Gohotels (Manila) Review

Hotel Name: GoHotels
Branch: Mandaluyong (Cybergate Plaza, EDSA)
Address: UG/F, Robinsons Cybergate Plaza, EDSA cor. Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong City
Contact: +63(2) 3988788/  +63(2) 3988119
Website: http://gohotels.ph/index.php/mandaluyong
Price: 880 peso – 1388 pesos (Price varies)

 

 

Gohotels is a chain of Essential Service hotel in Philippines. They have numerous hotel chains all over the country and even in Palawan Islands. I stayed at the Mandaluyong (Cybergate Plaza, EDSA) branch last month for 4 nights when I was on my Manila YOLO Cosplay Trip. This is my simple review of the place.

 

 

Room & Bed:

The room type I stayed in was ‘Queen’, it had a Queen sized bed in it (duh!). The hotel only provides 2 types of room; one with a Queen size bed another with 2 Single beds. The hotel allows a maximum of 2 person per room. The bed is comfortable with clean white sheets, 2 pillows and 2 chiropractic pillows. I found both pillows too soft and low for my liking but then that’s just me.

 

 

The room is big with ample space for walking and storing of your stuffs. I reckon the room is  6 meter x 4 meters big. Watch my video to get a sense of the space.

 

 

A wall of windows face the door directly, giving the room ample sunlight during the day when the curtains are drawn up. If you’re not one to enjoy the sunlight, you’ll love the curtains because they do a very good job of shielding the rays.  

 

 

There is however no cupboard watsoever except the little stands by the bed. There are only a few hook thingy to hang your clothes.

 

 

- Telephone (internal call)

- 2 bath towels

- 1 foot towel

- Toilet paper

- 22 inch LCD TV with remote control & Cable

- Internally controlled Air Condition

- 2 standard 220V universal sockets (by the bed)

- 2 Philippines socket in the toilet

- Free Wifi in Room & lobbies

- In-room Safe

- 1 Shampoo sachet (replenished daily if you requested for Room Make-up)

- 1 small soap bar (replenished daily if you requested for Room Make-up)

 

This is my first experience with an Essential Service/No Frills hotel and even though I’ve read the information on the website countless times and came with a prepared mind; I still found myself surprised by the lack of amenities. Not only are toothbrushes and tooth paste not available, there are also no cups .

 

 

 

Hairdryer and Ironing board however, is available for rent. Rental of Hairdryer costs 300peso for 3 hours if I recalled correctly. You can also buy a Toiletry Kit for 88 peso.

 

This must also be the first Hotel I’ve ever been to that doesn’t have a boiling pot and cups for drinking. But I guess it all makes sense with Gohotel’s “No Eating” policy in mind. Yes, the hotel has a “No Eating” and “No Smoking” policy they strictly abide by. Anyone found smoking inside the rooms will be fined 1000 pesos. On the bright side, there are many tables and chairs outside the rooms on each floor for patrons to eat and mingle should they want to bring food back.

 

While the “No Eating” policy along with the lack of boiling pot and fridge made me a little less than happy, I’m glad the organisation at least provided a lot of tables, chairs and space for patrons just outside their rooms. Patrons are not allowed to eat inside their room but they can freely use the space outside for dining and mingling.

 

 

At level 5’s main lobby, there is a vending machine and Drinks dispenser. They are all coin operated.

 

 

Facilities & Amenities:

The Hotel works with Europcar to provide Taxi and Van services. What this means is, there is a Taxi Counter at level 1 beside the registration counter where you can get Cabs booked. They also provide Taxi pick up services from the Airport at the flat rate of  618 (Sedan) or 824 (Van) pesos. You can request for Taxi Pick Up service when you book online.

 

When you get out from the airport (i was at NAIA Terminal 1) go to the Transportation Booth located at the Arrival Area. I had a bit of problem looking for it but it’s actually just opposite the arrival entrance.

 

 

Look for an office with a black and white signboard saying ‘CAR RENTAL’. Go up to the green counter within and there you have it.

 

 

Maybe because my flight arrival was at frikin 5:25am. I was more than a little surprised to find my booking name and destination printed onto a piece of paper that was stuck in front of the counter LOL.

 

Something extra to note, the Taxi services only runs from 5am – 12midnight. I might have gotten the exact working hours wrong but I remember they couldn’t help me book a cab for my 6am flight back home (where I have to leave the hotel around 3:30am and reach the airport at 4am) so I had to resort to hailing a public car outside the hotel. Thankfully there were cabs just lounging around and the trip to the airport cost me just 180 peso!

 

There is also a Spa Parlour at level 5.

 

There is a wide range of services available and their operating hours is from 11am - 3am if I remember correctly. To ensure service is rendered as you hope , make sure to reserve in advance. I went down around 12+am before I fly and didn’t managed to get the massage I hoped for because the masseur was not available =(

 

Toilet

The toilet is simple but functional. The only toiletries given is a sachet of shampoo and a small soap bar. They are replenished daily if the Room is Made Up. If you did not put the “Make my Room” sign outside your door knob, they will not make up your room.

 

 

As mentioned above, there are also 2 bath towels, 1 foot towel and toilet papers. There is a Shower head and there is also a Rain forest shower head. Of course there is the towel bowl and sink with enough counter space for you to put your own toiletries and skincare products.

 

 

Cleanliness:

The room is spacious and clean. I have nothing to complain about the cleanliness.

 

 

Location:

This hotel branch is located along the stretch of EDSA, Metro Manila’s main thorough fare.

For a foreigner like you and me where geographic explanation doesn’t make any contextual sense. All this just means to me that the hotel is located along a very iconic stretch of (long long) road that makes it hard to miss and easy to go anywhere. It is situated in the city central and have many Call Centres around it which means it’s easy to get a Cab around there; even at 3am in the morning.

 

It is adjacent to the Robinsons Forum Mall (literally 5 minutes’ walk) so it’s easy to pick up any essentials you might have forgotten along with food or bottled water.  it’s not a very big mall, maybe just 3 levels high but there are many restaurants , fastfoods, food stands and even gong cha (bubble tea). There is a department store and a supermarket.

 

There is TokyoCafe in level one and it’s just beside the registration counter where you can enjoy some Japanese x Western cuisines at a relatively good price.

 

 

Get out of the hotel, turn left and you will find a 24hr MiniMart just beside too!  I’m sorry but the only photo I have of the Minimart is this selfie XD Other than the usual steamed buns , hotdogs, sandwiches and coffee. They also have a salad & fruits bar where you select your own concoction and you pay based on the weight. it wasn’t particularly cheap but at least there’s an option for the health and fibre conscious!

 

 

The hotel is also a mere 30 – 45 minutes’ drive from the Airport. If you travel after midnight like me, you’ll probably reach the Airport within 25 minutes!

 

Hotel Service

Filipinos are touted as the friendliest country and at Gohotels, it’s easy to see why! All the staffs I meet greeted me with a warm smile and are always eager to help. Even though this is an Essential Service/No Frills hotel, I don’t feel like the staffs discounted any of their smiles =)

 

 

Overall

Overall, I am a happy customer and would highly recommend gohotels to any budget conscious traveller. However I must remind you that this is designed as an Essential Service AKA ‘No Frills’ Hotel and that’s exactly what you have to expect.  They seem to hold promotions pretty often so if you can catch it, you might even get the rooms for as low as 588 pesos! Wish I had found that out early enough =(

 

 

For everything else that is not stated, it will cost you. As I mentioned above, rental of Hairdryer will cost 300 peso for just 3 hours. Early check-in will cost you 560 peso . What you get is a spacious  and clean place to rest at night in a central spot. And that’s good enough for me =)