This was my first time in Manila, but not the Philippines. The location of the hotel is terrific, very central, and has good city views. All the taxis either know the hotel, or the cross streets. My fiancee and I stayed in a basic Superior room, and had almost no complaints. The ones we did have were so minor and easily fixed, they are not worth mentioning. The room was mostly plain and functional, but had everything that was expected of a good 3-star hotel, and was actually better than many 4-stars I have been at! Cleanliness was very good, and if we needed something from housekeeping, it was there in minutes, every time. The single bed was actually 2 very large twins pushed together. A single sheet was used to hold it together, and did not tend to pull apart, so no complaints there. It felt just like a king-sized bed. The bathroom was a decent size, clean, and very neat. Of partiular note was the shower. The adjustable head would go up to accommmodate a VERY tall person (much taller than myself at 6'2"), and that is a first for me in the Philippines, after several visits there. Just be careful of the hot water. Each room has its own small water heater, and the hot water lasts about 20 minutes, so a short wait is required in between showers. Elevator service was usually very fast, but could be a little slow during busy times. Very understandable, considering 2 of them serve all 19 floors of the building. They even have attendants in them! Room service was perfect every time, and always prompt (we ordered meals 3 times). Staff was incredibly friendly, even the maids! The breakfast buffet was average to good, and a good value considering the cost of the room. Coffee was above average to excellent. The swimming pool was outstanding! It sits on a big platform halfway up the building, and you can look over the sides (safely!) for some really cool Manila street views. It was clean, and had a lifeguard there always. We used it a lot, and never got sick from it, like you can at some resort pools. The gym has lots of clean, newer, modern equipment, and a knowlewdgeable trainer on-site. The machines are a bit crowded, but nothing bumped into each other. The security guards downstairs are very very friendly, always opened the door for us, and asked if we wanted a taxi. There is a Jolibee right next door, which is open late, if not 24 hours. If you dont bring a PC, there is an internet cafe downstairs, and another one right across the street. Robinsons shopping center is a short walk, no more than a kilometer, and some really good street food can be found outside there. If you want to walk to Roxas Blvd, it's only a couple of kilometers from the hotel. Sometimes it was faster to get there walking, than the taxi!

I am sure lots of people complain about the un-airconditioned hallways above the lobby. I dont stay in them long, or sleep in the halls, so it did not bother me in the least. It's a very minor inconvenience that keeps the price lower, no doubt. I applaud that decision. The aircon in the room worked like a champion, and THAT is what I want, when I need it. This is not a place to get a honeymoon-type feeling (what 3-star IS?), but for couples on a budget, or any size family, those bargain priced rooms are awesome! I noticed people there from all over (Phils, USA, Japan, Korea, Aussie), so I imagine they tailor themselves to be broad-minded with others' customs. It certainly worked for us. We are going back to Manila in May, and my fiancee specifically requested that place, even though she had options. Let's see how they do for a second turn!

This hotel is in a very good central location in town and value for money is truly amazing. I have now stayed here on a couple of occassions the rooms are very clean and comfortable but one issue is a "double bed" is actually two single beds pushed together which I found a little frustrating

The restaurant and bar was really good and exceptional value for money. The pool area I also found extremely relaxing and very clean.

Sadly here comes a big negative the lifts are an absolute "nightmare" You can wait sometimes for up to 20 minutes for a lift and one of the reasons is you share the lift with hotel staff, maintanence people and people from a car park on the lower levels. The lifts are also not airconditined which is an issue as normally everytime you are stopping at many multiple floors.

If they addressed the lift issue in this hotel I would glady return but it seriously is that big an issue as I am not talking about isolated incidents

I stayed at the Manila "Pearl" Hotel as part of a swingaround tour on Philippine airlines. Was booked there for a pre-paid stay for 5 days - but checked out after one day - even though I got no refund on the other four days. In other words, I would rather stay at another hotel and pay for it, than stay here, essentially, for free.

Most of the Staff WERE friendly. However, the rooms are the darkest I've ever stayed in. Light next to the bed, light in the bathroom, and nothing else. So dark, I could hardly stand being in the place.

Tiny desk to write at, but useless since so dark, no internet connection (I had called the hotel before hand and they said they did, but all they have is a phone jack about 15 feet from the only table in the room), uncomfortable bed, overally room size very small (maybe 15-20 m2) horrible lobby (no aircon), terrible food at the included breakfast, room paint peeling, aircon didnt work when I checked in - they did fix it finally - very very slow lift (at least 10 minute waits). I liked nothing about this place - to add further insult to injury, they are judgemental about guests in the room, and charged extra just to have a visitor after 11PM. I witnessed a rather nasty confrontation in the lobby regarding this. Hotel is in a so-so location at best, so I have nothing at all good to say about it.

Staff told me the hotel was owned by a lawyer (obviously an absentee owner, or the place would have been better) and was going to be remodelled soon. I wrote to Philippine Airlines after my stay here, I was so dissatisfied, and I DID get a responce directly from the hotel saying there were addressing most of the issues I brought up.

However, i would NEVER stay in this place again until they fixed most of my issues, but - especially the room lighting.

The Pearl has a good location in central Manila close the U.N. Ave. train station. It has good security, excellent food, a helpful staff, and clean rooms. The only problem is that the hotel occupies floors 9--20 of a large building with only 2 elevators, in which only 1 worked most of my 6 day stay, plus 1 service elevator. If you only leave the hotel once a day, It is a good place to stay. But going in and out can drive you crazy as there may be a 10 minute elevator wait for each trip to or from your room.