham Rewards promotion at a cash rate of $91/night, which is a steep price, considering that we have stayed frequently at the excellent, luxurious Sofitel for around $120! You get a great location, a small, basic room and a so-so rooftop pool with middling service – and that’s just not enough at this price point! I’d recommend to spend a little more and stay at the Sofitel or, if you are on a budget, you can book a studio apartment on airbnb nearby for half the price!
I would consider staying again for a Wyndham promotion – we earned 8,500 Wyndham Rewards points (worth $85), making our stay almost free. Without that, it’s difficult to find a reason to stay here again.


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