We stayed at Hotel Benilde last weekend. Wait, Hotel Benilde? As in La Salle? Yes. 🙂
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be a DLSU student to stay here. The hotel is open to the public and it is actually very affordable – they provide a COMPLIMENTARY MINI BAR and they have the least expensive room service menu I have seen at this kind of hotel.
HOTEL BENILDE MAISON DE LA SALLE
The hotel occupies the lobby, the second floor for function rooms, and the 11th and 12th floors of the Angelo King Building in CSB (College of St. Benilde). The rest of the building still houses teaching facilities like classrooms, etc… Parking is available but the guard checks if you are a guest before letting you in.
Most of the staff are regular employees, but there are positions where students work for their OJT. When we were there, there was a whole group of Japanese foreign exchange students working there for three months. But their three months were almost finished and they were leaving for home in a few days.
The hallway:
ROOM & LOCAL RATES
The hotel’s local rates are reasonable, starting at P3,850 net for regular rooms. We got the Deluxe Queen. The room includes a COMPLIMENTARY MINI BAR! You can drink the soft drinks in the mini bar for free and you also get the 2 KitKats for free! There is a charge if you consume the alcoholic drinks in the mini bar. They also give FREE WELCOME DRINKS that you may claim at the cafe downstairs. Buffet breakfast is also included in the room rate.
Here’s what the room looks like:
The COMPLIMENTARY MINI BAR:
Air-conditioning is cold, but you can adjust the temperature to your preference 🙂
The bathroom has real walls and a bidet 🙂
Other amenities include ample electrical outlets, an ironing board, a safe, and a flashlight.
There is a hair dryer in one of the drawers under the desk.
They also provide FREE WIFI. Here’s the Speedtest:
Check out these electronic DO NOT DISTURB & MAKE UP ROOM buttons:
Room Service Menu – this is the least expensive room service menu that I have seen for this level of hotel. The room service menu at other hotels usually average around P500-700 per order.
CAFE ROMANCON
There are many restaurants nearby. This is the La Salle / St. Scho area, after all. But we didn’t want to go out and leave the nice confines of the hotel. We had all our meals at Cafe Romancon, just beside the hotel lobby on the ground floor.
Weiner Schnitzel (P330) and I opted for rice instead of fries:
Norwegian Salmon (P390):
The Breakfast Buffet is from 6 AM – 10 AM:
OTHER FACILITIES
They have a pool in the penthouse. When I saw this place, I thought I had been transported to the province! It looks like a provincial resort, right? Like somewhere in Tagaytay or Laguna. But it’s actually just in Malate, Manila!
They have a gym on the 11th floor:
CHRISTMAS PROMOS
Hotel Benilde has some Christmas promos you might want to check out!
SUMMARY
This is one of the more affordable hotels at this level, probably the most affordable, value-for-money one, considering the P3,850 net price already includes buffet breakfast for 2, complimentary drinks for 2, and complimentary mini bar! Wifi is fast, as well.
Location-wise, it’s not really near anything except for the above-mentioned schools. But if all you need is some time away (staycation) or an affordable, semi-luxurious hotel to stay in in this area, consider Hotel Benilde. We had a nice time here – since the hotel is small, everything felt friendlier, cozier and more relaxed. We even chatted with some of the foreign students.
We had a very relaxing staycation at Hotel Benilde that we wanted to extend our stay, but we had other commitments so we couldn’t. But we’ll definitely keep Hotel Benilde in mind for our next staycation! That free mini bar is really selling it to me! 🙂
Hotel Benilde
Arellano cor. Estrada Street, Malate Manila
Contact: +63 2 230-5-230
Website: http://www.hotelbenilde.com
