My girlfriend and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Manila Galleria for 5 nights in February 2008 using Priority Club point (15000 per night). The prevailing rate at the time was around 110 USD so I thought I would kill some of my points and save some Pesos since this was a vacation.

I had read a few good and a few bad reviews about the property but decided to give it a try and if it was a bad experience I would move to the Crowne Plaza at the other side of the Galleria.

I arrived late on a NWA flight and got to the hotel around 1245 AM. The staff was very friendly and helpful at check in. I had requested a Quiet room and I was assigned a room on the 22nd floor. I am a Platinum member of Priority Club and they may have taken that into consideration when assigning my room. There was a fruit plate in the room but there was nothing else offered to me like a breakfast or drinks.

The room was a two room semi Suite with the Bathroom between the Sitting area and the Bedroom. Though clean and serviceable the room did seem kind of dated. The King bed was comfortable for my girlfriend and myself. There was plenty of space in the area for storage as there was a wardrobe with a mini fridge in which we stored our daily water allotment and a safe which we used for our valuables.

The Hotel is directly attached to the Galleria mall which has MANY shops and eateries. We did not dine in the hotel at all due to the abundance of vendors in the large food courts of the Galleria. There eateries ranged from KFC, Jollibee, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and numerous local places with take out and food court service. There are also many sit down eateries. There was another much smaller mall a short walking distance away in which there is a restaurant called “The Banana Leaf”. We dined there. It was quite good and not too expensive (30$ USD for 2) and I recommend it if you have time.

The hotel charged $12.99 daily for internet (wired) but if you take your laptop to the mall there was free mall-wide wireless- so we passed on the hotel internet as we could go have a coffee and surf if we needed to for free. There was a 7-11 across the street and a couple of 24 hour marts in the mall by the Bus station.

The MRT station was about 3 blocks of walking though narrow roadside walks I would not recommend for everyone. We used it but it can become VERY crowded and hot during rush hours. Taxi’s were readily available and very cheap if you had a driver not trying to rip off a Westerner.

The Hotel is also Close to the Greenhill’s mall where you can find all of the knock off designer Items and I haggled a Coach knock off down from 550 pesos to 2 of them for 600. Taxi is only about 10 minutes in good traffic.

We did on 2 occasions see a cockroach in the Bathroom. I killed them both times. I do feel the room was clean and the service by the Housekeepers was quite good. I tipped them $1 USD daily and I believe the appreciated it as their efforts dictated. I did not feel the room was dirty but I must admit I was put off by the little critters.

If I were to pay I would choose the Crown Plaza Galleria over the Holiday Inn Galleria as the rates were close to the same for a better property, but using points, the extra 10000 points per night the Crowne Plaza charged, I again would stay at the Holiday Inn which would save one 50000 points over the Crown Plaza for a similar length.

Was surprised how heavily booked Manila hotels appeared to be even off season so I ended up here even though I didn't like the £60/night.
Room standard quite high - clean and well - maintained. Breakfast buffet excellent. Connection to neighbouring shopping mall very handy. Internet access via their business centre is too expensive so go to mall next door.

The hotel is quite accommodating. We arrived at around 6am in the morning and was unable to check in immediately. So they directed us to their lounge area next to their breakfast area where we could rest while they tried their best to get us a room. They finally found one by 9am and offered it to us for an extra (but discounted) 1/2 day charge. We gladly took it!

ROOM: Clean and spacious.
LOCATION: Very convenient. It's located at the crossroads of Makati City , Ortigas Centre and Pasig City so it's not far from everywhere. The hotel is connected to the Robinsons Galleria Mall, complete with a supermarket, cafes and fast food outlets so food is not a problem at all. Getting to and fro is easy - just hop into an endless supply of taxis.
TRANSPORT: I'd advise taking a taxi as the streets are really busy with traffic and therefore the air is very dusty and polluted. Taxi fare is not expensive either but do remember to settle on a price before you get in. Their metro (LRT/MRT) is quite efficient but almost always packed. The hotel is about 15 mins walk away from the nearest station so again, taking a taxi is easier. But there is always the endlessly busy traffic to contend with! Try to stay off peak hours.
SHOPPING: Manila is made for shopping! Besides Robinsons Galleria, the hotel is within walking distance to SM Megamall - about 15 mins. The malls are ENORMOUS so be prepared to walk your feet off! There's a new mall (less than a year old) in Quezon City called Trinoma which is very comprehensive. For a spot of good old-fashioned flea-market-style bargaining, try Greenhills in Ermita, which hosts rows of stalls within a covered, air-conditioned area.
FOOD: Breakfast is not bad; quite a good spread. Elsewhere in Manila - Gotta try their Sinegang soup, Pork Adobo (braised pork in a type of soya sauce), Crispy Pata (Roast pork to die for!) and Bangus Sisig (milkfish). There's a chain of restaurants called Gerry's Grill which serves excellent Philipino fare at quite reasonable prices. We went to the one in Trinoma tho they're also in Glorietta, Greenhills and various other places.
DISLIKED: The lifts in the hotel. They are small and slow. The entrance is deeply recessed, which makes entering difficult. Often, we ended up missing the lift because the last person out is slow to get out and we can't get access to hold the lift doors!

Excellent location - attached to Robinson's mall where one can find a grocery store, drug store and many restaurants. Also within walking distance to SM megamall.
Provides transportation to/from airport via Europcar.
Europcar: very nice cars, pleasant, courteous staff - punctual service.
Room: clean. beds comfortable.
Safe: in room, large enough for storing a laptop.
Internet access: in room for a fee.
Coffeemaker in room
Scales for weighing luggage available upon request.
Fitness center on 5th floor.
Swimming pool on roof.
Service: courteous, polite, punctual services from all hotel staff
Restaurant: no comment, didn't eat there. We ate native food at restaurants at Robinson and SM megamall.
Overall: this is a good hotel to stay in. We will definitely come back here.