RedDoorz Plus @ 1318 Residences

For ₱750, the cold aircon and car park make this a great place. The room has a wooden shelf with four sections, plus a climate control unit on a white surface and partly rolled wooden blinds. The wood adds a little warmth against the white wall, and the blinds seem designed to balance privacy with filtered daylight. It's a practical setup, though arranging things more deliberately could make the space look better. Overall, it feels geared toward useful storage and everyday comfort.

The price is hard to beat, and laundry costs 170 PHP for 7kg. It's also quiet, I hardly saw anyone else staying there. The hotel is near an LRT station, about 30 minutes from the airport, and in the U-belt area, which felt relatively safe, with students and fresh produce vendors nearby. Still, it feels more like a student dormitory than a hotel. It's a long way from downtown spots like Makati and Poblacion, and there aren't many places to eat out. Cleanliness was questionable: I killed three cockroaches during my three-day stay. There were no toiletries, no fresh sheets or towels, and no garbage collection, so a full bin stayed full until checkout. You'll also need 500 PHP for the check-in deposit. You get what you pay for.

The service was pretty good, and the location in U-belt is convenient. But I've stayed in two different rooms, and both lost power. One outage happened while I was showering during bar exam season, so I had to cut it short and head to the exam site. The Wi-Fi was slow and unreliable, including a whole day with no internet. Globe's signal was weak too, which would've made the Wi-Fi trouble easier to bear if it had been stronger. Fine for a short stay around the bar exam, but I wouldn't choose it for leisure.

During Teacher's Board on Oct 1st, several teachers staying at Red Doorz at 1318 Castans St, Sampaloc Manila weren't served breakfast. The front desk said it was too early and breakfast started at 6am. Since the charge included breakfast, the Exec Chef should have prepared something like a sandwich and coffee that didn't need cooking. The teachers had a full day of exams ahead and had to rush outside early to find food. What kind of customer service is that? My first review was deleted. If this one gets deleted, see you in court!