Hostel 1632 Manila

As soon as my taxi pulled into the driveway of "1632", someone was there to greet me and help me with my bags. My first impression, at 2AM in the morning was that I was a hotel in a red light district(bias). everything looked kind of dimly lit with poor fluorescent lighting. Security? I was issued a cardkey to enter my room AND ALSO THIS WAS USED TO KEY THE POWER TO THE ROOM! I got to my room and it looked kind of small. Large very clean white 1 foot square tiles greeted my boat shoes which pleased me because I did not have to think about questionably cleaned carpeting like in most motels and hotels. I began putting things into context. There was a twin and a full-sized bed wrapped so tight and both with reasonably comfortable pillows. For me the firm mattresses were more than comfortable and i slept 4 hours like a baby and awoke refreshed instead of in pain. I had been awake for 36 hours non-stop. My room unfortunately was at the back of the building and had no view out of the single window. This window had a view of an area that could have been made into another room but served as the air Con intake and exhaust area for the rooms in my area. I also noted that you could hear the club which had a live band a few nights if you had the window open but why would you have it open when nothing was there? The Air conditioner was more than adequate(almost froze on low). A minibar had a full complement of assorted beverages including 4 San Miguel Beers which I indulged later on. Local cable television was okay but why would I want tv to be more than that? A wooden closet was fairly narrow and could have been much wider or longer in my opinion. The walls looked as if they could have used some painting and the color was a green-yellowish color that did not help the lighting in the room. The lighting in the room would be my complaint if I were to complain because the new screw in energy saving fluorescent lights made the room darker than I would have preferred. The bathroom was where the lighting was much more subdued and it would have helped to have more lighting at the mirror over the sink for shaving. But the bathroom was nice. A drain was built into the floor of the walk-in shower which I thought was pretty cool, although water escaped to the rest of the bathroom when showering in the narrow shower, but this was not built for a 6'5" 300 lb man. There were 120volt outlets to accommodate a shaver or blow dryer. To round out the rest of the room, I had a very small table, a desk area that was adequate for me, a reasonable mirror at that desk, and a small corner table that housed for different phone books for my use. THE SERVICE AND THE PEOPLE WERE PHENOMENAL. Every greeted me anytime I was in their area, even the people who cleaned the rooms. If I had a question they were problem solvers with a smile or smiling voice. They were always concerned about whether I was being served. They offered suggestions, always polite. I had guests and I noticed that they carded (ID'd) guests for safety. They opened doors no matter what time I entered the building. They treated my guests very well, in the halls, in the lobby, and in the restaurant area that was in the building also(serving delicious food at a reasonable price so you could dine in instead of out if you choose). I received a local newspaper every morning outside my door. Whatever I asked of the persons cleaning the room they tried to accommodate me. The place was overall nice and the pride with which they performed their jobs was so refreshing to see and experience. For the tiny price I paid, I am embarassed to make even a small complaint. I have visited much more expensive places in America, name brand places and the room was always typical American detail to cleanliness and the lot, but wow, I was treated like a king for a third the price! The location was prime to me because I was right around the corner from a mall that to me was above scale of a WaterTower Place or Woodfield shopping Center in Schaumburg Illinois, or even LENOX in Atlanta. I was also a couple Blocks from the American Embassy, fabulous SM Mall of Asia, and Manila Bay was walking distance. If I were in the US, I would have paid 100 plus USdollars for such a place and I paid one third this price. I am a nobody. I am not special. But they treated me so well. The customer service was more than I expected. The hospitality was above average. I hated to even leave because I was made to feel so comfortable and hope one day I will return for a longer stay than just 5 days. I made a ton of phone calls contacting friends who I was meeting and all of it was reasonably priced. For the money? Hostel 1632 is a bargain. It is also situated in an area where there is plenty of legitimate night life and FOOOOOD! Access to the rest of Manila is easy from their location. 3 star hotel? The people in my experience made it a 5 star with their service and hospitality. This is what my experience was. Sorry I did not take photos of the rooms but peering into some that were open when being cleaned, I could have gotten better spot if I had beaten the other customers to it. But I really hope I can get another experience there. It is nice to be able to see if a place is consistent... Great job Hostel 1632 staff, great job! Tips? Like everywhere, make sure you either have your credit card ready or call and check about the exchange rates they use. While FOREX has one value, hotels usually have a value a few units below the high rate. I dont know if I would consider this area for children. Hmm,... I would have to re-evaluate for that. But if you are a college student or a couple, or just a single person traveling? Yes, this would be very reasonable.