Karen Joyce Y.
Yelp
My first impression of Red Planet Hotels while perusing it online was that it was a cheap hotel chain. I kept seeing it popping up on my searches, but never even considered it at all. But it had a very good rating on Booking.com, and my sis liked the location, so close to her office.
RED PLANET AMORSOLO
When we arrived at Red Planet Amorsolo, what immediately struck us was the clean and bright parking area. It was full, though, so we were directed to park out front.
The front desk is located on the second floor, and there's a small cafe there where you can order some light snacks like muffins, and use some public computers. The area is nice and clean, if a bit simple and no-frills.
The building looked new and clean. The elevator is modern. The corridors were also nice and clean. Most importantly, the RED PLANET AMORSOLO FELT SAFE. My sis tried another budget hotel in Makati last week, on the same price range (around P2,000 per night), and it was old and musty and did not feel safe.
Red Planet Amorsolo is located just behind the Burgundy Corporate Tower in Makati, near Makati Medical Center. You can easily walk to Pasong Tamo (Chino Roces Ave.), Buendia (Sen. Gil Puyat Ave.) or Ayala Ave. Okay, I am not a fan of the name changes of the streets.
Many places to eat are within walking distance, the better ones nearby are along Ayala Ave., but Ministop, Mang Inasal and McDonald's are the nearest. If too lazy to head out, you can always have food delivered! Just call the front desk and let them know that you are expecting a delivery. They will assist the delivery guy in going to your room.
UPDATE: There's a small Taiwanese grocery store in the building just immediately to the left of the hotel. It's called TPE Market, but it's not very visible because a lot of trucks and cars are parked in front of it, covering the sign and the door. They sell very good bento box meals for only P190!
THE ROOM
The room was actually quite small, smaller than we expected, and it was pretty basic. However, it was bright and clean, the bed looked clean, nice and inviting, the bathroom was clean and new, the hot/cold water pressure was strong.
There's a small safe.
Bath towels are provided, but that's it. There's a soap dispenser and a 3-in-one shampoo, body wash and conditioner liquid dispenser in the shower. There's no toothbrush provided, so bring your own. The bathroom door is frosted glass, but the rest of the bathroom has real walls.
There is no closet area, and there are no amenities for coffee/tea. You can ask for some hot water from the front desk, but that is just too much trouble to do every time. So I took a quick trip to Shopwise, just a quick, P7.00 jeepney ride along Chino Roces (Pasong Tamo) around the corner, and luckily found an electric kettle on sale for P388.00 for my coffee / tea / oatmeal and instant cup noodle needs. While there, I also bought some supplies like snacks and dish soap. There is no refrigerator, so only bring snacks that don't need any refrigeration.
Oh, and bring your own mug. Luckily, I brought my travel utensils set, a spoon, fork and chopsticks set with case that I bought from 168. Also, be careful if you're eating in the room. Upon checking in, we were told that we would be charged for any stains that we might make.
We also bought drinking water and whatever else we needed from the 7-Eleven on the ground floor of the hotel.
Aircon is cold, and there's a ceiling fan as well. There's a little bar with hangers where you can hang up some clothes. Also, there's no phone in the room. They have an app you can download to chat with the staff if you have any requests, I guess. There's a phone near the elevators that you can use to call the Front Desk.
There's a big flat screen TV that has all the basic cable channels, including CNN and the Asian Food Channel.
There's FREE WIFI and the internet speed is pretty decent but won't win any speed awards.
SUMMARY
At this price range, I think this is the best option for a budget hotel stay within the heart of Makati. If all you need is a clean, safe, affordable place to stay in Makati, I'd recommend the Red Planet Amorsolo. I would stay here again if I ever needed a place to stay in Makati -- this is now Option #1 if stranded in Makati. Rainy days are coming, you know. Better to bunk here for the night with friends or officemates, where it's safe and dry, than go through 8-hour traffic or epic floods trying to get home.
It is run professionally, with young staff who are educated and professional. If I didn't know it was a hotel, I would have thought that it was one of those popular, expensive gym chains! The place is clean, new, well-lighted and feels safe. There's also a guard at the front who will help you out with parking and what not. It was the total opposite of what I expected the hotel to be (I expected it to be cheap-looking and dirty).
