The location of hotel was great for me as I could find halal restaurants within walking distance -- serving Middle Eastern/Persian and Asian/Indian food -- all were excellent; one was even a 24 hr restaurant.

One tip for travelling in cabs in Manila -- have notes in smaller denominations in your pocket. Cabbies will try to ask that they keep the change -- and that can be quite a lot. The cab ride from airport to hotel took only about 20 mins. Cabby asked for a tip. I gave him, thinking it was normal. No, its not. The second time I rode in a cab back to the hotel, the cabby said he did not have change. The doorman at the hotel willingly offered to pay first, then changed my money at the reception desk for me to pay him back. That excellent service.

The porter who brought my huge luggage up to my room was friendly too and too the time to explain to me where to get halal food around the hotel; and also assured me that the food served at the hotel was halal.

I back track a little -- check in was no problem and a breeze. I got what I booked at the price that was confirmed. No frills. Receptionist was friendly.

Room looked great at first. Large double bed. A table where I could do my work. The bathroom not so great. No flexible hose shower head. And the bath tub looked a little too old. Open the closet -- not shelf space. In fact there were no drawers nor shelf space to store my clothes. I hung what I could on the provided hangers, and the rest remained in my luggage.

The most damaging thing is the internet. Even though the wireless access is free -- its like totally non-existent when you try to log in. The technical staff explained to me that the whole hotel only has a specified bandwidth that everyone shares.

Berjaya should invest in getting the infrastructure going in this hotel -- it'll make a great business hotel if they could improve on the downsides I mentioned above. The staff they have is great -- and were the plus points for this hotel.

We just had a very nice one night stay coupld of days ago at the Executive suites. We booked October 28 to get the 30% off promo via online reservation.

PROS:
>We stayed at 24th floor. Renovated rooms are mostly from 21-25th floor i guess. All fully furnished and brand new.
>1 king size bed plus living room w/TV and a separate pantry area that has microwave,sink and refrigirator.
>The room was very neat and all amenities were working just fine.
>Complimentary internet connection for one user & has a good wifi signal anytime of the day.
>Toilet was huge enough for FOUR people and has complete stuff too. the water is strong enough no issues about that.
>Aircondition is pretty cold and had no issues with the sound,i guess it's becuase it's brand new.
>There's an ironing board & iron which is a plus for travellers like us.
>Easy access to our favorite restaurants and most of them are 24hours open
>Good view from our room and living room.
>Very polite staff especially the people in the restaurant area.
>BUffet breakfast was nice. Lot's of food choices.

CONS:
>Originally we booked for the Executive suite as that was being bragged about by the reservation lady i called. She mentioned that it has complete amenities and it's new. Plus it also has a two bedroom feature. TWO BEDROOM not twin beds. So i grab the deal thinking that would be perfect since we are four in the family. After i made the reservation,i called like weeks ago after i made the reservation to double check the difference of a TWO bedroom suite and executive suite. i was again told that they are just the same the only difference is that the executive suite is BRAND NEW. Then come our check in date dec24-25,2012. When we went to the room i only saw 1 king size bed no other beds what so ever or even anther room. i was so pissed off but i have to calm down since i dont want to ruin my christmas eve. i asked twiced the receptionist that i was misinformed and for that i request for a complimentary bed for the hassle that they have caused. After dealing with the issue for almost an hour,i finally talked to the manager too bad i wasnt able to get his name..and was given an extra bed for free. Good thing somone has a heart. Issues resolved and i didn't bother to argue anymore because i;m with my family and we're there to enjoy.
>Next time DON'T trust people in the reservation area when you call Berjaya hotel directly. Better yet talk to a manager if you have any clarifications.
>Receptionist is not too friendly. When we went to the lobby for check-in and check out time it just so happen that there are a lot of people there and Marichu was obviously preassured enough that she does not smile anymore. As if we are only talking to a random people and don't bother giving a grin at least. Being friendly is a must for receptionist.
>there's no direct line for you to call outside. I'm talking about metro manila calls. you to dial 1 for the lobby and they will be the one connecting you to the number you would want to dial. plus you have to pay P15 bucks each successful call. That is a NO-NO,because what if it's busy or you're in a hurry? you have to call them first. and P15 is too pricy.

>But all in all the experience is average. I will comeback here but will make sure i will talk to the manager for reservation. I dont trust reservation people anymore.

I chose this hotel mainly for its location. It was not too far from Manila's main airport, perhaps 20 minutes by taxi, and it was fairly close to one sight I wanted to see in metro Manila during my short time there, namely the American cemetery. I arrived here at about 11 AM, and although it was too early to check in to the non-smoking room I had already booked, I was offered the chance to check in early in a smoking room, which I didn't mind doing. Staff was helpful with my bags and there are armed security guards at the main entrance, but that seems to be common in a lot of areas in the Philippines. Room was OK, clean and comfortable, a little on the dark side but that may have been because the neighboring skyscrapers were blocking the light somewhat. Makati is one of the newer sections of the city, and near the hotel you can find banks, restaurants of all kinds, parks, grocery stores, and pharmacies. On my last night there I hung out in their lounge and enjoyed live music from the very personable band; I believe their name was Present Perfect, or Past Perfect, or another grammatically-oriented name.