Hello, Room Service: It's 3am and I'd like to order dinner!
Written: Apr 29 '01
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Pros: Beautiful, elegant hotel. Spacious, rooms, 24-hour room service, great meeting facilities.
Cons: There is very little you can or would want to do outside the hotel.
The Bottom Line: The Shangri-La will enfold you with its beauty, luxury, and superior customer service. Friendly, courteous staff; spacious guest rooms; excellent meeting facilities. You won't believe you're in downtown Manila!
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| diverpam's Full Review: Makati Shangri-la, Manila |
I spent a week at this fabulous hotel while helping with a large sales conference. With just over 700 rooms and suites, this hotel easily accommodated our conference of about 200 people. We used several of the meeting rooms, including the large ballroom for a variety of functions.
Responsive, Courteous Staff
The hotel staff was exceedingly accommodating. They even went so far as to construct a spinning "Wheel of Fortune" type device for us to use as part of our team building activities. It far exceeded anything I had imagined.
There was nothing that I asked for that wasn't promptly done to accommodate our needs -- that included hauling lots of boxes of prizes from my room to a downstairs meeting room, to bringing additional tables for a display area, and hanging a large wall banner for me.
Large, Beautiful Guest Rooms
Unfortunately, I was so busy with the conference I didn't get to spend a lot of time in my very large, luxurious room.
It was beautifully appointed with plush comforters, plenty of chairs, and a large full-size desk. There was plenty of room for me and one of my co-workers to use this as very busy work space with two laptops working simultaneously.
24-Hour Room Service - A Life Saver!
Because of our hectic work schedule getting prepared for the meeting we once realized at 3am that we had not eaten dinner. Not a problem, we called room service and we promptly had a feast of eggrolls, rice and egg drop soup delivered. Even though it came on a very large room service table, we still had plenty of "walking around" room.
A Bathroom to Die For!
The bathroom was almost sinful! It had a separate shower with clear glass walls trimmed in gold tone. The floors and walls were a beautiful honey-colored marble. There was a large tub and a sink with gold-toned fixtures. The towels were very thick and plush and, of course, there was a phone in the bathroom as well. Lots of goodies here... soaps, shampoo, lotions. Even a package of Woolite. (That came in really handy when I decided I wanted to recycle my very comfortable knit travel suit.
Extras Amenities
There was a mini-bar and safe in the hallway directly from the bathroom. There was also plenty of closet space. It almost seemed a waste that only one person was staying here.
Every day I was given a large complimentary bottle of drinking water. (We were warned not to drink or use the tap water while in the Philippines.)
I could still kick myself for not requesting one of the in-room massages. They were also available 24-hours a day and were extremely reasonably priced. (Can you say less than $20?)
Beautiful Hotel
The hotel has a huge, beautiful lobby area. There is a large outdoor poor on the room and a complete fitness area. I never had time to partake of these extras, but I spent about an hour looking for a missing vice president whom we needed for an interview. At least I had a nice tour of the hotel facilities.
Everything felt very open and clean and was very shiny. Everything that was supposed to shine was polished to a bright gleam and the floors were spotless.
Food
Most of the food I had was either room service or brought into a meeting or work room. However, one day we had an incredible lunch in the Shang Palace restaurant.
We sat at large round tables with spinning "lazy Susans" in the middle. The waiters just kept on bringing out food. There was a wide variety of oriental treats -- some of which I was afraid to try. Sorry, but my taste is not too exotic. I ate a lot of chicken, fresh green beans, and rice and they were all delicious.
Everyone who tried the more exotic dishes positively raved about them. Secretly, I was dreaming of a Pizza Hut Supreme Pizza and Milky Way bar the whole time I was in Manila!
Everything at the hotel seemed to be very well organized both at check-in and check-out. Our baggage was whisked away to our awaiting bus for the airport.
Like Being in a Cocoon
The biggest shock I received was walking outside the hotel (on the only afternoon I had any free time) and seeing uniformed men holding rifles. I had felt completely safe and pampered while in the Shangri-La. It was a rude awakening to face the reality of Manila when I walked outside. The area immediately around the hotel is considered safe and there are shopping areas directly across from the hotel. It is loud and bustling with people and traffic.
I ventured out far enough to buy a few souvenirs and a Hard Rock t-shirt, then quietly slipped back into the tranquil paradise of Shangri-La.
Recommendation
If you are traveling to Manila on business and need to be in the downtown area, this hotel is an absolutely wonderful place to stay.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
diverpam
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Pam
Location: Collierville, TN
Reviews written: 263
Trusted by: 351 members
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~~~~So many oceans...so little time!~~~~
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