I am truly impressed with the Oasis Park Hotel. Situated on Belen Street in the Paco section of Manila, it is just adjacent to Paco Park, formerly a municipal cemetery during the Spanish Colonial Period. The neighborhood is relatively barren, by Manila’s usual standards, but this is advantageous, in a way. While the nearest 7-11 I managed to find was a half-kilometer away, the traffic was extremely light; even outside my room, there was virtual silence.

The hotel itself is clean and laid-out well. The staff is both friendly and accommodating. My flight brought me to Manila at 4am; I arrived to the Oasis Park Hotel at around 5am; they allowed me an early check-in at 6am. My reservation was for an Economy Hotel Room (costing ?1600 – $1060NT – $36US), but they put me in a Superior Hotel Room (worth 3120PHP – $2080NT – $70US) for no additional charge. The room requires a deposit which is fully-refunded at check-out.

The room itself was extremely clean and featured a king-sized bed with a beautifully comfortable king size mattress, three-person couch, table-and-chairs, kitchenette, and a marble bathroom with a shockingly large tub/shower. The room offers a huge closet space just outside an equally-sizable kitchenette, complete with sink, dual electric burners, and a 3 foot (meter) high fridge. Each room has an additional table-and-chairs outside the door on the veranda, next to some truly beautiful local flora. The beds are soft; my bed was a traditional mattress, though other rooms use foam mattresses – I laid on one comfortably, weighing 200lbs (90kg) and standing 6 feet (1.82 meters) tall and had no comfort problems. The air conditioner functioned fine. The wi-Fi internet works well, though up on the third floor it can get a bit spotty. Hot water is extremely hot, though the hotel could use to clean its shower heads (a common complaint I have in the Philippines, as water quality is low and clogs heads quickly).

Room service is offered 24-hours-a-day; meals taken in the restaurant/bar/pool area come with an additional 10% service charge while room service costs and additional 5% on top of that. The restaurant is white-linen and meets expectations of a fine dining restaurant; the bar offers a pool table and three large flat-screen televisions. The restaurant menu is impressive, easily accommodating all types of traveler from all locations across the world – from omelets to beans-on-toast to bangers-and-mash to New York Strip steak and a variety of pastas, sandwiches, and local food, as well. A double-shot cappuccino will run you ?130 ($90NT – $3US); French toast or pancakes are ?190 ($130NT – $4.50US); four large pork BBQ satays cost ?180 ($120NT – $4US); pastas are between ?300-400 ($200-$270NT – $7-$9US); 250 grams (9 ounces) of grilled king prawns cost ?840 ($560NT – $19US); the 10 ounce NY strip (with sauce, potatoes, and vegetables) is ?1490 ($990NT – $34US). The kitchen uses a flat-top grill, which I much prefer to the traditional grated grill. The pork BBQ satays are some of the best I’ve had and should not be overlooked, especially at the price offered. Overall, the prices are on the more expensive side, but the quality is there to back it up.

Outside of the room, there is a large pool area including a deep end that looked to be around 3 meters. In my opinion, the staff is above-the-curve in terms of friendliness and helpfulness, by my usual standards of what I am used to in the Philippines. The pictures one finds on their website are not trumped-up; the hotel is precisely as-advertised. Overall, I am doubtful that anyone can find any accommodation in Manila that comes close to what is offered here, at the price the Oasis Park Hotel charges. This will be my go-to destination from this point on, when staying in Manila.

The Oasis Park Hotel is located at 1032-34 Belen Street, Paco, Metro Manila; their phone number is 632 521-2371.  Their website is http://www.oasispark.com/.

***To view pictures of the The Oasis Park Hotel, check out my Facebook Album here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150186591145849.303354.502455848 ***