Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria by IHG — Hotel in Quezon City

Friendliest Place on Earth

The Disney Theme Parks advertise themselves as the friendliest places on earth.I have been to both the Florida and California theme parks, and can say without a doubt that the Crown Plaza Hotel in Manila Ortigas Philippines beats them hands down by over a 1,000 percent.

With my chosen lifestyle of living in Hotels, having visited every continent except Antarctica, with the means to choose any of the thousands of Hotels in the world, I have chosen and continue to choose the Crown Plaza Hotel, jammed into a business district in Manila ,Philippines,.

But why is that important when one finds heaven on earth, feeling from the instant of arrival that you have come home to a most loving family so large that I am sure I will forget some of the names of the staff for whom I immediately become Sir Harold, a title only found after being so acknowledged by the King of England, and by nature of the Philippine personality ready to be treated on a daily basis as the long missed relative in their family.

As I have said before, if I were starting a hotel, I would just hire and take the entire staff with me, out bidding all other hotels.

As a retired CEO/Superintendent of Schools, I lived by one principle, hire the best, get the best, and so here I have found the best of the best, as everything is done with the staff's intrinsic love of each other, given to all their guests.

Of course, in any large operation, It all starts at the top, and the owners have chosen most wisely in the excellent management of the hotel in the hands of General Manager,Pat Puyat, who puts all the pieces together

She is followed by GiBeth Gloria,assistant manager so fine she has just been promoted to Manager,of a competing Hotel with a particular strength of turning any problem into an asset, promoting as I have demonstrated fierce loyalty to her and the product. GiBeth may be the finest hands on Hotel leader I have encountered, something her new Hotel owners recognied in stealing her away. I will miss her and am sure so will her staff.

Kathy Fransisco Desk Manager makes sure the daily fine details work, with immediate service, and then there Are Mark and Jesse, the managers of the restaurants, who run the best breakfast buffet in the world, with every day delights that it takes months to discover all of them.

Having lived in the Buffet capital of the world, Las vegas, I feel eminently qualified to render such a judgment.

My day starts with the reception/ exit area, as you meet the wonderful greetings of the twins, Mira, and Myra, Tina, and Marjorie, who when I am done may actually , if not busy, engage in a song or two.

But it does not stop there, as everyone of the restaurant people becomes your trusted genial respectful but jovial friend. What would I do without the morning omelets of Oueenie,I guess I could complain to the other queen, as unrelated Queenie is on the front desk so where else are you going to find two queens, but never fear, as the Maitre Di of this gastronomical paradise, Bon, with flowing sash, handles all issues with amazing alacrity, grace, and joy. Bon will be, guaranteed, a memorable character you will recommend to friends whever you go.

The waiters or servers each have distinct personalities but all with such love that they find a place in your heart as well. This is led by AlJohn, but includes Roy, Glost, Steven Alex and Heidi, and especially Alan, as our daily exchanges resemble male bonding after a long absence.

Others behind the counters such as Noreen, Adrian, and a whole host of hated kitchen workers are available for just about any preference.

Compare it to Vegas, and let me know. This is the wa yI start my day. Come and wonder no longer why I wax so eloquent about this Hotel

Then there is the lounge on the 19th floor, where you can have breakfast if you prefer, or refresh yourself at night with appetizers, and drinks. But, once again, it is the staff there in the persons of Joseph, JP Luca and John, who will remain in your heart with you, so distinctly amazingly fresh and.funny yet always respectful to a strong degree in each exchange with them.

There are other great advantages to this Hotel ,a nurse on duty, an IT department where Francis and June come to your room to assist you on any IT issue. I have had to tell Francis because of my technological ineptitude that he will have to move in with me so many times I have had to call. We laugh, but he is always there for me.

The telephone operators are very helpful led hy Hanna, a very intelligent lady,who serves like a concierge and includes Mao, Pom, and Belle.

Irene, of course, makes my day on the front desk as I can practice my singing of the classic Goodnight Irene.

And, here, after 6 months I discovered a new hero in the head of the engineering department, Norman, who just fixed a thorny air conditioning issue

Lastly, the Housekeeping staff will try to honor all requests as I have been lucky to find Ruby, Vivian and others that put up with my frequent messiness.

Let me emphasize that this has obviously become my amazing family, so large, so pleasecv excuse any omissions , especially with my now 80 year old memory, and the size of the staff, since I have only positive things to say about one and all.

Let me emphasize that, just as in your homes physical problems emerge. I have found that from the management to every staff member they try to get every issue fixed as soon as possible, something I see daily as they continually try to upgrade the property.

My philosophy in life is simple. Love is all that there is. So go where you are loved and can love, go where you can be in joy, and laugh every day.

I feel honored and lucky to have found this at the Crowne Plaza here in the Philippines.

I welcome any and all feedback as I am now a multi-published author.

Sincerely Yours. Hal Schroeder, Retired...

This is our 3rd 'stay' with Crowne Plaza - it's really an extension of our original 19 day stay during March/April 2024. We had to stay to attend to some family matters, and there is no other place we would want to stay than at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria!

The property is centrally located in Metro Manila, with a shopping mall directly accessible from the hotel, is within walking distance to the MRT-3 line, other shopping centers, and the Ortigas/Mandaluyong City business district. Plenty of shopping and dining experiences await for you here.

The hotel rooms were spacious, clean and modern, with great views. The pool and breakfast buffet were great amenities, as well as access to the gym and a spa located at fellow IHG hotel, Holiday Inn.

All of this wouldn't matter if not for the staff at Crowne Plaza. The staff always makes us feel welcomed, valued and respected throughout our stay with them. It's the reason we came back to this hotel. They accommodated all of our requests, went above and beyond multiple times, and made our stay pleasant, enjoyable, and memorable.

On that note, there's a few people we would like to acknowledge:

Front Desk, managed by Kathleen Francisco. All the front desk staff consistently greeted us warmly when we came into the hotel, and were always interested in how we were doing and if they can help in any way

Angela - she was instrumental in getting our stay extended the first time, ensuring we stayed in our original room and rate. Took all the stress away. She was always super helpful and cheerful whenever we interacted with her. Thank you so much!

Magi - was also helpful with our requests from time to time, and always greeted us warmly whenever she saw us leaving/coming back. Always smiling and cheerful!

Josh - was very helpful in getting our stay extended a 2nd time on short notice, and keeping us in the same room and rate similar to what Angela was able to do for us originally

Queenie, Riza, JR and others (sorry I didn't get your names) they were all very helpful and friendly every time we see them or had the odd request at front desk, and treated us very well

7 corners (breakfast buffet) - managed by Marc, he always came up to us and greeted us warmly, and made sure we were enjoying our stay and breakfast. All the staff and chefs were super friendly, warm and welcoming to us

James - he was our main server, would be attentive to our needs and would ensure we got whatever we needed in a timely manner, most often without us even asking!

Joret - she was also one of our main servers, and would make sure we had everything we need. It was good seeing her again, along with the others

Bon - he was also one of our main servers early on, but got moved to dinner shift. He also made sure that we were well taken care of during breakfast

Aljohn, Mara, Kaycee, Haydee, Cath, Christine - we've had the pleasure of dealing with them from time to time during breakfast. Thanks so much for making our breakfast time enjoyable!

Queenie, and other omelette chefs - thanks for making my omelette every day, they were delicious!

Mira, Yelen, Sien - thanks for greeting us warmly every morning, and bringing us to our usual table!

Our room was kept consistently clean by the excellent housekeeping staff, primarily by Aljohn. And whenever we had luggage or delivery requests, the concierge staff was more than helpful in arranging the logistics of our needs. Rey was someone I dealt with often, and was super helpful. There were a couple of others I dealt with too, and were super helpful as well, but I didn't get their names, but I do remember their faces!

All in all, we stayed just over 60 days on our 2nd and 3rd stays with Crowne Plaza Manila Galeria this year. The hotel and staff did not disappoint during our entire stay, and we would do it all over again if we had to. We look forward to coming back here next time we are in Manila. Thanks so much for your...

It was an interesting experience. the staff seemed eager to help, but there was a real disconnect between wanting to and being able to! In the dining room, on three occasions I asked a server if they could get me something, only to have them disappear and never return. Each time it took a second server to accomplish the task. An example - one day I ordered a al carte on the breakfast menu - soft boiled eggs (they were done correctly) and some chicken sausage. The waiter brought the eggs and said it would be ten minutes on the sausage!! I said that I would like something with the eggs, not after, and could he get me something like bacon from the huge buffet they have - he disappeared, never to be seen during my meal. So, I got another waiter and asked the same thing - he seemed to understand, and went off, and returned five minutes later with the sausage I had originally ordered. Not the biggest thing in the world, but nonetheless, a lack of awareness. And this was repeated a number of times.

The last night, I wanted to do a wake up call for 3:30 am. So, I rang the front desk, over and over, and no answer. So, I rang the operator, over and over, and no answer. I went down to the front desk - they said their phone didn't ring but the call would go to the operator - so I asked them how I am supposed to get help, for instance in an emergency. I have had one heart attack and am always concerned should I have a medical emergency. they said just call the operator- when I said I had done that several times, they replied that she must be busy, they have one or two on staff and they answer for the two hotels connected - the Crown Plaza and the Holiday Inn. Beyond that, they had no answer.

The Gallery Bar, on the other hand, was one of the best I have ever been in. On the second visit, they had prepared a name card and a reserved spot for me at the bar. The liquor was all top end and the service from Allan and Che (the manager) was incomparable. Open from 3:00 to 11:00!!

Room service was good, although they kept forgetting things but would bring it when you asked them.

The rooms were a bit thread bare, meaning used and old but all functional and in reasonable service.

I don't know if I would recommend it again or not. I probably wouldn't go back. There was just something about feeling like you are talking to a wall sometimes when you talked to the service people, except of...