After a short flight to Ninoy Aquino International Airport, we took a cab straight to the hotel. I've heard a great deal about the traffic situation in the Philippines and was certainly not disappointed. However, we still managed to reach Bellevue Hotel in Manila in quick time and were immediately greeted by the bellhop opening the doors and handling the luggage for us. We were then afforded a very efficient and quick check-in procedure, although there was a slight wait before allowing us to proceed to our rooms due to our early arrival. That said, the Bellevue Hotel housekeeping staff acted quickly and prepared our room in a very fast manner. Meanwhile, we were served refreshing welcome drinks in the lounge as we sat on comfortable sofas during the wait.
The bellhop then showed us to our room and carried our luggage, which was a nice touch, although it must be said that the hotel is promoted as a five star luxury accomodation and these are standard requirements to deserve that rating. What I noticed first of all was how new the hotel was, which is not surprising considering that it was first opened in 2003. Bellevue Hotel is also conveniently located within a sort of a city park area that houses several other business buildings some of which are already housing several big companies like Citibank, HSBC and the likes, while others are yet to be occupied. There is a small arcade located next to the hotel with a lot of convenient small restaurants and fast food outlets, such as local favorite (and really cheap and great tasting fast food) Jollibee, Starbucks, a Mongolian restaurant and many others which the names escape me, and convenience store 7-Eleven. Several huge shopping malls are also found nearby although you will have to take the hotel shuttle service (which is free) that provides immediate pickup when you make a call from the malls. The hotel itself is a little isolated on the whole other than the city park but that is expected since it is a luxury hotel and has to be situated in a more developed portion of the city.
The Bellevue Hotel is supposed to be situated just a 'leisurely drive away' from Makati, golf courses, theme parks, country clubs, and diving spots. However, due to the bad traffic in Manila, it is better if you leave the driving to the cab driver or your personal hosts. Make sure you also allow some time buffer when making plans for trips from the hotel to any destination.
The room we had in the Bellevue Hotel Manila was a deluxe room at a promotional rate which was afforded to local residents only. It came to about $150 per night with buffet breakfast provided. Considering it is a 5 star luxury hotel, I personally thought it was pretty good value and compared to the cost of budget hotels elsewhere around the world such as Tokyo business hotels that cost about $90 to $100 per night, I would say this can even be considered a really value added and cheap budget hotel accomodation in the Philippines. The room was quite large and spacious, with a large queen size bed, big wardrobe with enough hangars and sleeping robe, TV with the full range of cable TV channels, dressing desk, three drawer cupboard, a really huge bathroom with separate bathtub and shower and lots of toiletries, two arm chairs, another coffee table and a very comfortable airconditioning system.
The Bellevue Hotel has sufficient facilities too. Apart from the Cafe d'Asie that serves a really good local and international buffet breakfast, they have a Pastry Corner which has some mean cakes and desserts, some of which are local and must tries. The swimming pool is quite nice too with a jacuzzi pool, although the pool temperature was rather low and cold. The gym is huge, with complete equipment like free weights, machines, medicine balls, treadmills and more. The staff taking care of the pool and gym were friendly and conversational as well, although the male security personnel at the pool was a little grumpy.
Service standards at the Bellevue Hotel in Manila is also pretty high in my opinion. You would sometimes give in a little to lower expectations at cheap or budget hotels (although I must state clearly again that this is a five star luxury hotel in the Philippines and it is their low room rates which allows me to consider them as a cheap and low cost hotel for cost conscious travelers to Manila), but apart from a few hiccups I really rate the service provided by the hotel staff here. The bellhops and doorman were all very friendly and helpful, always making sure to open the doors for you, shelter you from the rain or sun, and sharp and attentive if you are waiting in the lounge for a cab or other transport services. The hotel pickup service to and from the malls were also efficient and comfortable. I was only a little disappointed with one or two female staff at the reception and Cafe d'Asie who might have to practice a little on their tone of speech and eye contact which sometimes made you feel like you're causing inconvenience or trouble to them.
The best service I personally had at the Bellevue Hotel Manila was from the housekeeper. I'm rather particular about service standards at hotel and try to be fair, especially relating it to the cost of the hotel accomodations paid. If you are staying in a budget hotel, you don't expect much. If you're staying in a cheap serviced apartment in Seoul, the overall standard is what you pay for. A stay in a budget Tokyo hotel like Sakura hotel, then you cannot complain too much although the Japanese are always great with service standards on the most part. Staying in a five star hotel would demand a higher judging standard, but paying budget prices for it does mean that you might sometimes give allowance to more consideration. However, the housekeeper we had was really friendly and accomodating, not to mention very efficient and quick with tidying and cleaning our room. There were more than a few times when we requested for him to return at a later time outside of his schedule to do up the room and he would always do so with a smile, unlike in some Japan hotels where you are often required to leave the room during their housekeeping schedules. We also misplaced certain valuables in our room and they were recovered by the housekeeper during his rounds, which testified to his honesty and integrity. Very well done and much appreciated, Bellevue Hotel Manila!
All in all, our stay at Bellevue Hotel Manila was extremely pleasant and enjoyable. For one of the best serviced, value for money and cheap Philippines hotels, the Bellevue Hotel Manila is definitely one that we will consider again when we return to the country.
