Category: Hotel Review

H20 Hotel, Manila, Review

Hotel Review

Bay view at H20, iphone photo by JMorton

H20 Hotel, Manila, Review

I have to admit H20 Hotel is our favourite hotel in Manila.

It is not perfect, in fact I could think of a few flaws right now but having said that there are more positive features against the negative ones.

For a starter the rooms are a delight.  We have now stayed in both the Aqua and the Bay view rooms.  Both have charms of their own as what the Tagalogs would say “Walang itulak Kabigin”, which means it is just impossible to choose.

The only strange thing is how transparent the toilet door was.  You can be heard as well as seen doing your business in there.  Also there should have been a sort of barrier on the floor of the wet room from the rest of the bedroom.

I love a good full on shower and the room provides a good strong gust of water from the beautifully huge fixed shower head by the ceiling of the bathroom.  Unfortunately the water splashes everywhere including where the paper toilet roll was attached, ergo it get soaked and when finally dry, it was not that fit for purpose anymore.  Not only that, some water would come out of the bathroom into the room, creating a small flood just outside the shower door.  Thank goodness, it did drain pretty quickly.

The housekeeping was very thorough with their job, the room was always clean and tidy.

The restaurant Makan Makan, is a revelation; it provides breakfast and it has plenty to offer in terms of variety of food, but not too much, which can leave your head in a whirl.  And it is important as well to talk about the price.  For just P400 pesos (which is so reasonable compared to other hotel of less varied food) you can eat as much as you like to your heart’s content.

It is a very popular hotel, especially for families.  Well it is next door to Manila Ocean Park, a place which would surely amuse the kids and adults alike to no end.  But do not be alarmed, you do not hear the sound of noisy children or other people/activities once you are in your own hotel room.

We would definitely stay in this hotel again.

Bibles in Hotel Rooms

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Bible at McDonald Hotel, photo by PH Morton

Bible at McDonald Hotel, photo by PH Morton

Bibles in Hotel Rooms

There is something reassuring finding a copy of the Bible in a bedside drawer in a hotel room. 

When I stay in a hotel, the Bible is high up there in my mental tick boxes, followed by a well-made bed with those fancy towels in the shape of elephants, etc., a la origami 🙂 ,  an electric kettle, clean cups and saucers, tea bags, coffee sachets, milk, sugar and biscuits.  If any one of these is missing then the hotel, in my book, is not up to scratch.

There is nothing better than sitting in bed or the bathroom reading the Bible when you are jetlagged.  I read the whole Genesis when we were staying at H20 hotel in Manila.  I was just too tired to do anything and yet the mind refuses to take a rest and reading, I find, is a good calmer.

I love the Bible.  It has everything. Aside from having the Word of God, It has murder, it has magic, it has incest, it has mystery, it has fairy tales, it has prostitution, it has giants, it has parables, and fables.  It is love, it is life, it is death, it is hope, it is lessons to be learned, it is salvation, it wrath, it is the end and it is also the beginning.

The hotel Bibles are also called The Gideon.  Apparently it was started by a group of three businessmen, who traveled a lot and had to stay in hotels.  Read the story here.

Unfortunately, it is a growing trend, for the sake of political correctness and profits, that many are now removing the Bible in their hotels.  Apparently Travelodge have made their chain of hotels Biblefree so not to offend a microcosm society of multiculturalism; a Bible is no longer appropriate as hotel necessity!  Thank goodness there are better hotels out there.

Did you know?

According a survey, the Bible is one of the top 10 taken back home (stolen) from hotel rooms. 🙂

Aqua Room @ H20 Hotel, Manila

Hotel Review Philippines
H20 Hotel, Manila

H20 Hotel, Manila

Aqua Room @ H20 Hotel, Manila

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As you can gather, we are now in the Philippines for our much needed holiday in view of a get-together with our Filipino family.

As our arrival was rather late in the evening, we decided to spend the first night in a nearby hotel called H20.

We booked it via  tripAdvisor before we travelled.  It was actually a good deal, almost half the price offered by Expedia and Agoda.

When we got to the hotel at 8pm, we were given a very good upgrade into a hugely superior Aqua room.

I have to say it was really spectacular and rather peaceful to see fish swimming over and out of beautifully lit corrals.  It was a real sight to behold.  At around 9pm the lighting goes dark so that it will not impede your sleep.  But you are still aware of the fish swimming in the dark, which was quite comforting actually. 🙂

It was a lovely stay and the room service is reliable.  We ordered food at almost midnight and they have brought us pork sinigang, kare-kare, dinuguan, rice and adobo for just my husband and me.  Though the food were delicious, we hardly finished any of it as we are so tired and over-ordered.  (Family now stopped me when I am ordering)