Relative Joy

It’s been awhile since we had our annual New Year staycation due to the pandemic lockdowns. This year, we decided to do what we used to do – bond as a family. Again.

Because of many issues surrounding when and where and how our stay would be, we decided that this year, we would do the New World Hotel, which is right smack in front (or the back) of Greenbelt in Makati.

The good

Check-in was relatively quick because we checked in earlier than the New Year crowd. And because we stayed at the Residence Club floor, we did not have to queue with those who chose the lower grade rooms. The club floors offered not only outstanding views but also discounted services on many things as well – from spa service to food. There was also the all day refreshments and the night cocktails on the 24th floor, as well as the exclusive breakfast (without having to queue with the crowd at the cafe restaurant on the ground floor). The guest services people were pleasant and nice and so were the servers on the club floor.

As you would expect, the crowd would fill up at around 6pm and would really devour the evening cocktails (overflowing drinks and snacks and hors d’oeuvres) as if it were dinner. That’s a complement. Meaning that the spread was plenty and the food wasn’t bad.

Spa services are open until 1AM even on holidays. And they have pretty good spa services and a so-so gym that has good cardio machines.

The bad

With my 85 year old mom in tow, New World Hotel is not an ideal place for PWDs. Crossing from the hotel to the mall is a challenge if you’re on a wheelchair. Even the frontage of the hotel will require ambulating and crossing the center island, which is only half usable for a wheelchair while the other half will need someone to carry the wheelchair over. Added to that is the fact that the entrance to Greenbelt 3 fronting the New World Hotel wasn’t well designed by whoever the Ayalas commissioned. The ramp could have simply been made in front area rather than spend so much more on construction of that side PWD access. And you will see it all over Greenbelt, a mall that is not too PWD friendly.

Then there’s the food quality in the hotel. While I don’t eat a lot, there’s a lot of room for improvement on the food. The bacon was so rubbery that if I threw it against the wall, it would have bounced back. The bento box had fish that tasted awful and some sidings which I couldn’t figure out if they were condiments or real edible food.

The rooms are, well, outdated and this place really needs a serious makeover. I couldn’t figure out the interior design of the room but it has a cramp feeling, with all the furnitures all over the place. To say that the interior design was bad is an understatement. Even the toilet was so packed that you would feel claustrophobic inside. In addition, the doors were so narrow that you’d better be a size 36 and below, otherwise you won’t fit into the toilet door or shower area at all.

Parking here is a different story altogether. You had to park several levels down the basements and the only way to get to the lobby was to take the stairs. No elevators! How crazy is that?

The ugly

The housekeeping service is terrible. When I left my room, I turned off the DO NOT DISTURB light. And the housekeeper in front of our room was cleaning the other room.

When I got back back 4 hours later, our room was still unmade. Seriously? I called the guest services and they sent someone up to clean the room. But since we were there already, they just changed the towels and refilled the used toiletries. So much for service.

While the housekeeper profusely apologized for the delay because they were “busy”, that is a lame excuse. I know they were busy rushing other rooms because today would be important due to the influx of guests. They needed to clean up the rooms that were being vacated first. But that’s not fair to the guests who paid for more nights and of course, expect better customer experience compared to the one nighters who pack their families (and pets) into one room.

On a scale of 0-5, I’d give this property a 2. While they had some good optics, everything else was bad. And I wouldn’t really recommended staying here. At all… there are after all, better choices out there.

In tomorrow’s blog, let’s talk about their food.