The Excelsior Hotel — Hotel in 2nd District

This review is from a perspective of a Filipino American.

We stayed at Excelsior for 6 nights the first week of February. We arranged a roundtrip shuttle service and the driver who picked us up was so nice and he waited for us because it took a while for us to get out of the airport. I used the airport WiFi to send the hotel an email to let them know we were running late and to let the driver know since at that time I didn’t have any phone connection. The drive to the hotel was smooth and quick granted it was on a Saturday night around 7pm, so not sure if that was still rush hour. We were greeted by security guards who opened the doors for us and a few folks loaded our bags on a conveyer belt, kind of like an airport, and we also walked through a metal detector, but I think you only go through that on your first day. We checked in on the second floor and our driver kindly took our bags to our rooms.

Breakfast was included during our stay. The food was a hit or a miss. Their beef tapa and garlic fried rice was probably the best meal I had there. I liked their coffee, but I wish the coffee they served in their pitcher was hot, so if you want a nice cup of hot coffee, get it from the coffee dispenser by the juice and cups area. They had champorado for one of the days and it was okay, but I was pleased they had that as a breakfast option. Their fruit selection was good, but the best was the papaya. I also asked one of the chefs cooking the omelettes if I could have banana ketchup and he was so kind to give me some and a lot too!

The room we stayed at didn’t have much of a view, but for someone who hasn’t been back for several years, seeing the houses and people walking in their suburban town, was quite comforting. Some of the only issues we’ve had were in the bathroom. Our faucet was broken, but thankfully it was fixed as soon as we told them. I didn’t realize that hotel showers in the Philippines didn’t have a “door” to keep water from splashing out, we thought this might be a Filipino thing because we stayed at another hotel after our trip in Manila, and noticed the same thing. The water also doesn’t get as hot, but then again this might be a Filipino thing because it doesn’t get cold enough for hot showers. The same goes with the pool, it is freezing cold unless you’re swimming in the heat of day. They also provide a towel once you check in with the lifeguard.

Housekeeping was good, except some days it wasn’t consistent. Had to call them and ask for the two water bottles that were complimentary each day and to replace the used cups. We did order more water bottles for an extra charge, but that was fine. The lady who cleaned our room was so nice and sweet and she even arranged our bed with our stuffed animals. We also had our laundry done and we filled out a form to indicate how many pieces of clothing we had. I tried their in room massage for one hour and it was alright. I think they were getting something fixed at the spa room floor, so that’s why they offered in room massages.

The mall as well as other restaurants were all walking distance. It seemed safe enough even after hearing horror stories of being pickpocketed. We also used GRAB for one of our transportations and we would inform the security guards at the front the plate number and they ensure it’s the correct one before letting them in.

We booked the hotel straight from the website and we paid with credit card for all the fees. I highly recommend booking a round trip shuttle service with them and make sure you do it in advance. I think if you come in with no expectations of this being a Marriott or some five star hotel, then you will have a great time. Everyone is so nice and one of the security guards even asked me if I got my “taho” one morning since I was looking for it, and he offered to buy me one if he saw some.

The Philippines is also big on tips, so make sure you have a few single bills to hand out. Everyone speaks and understands English, so that made it easy for us. Overall I would recommend Excelsior and...

I stayed here with my family and booked the explorecation package. The idea is great but the execution is poor. I want to point out a few issues that we encountered that has put me off recommending this hotel.

They claim for this experience to be all in but segregate you during the dinner buffet, the choices for this buffet is very limited and mediocre. The chicken was dry. The only sauce they had to offer for the lechon kawali and shanghai was watered down sweet chilli. The macaroni soup didn’t even have any macaroni in it. You will have to walk past the regular buffet and see the food that is not allowed for you which can be upsetting with a bunch of kids around asking why they can’t eat that food. It makes you feel less of a guest when you don’t get given a choice of what to eat because you booked the explorecation package. There are some plates in the breakfast buffet that have not been cleaned properly, I was unlucky enough to get a plate that had hard and dried food on it. When I notified a staff member he just said okay. You’ll probably need a visit from the food hygiene inspector. Communication by the organiser of this event is very poor, they advertised for there to be snacks until 12pm by the pool area but then apparently the staff said they did not get a memo and thought they only had to serve snacks until 11am. He was very kind however and still made us the snacks we requested but seeing him flustered just shows how poor communication is from management. Even the front desk got confused as they are still asking guests if they had lunch already only to realise that this current package has no lunch included anymore. Lastly, although our room was nice and clean upon entering it, we noticed some leftover underwear under the toilet sink which leads me to believe that the cleaning staff are not really thorough.

I booked this after extensive research and was excited as it looked perfect for my kids, I realised everything is outdated as this experience has been revised contrary to all the vlogs and reviews from a few months ago. Overall the experience was okay purely because my kids didn’t really pick up on these issues and just enjoyed the amenities and activities. Kudos also to the staff as everyone has been kind and attentive. I just feel you really scrimped up on this experience, charge more for the package if you need to rather than scrimping and making the guest feel like they booked a budget...

Hotel is new and provides basic comfort to guests.

However, entering their buffet breakfast will greet you by staff "No leftover po". I suggest to change it to "Good Morning". Basic right?!

Buffet Breakfast is not worth it. Choices were few and appears to be from yesterday esp the breads. Coffee tastes terrible and burnt with dregs.

Buffet staff is rude. Forced us to eat a piece of chicken that does not taste good, with their no leftover policy. We only took 1 piece of chicken, tasted it and does not suit our taste. We only took 1 because we understood the no leftover policy and that we will only get another one if we liked it. I suggest that if they will do this constantly to guests to keep their tacky cheap strategy to save on cost, their buffet breakfast should be in "bite size" or "free taste size" like the free taste booth in groceries (ex. cut the sausage in 4parts so if it does not taste good, you dont need to worry about them forcing you to eat the entire sausage). We lost our appetite after the incident and most did not bother getting food. With this, my Tip on breakfast: Get a spoon of soup only, a spoon of rice, half egg on omelette, half a bread, a spoon of coffee, cut the sausage, cut the chicken serving before you place on your plate. Get in "bite size" only so you dont need to worry about being forced to eat a proper serving if you dont like the taste. We dont have control on the taste of their food.

My kids' feet were full of scratches and small cuts after using the pool. We cannot figure out where the sharp edges are. We raised to management and found that there is another parent with the same issue experienced by her kids.

There is no cover between parking and hotel. It was raining when we checked in and from parking we hurried to the nearest glass door, which we were surprised to be closed by management. They just pointed to the other door signaling we have to enter there (another walk in the rain). It was ok only if it wasnt raining and we dont have our luggages with us. Simply opening the glass door in such cases will lessen the already distressing situation with rain.

Also, management and staffs should learn to discuss guests issues behind doors. You can hear them discussing the situation and see how displeased they were with their guests.

WONT...