The Luneta Hotel Manila

The sign on the entrance says CLOSED 😥 I just wish it is but a temporary state. I have always admired the architecture of this place not to mention the history. For me it is where classic meets gothic, where culture blends with history and where old meets new. Years ago I had a chance to do an ocular inspection of this grand dame along Kalaw St and it was truly an experience. If in case this place has closed down permanently, may we have the decency and the much deserved respect to preserve this wonder of an edifice.

I stayed here for work this past week, as the location is convenient. I will say that the lobby and front dining area are lovely and well maintained. The service is also friendly. However, I found the room disappointing. I was first assigned a room with 2 twin beds, even though I requested one full bed. The receptionist was nice enough to accomodate me and change me to a larger bed. The rooms have a bit of a disinfectant smell. The windows in both rooms I saw faced a wall and were dirty. More troubling, the walls of the hotel room were dirty and smudged. They should be cleaned or touched up with paint more regularly. The smudges give the impression that you're in a hotel where children have been allowed to jump around and kick the walls. So it was disappointing to not only not have a view of the park, but also have no view at all. The bathrooms are quite nice and get good natural light somehow. I had difficulties connecting to the wifi in my room (no automatic connection.) The breakfast was disappointing. Not because there's no buffet option, but because there are only 4 meal options, 3 of which are Filipino and thus meat-centric. The continental breakfast is just a plate of apple, orange, and watermelon with a slice of cold bread. I was also given a mini jam jar which was almost empty and clearly had already been used by another guest. Unacceptable from a hygiene level, to say the least. I wouldn't stay at the hotel again. The price was okay for what it was, but considering the lobby was the only truly nice part of the hotel, it's not really worth it.

The hotel is clean and I love the old design that are very consistent from the lobby to their rooms. The room is very spacious. My kids loved the bath tub. It is just a walk to the US embassy and to The Manila Hotel. The staff are friendly. The restaurant is pricey.

Updated historic hotel. Theyve hit the right balance between old and new. Hot water. Park across the street is great for an after-meal stroll. Marina just a few blocks away. A number of activities without stress from transportation! If you get breakfast, i highly recommend Filipino fare over Western. As you may notice in attached picture, the Western breakfasts are... sparse. This was pancakes... just pancakes. Continental is similarly... lacking. That said, the Filipino style breakfasts are complete with good portions and delicious. Order from the local menu.

Pros: I like this hotel because of its history. It has Instagramable spots. We got the superior room so it's spacious and has a tub. Also has a good view compared to the other rooms. Cons: They have poor service though. Similar to some reviews in TripAdvisor, the guard is MIA and no one directed us in where to park since they have very few parking slots. No one helped with our luggage too. Their breakfast took ages before it was served. It's not a buffet breakfast. I requested for scrambled eggs but was given sunny side up. Since it took so long for the food to be served, I didn't bother to ask for my scrambled eggs anymore and settled with the sunny side up. They had no hot choco so we got their juice that was too sweet for us. Their food is on the pricey side.

A beautifully restored art-deco style boutique hotel originally built in 1918. Dwight Eisenhower stayed here while serving under General MacArthur. Even if you're not staying, it's worthwhile dropping in to have a snack or drink in the bar area in the lobby. The staff are very friendly and helpful, and have a good knowledge of the hotel's history.

Stayed for 1 night in between flights. I wasn't expecting a whole lot given the exterior from my research. I was pleasantly surprised at how quaint and charming the interior was. As one review stated, it is a perfect place to capture your Instagram worthy photos. Check in was smooth and was greeted with a smile. The elevator albeit old, like most of the hotel, has been updated with modern push buttons. The Prestige Luneta room was large and clean. It offered an in room safe, mini fridge and snack bar with a price list, robes and slippers. The robes unfortunately we're too small for a North American built man and a tall Filipina. The one downside, as what others probably mentioned, was that the curtains wouldn't close properly and that the track was broken. WiFi was pretty much non-existent but didn't bother calling because it was only a one night stay. The bathroom offered a stand alone bathtub, shower and basic amenities. Enjoyed the strong water pressure from the shower. Booked a 3 night stay at the end of our trip but ended up cancelling due to plan changes. I would definitely stay again given a chance.

Great customer service!!! Our check in took some time because guests were still leaving and rooms needed to be cleaned but because we waited long, they upgraded our room for free and we didn’t even ask. Restaurant food was also great. Overall had a nice stay.

Upscale refined Filipino restaurant dining at its best with the hotel. Chicken tocino I had was so perfectly juicy and full of flavor though albeit small portions. Fried pork belly my friend ordered was some of the best crispy fried pork ever. Completely pop in your mouth of crunch and juicy flavor explosion. Eggs over cooked for sunny as lost in translation issue. Refined dining in elegant setting. Pay for the 2x price but well with the experience.

I've always been curious about that really beautiful building near Luneta and thought it was such a waste when I heard it was being demolished. Thank goodness though, someone decided to restore and save the structure for future generations to appreciate. Seeing the structure restored to its former glory, I was really awestruck by the building's architecture having to see it for the first time up close. I really like old buildings as I feel they tell a story, and this one was no exception. The grill work in the building, according to the staff, is part of the original fittings of the hotel and it was really nice. Even the floors are nice too with the black and white pattern. I also liked the gargoyles on the facade of the building if you look closely. I thought it was very cool. The interiors are also given an updated touch with modern furnishings, so I think it's nice what they did to Luneta Hotel which is a mix of the old with newer elements. Personally, I think it's very reflective of modern Filipino culture - maintaining old values while trying to keep up (or keeping up) with modern times. Since our visit fell in the afternoon, it was only natural that we had to try Luneta Hotel's coffee and desserts. One of the cakes I was able to try was the Yema Cake which was a little bit too sweet for me, however, you have to give it to the hotel for making all the desserts so Instagrammable. It's also pretty decadent on its own, so make sure to share with a friend. My favorite dessert was the Banana Mango Brulle. It was topped with fresh mangoes, slices of kiwi and a cherry. It was perfectly prepared and everything really went well together. It was so good I didn't even want to share it. As for their coffee, they have it hot or over ice and it is best enjoyed with these delectable desserts. Overall, I liked this little trip to Luneta Hotel. Sure, it was unexpected, but at least it satisfied my curiosity to really see it up close. It's a really charming little piece of old Manila, so I'd really recommend this place if you're either a history buff or you have foreign visitors who'd love to see a piece of architecture that survived the Manila bombings of WWII. (Bonus trivia that you can tell your visitors - it's one of the first high rise buildings in Manila!)

My samba school often holds its practice sessions in Museong Pambata, a few minutes away from Luneta Hotel, and I would usually come early if only to enjoy a coffee or a dessert in this grand hotel's foyer café. I just love the old-time feel of this place. I'm glad that I don't have to go very far to get a taste of how Manila was in the old times, when kalesas still roamed the city and when people still dressed up in fantastic post-Colonial garb. This historic building has only been renovated and restored to its old glory recently, and though I haven't tried the hotel and the rooms itself, I am very impressed with the service of the lobby cafe, which serves up really good coffee ,drinks and snacks. I would always order their strong espresso, which they serve promptly and with such pomp and flourish that makes it feel very expensive and luxurious. The delicious madelines that they serve with the espresso is just lovely: how I would like to take home a jar to enjoy with my own home-brewed pour over coffee. The service is friendly and very professional, and the ambiance is quiet, which allows me to bring my readings and pore over my books or articles when I need to study or review for a test.

It was great to find out that one of the City of Manila's landmarks has been restored to its former glory. The Luneta Hotel had fallen on hard times a couple of decades ago, and appeared headed for demolition. This, despite its being a historical structure that was first erected in 1919, or close to a century ago. Over the past few decades, I had seen how the place had been abandoned and overtaken by squatters. Located along T.M. Kalaw near the corner of Roxas Boulevard, I was not only surprised but stunned to see that the Luneta Hotel had not only been restored, but had become one of the best new places to chill. The hotel has a daily lunch buffet that goes for P550, just about the same price as other worthy buffets in a lot of restaurants and hotels these days. The rooms have all the amenities of competing hotels in its class, with the added bonus of having higher ceilings and old style bath tubs given a modern look. Head inside and you go back to a half century or so. The décor is classic and pretty relaxing. Historians say that the Luneta Hotel was used by American officers before and after World War II, and former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower cited it for being one of the most romantic structures he had ever seen. It is a pretty small hotel but that's part of its allure. If there's any one restored place that's a must see, the Luneta Hotel is it.

I think that it's fabulous that finally someone was willing to put some dignity into this old fella. It is an absolutely stunning small hotel, which was recently renovated. From the outside, it looks like it could pass off as a Small Luxury Hotel of the World. But inside, not so much. There could have been a lot more done to this building to make it a real destination design hotel. Sadly this is not the case. The interiors could've been so much better. Sadly it comes off as a little on the cheap side. For instance, the chairs in the hotel's restaurant are plain banquet chairs. The food also leaves a lot of be longed for - mostly traditional dishes that are on the expensive side.

Nice hotel at a reasonable price. Staff was professional, restored older building. If you want something a little smaller than a big chain it's a good place to go. Close to aquarium