Makati Hotels: Where to Stay in Manila’s Upscale District

If you ask me where a first-time visitor should sleep in Manila, the answer almost always lands on Makati. Not because it’s the prettiest part of the city (it isn’t), or the most photogenic (Intramuros wins that), or the cheapest (it’s not even close). Makati keeps winning the question because it solves three problems in one neighbourhood: food, transport, and safety. You can land at NAIA tired, drop bags, walk to dinner, walk to a decent bar, and not spend the night calculating whether the side street outside is okay. That combination is rarer in Metro Manila than people who haven’t been here realise.

This guide contains affiliate links. If you book through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend hotels I’ve researched in real depth and would tell a friend to consider.

What follows is the full Makati hotel rundown: the four sub-neighbourhoods that actually matter, around twenty places to sleep across every budget tier from peso-counting hostel beds to ₱30,000 suites, and direct takes on which ones I’d rebook and which I’d skip. I won’t re-review the headline luxury picks here, those got the long treatment in the Manila luxury hotels guide. This is the working middle of the market plus a deep dive on Poblacion and the value end, which is where most travellers actually book.

Quick Reference: Makati Hotels at a Glance

Hotel	Sub-area	Best For	From ₱/night	Book
The Peninsula Manila	Makati CBD (Ayala Triangle)	Iconic luxury, business power lunches	₱20,000	Check prices
Raffles Makati	Makati CBD (Ayala Center)	All-suite luxury, couples	₱28,000	Check prices
Fairmont Makati	Makati CBD (Ayala Center)	Modern luxury, families with status	₱14,000	Check prices
Discovery Primea	Salcedo Village	Honeymoons, design-led luxury	₱15,000	Check prices
Makati Shangri-La	Makati CBD (Ayala Center)	Reliable five-star, families	₱13,000	Check prices
Holiday Inn & Suites Makati	Makati CBD (Glorietta)	First-timers, mid-range, families	₱6,500	Check prices
Ascott Makati	Makati CBD (Glorietta)	Long-stay, business, kitchens	₱9,500	Check prices
Citadines Salcedo Makati	Salcedo Village	Long-stay, families, business	₱5,800	Check prices
Somerset Olympia Makati	Makati CBD (Makati Avenue)	Long-stay, families, value	₱4,800	Check prices
Picasso Boutique	Salcedo Village	Couples, design-led mid-range	₱5,500	Check prices
St Giles Makati	Makati CBD (Buendia)	First-timers on a mid-range budget	₱3,800	Check prices
Berjaya Makati	Makati CBD (Makati Avenue)	Business, mid-range	₱4,500	Check prices
I’M Hotel Makati	Makati CBD (Kalayaan)	Couples, design, rooftop pool	₱5,500	Check prices
City Garden Hotel Makati	Makati CBD (Makati Avenue)	Nightlife, value, business	₱3,200	Check prices
Eurotel Makati	Makati CBD (Makati Avenue)	Solo, late arrivals, no-frills	₱2,400	Check prices
Hop Inn Makati Avenue	Makati CBD (Makati Avenue)	Solo, value, short stays	₱2,800	Check prices
Tune Hotel Makati	Makati CBD (Buendia)	Solo, transit nights	₱2,500	Check prices
Red Planet Amorsolo	Legazpi Village	Solo, business on a budget	₱2,200	Check prices
Lub d Philippines Makati	Poblacion (CBD edge)	Backpackers, social travellers	₱1,800	Check prices
Z Hostel	Poblacion	Backpackers, party crowd	₱1,200	Check prices
Hotel Durban Poblacion	Poblacion	Couples, walking-distance to bars	₱2,800	Check prices
Hotel Sogo Buendia	Makati CBD (Buendia)	Cheapest decent overnighters	₱1,400	Check prices

Prices are typical lead-in rack rates from recent searches. Off-peak (June, August, the few wet weeks of September) you’ll see luxury hotels run 25 to 35 percent cheaper. Book through the official Booking.com pages above and the prices are clean, with no hidden resort fees that some other countries try to slip in.

How Makati Breaks Down: The Four Sub-Neighbourhoods That Matter

Makati is bigger than people assume. The whole city sprawls across 27 square kilometres, but the part travellers actually care about is much smaller. There are four pockets you should know, and choosing between them is most of the decision.

Makati CBD and Ayala Center

The grid bordered by Ayala Avenue, Makati Avenue, Paseo de Roxas and Gil Puyat Avenue is what most people mean when they say “Makati”. Glass towers, embassies, the Philippine Stock Exchange, two of the country’s biggest malls (Glorietta and Greenbelt) layered on top of each other, and the Ayala MRT station feeding straight into Greenbelt 1.

This is where you stay if your priority is “I want to drop bags and walk to everything”. Greenbelt 5’s restaurants. Ayala Triangle Gardens for a morning run. The Salcedo or Legazpi market on weekends. A cocktail at the Peninsula or a late-night ramen at Mendokoro. Within fifteen minutes on foot you’ve covered most of the reasons people fly to Manila in the first place.

The downside is volume. Office workers fill the streets between 8am and 6pm, the air outside the malls is thick with diesel exhaust off Ayala, and weekend mall traffic on a Saturday afternoon will shorten your patience. None of that affects your hotel room, but it shapes the experience of stepping outside it. If you want quiet, this isn’t the area.

Salcedo Village

Walk south of Ayala Avenue, cross Paseo de Roxas, and you’re in Salcedo. It’s a residential pocket of mid-rise condos, leafy side streets, and Jaime C. Velasquez Park (everyone calls it Salcedo Park) where the Saturday market sets up from 7am to 2pm. The street grid here is the most pleasant to walk in all of Metro Manila, which is not a high bar but worth knowing.

The hotel scene leans serviced apartment: Citadines, Discovery Primea, the Picasso, smaller boutique condo-hotels you find by searching Booking. You’re a five-minute walk to Greenbelt and a ten-minute Grab to Poblacion, so you keep all the upside of the CBD without sleeping in the middle of it. For couples and longer stays this is the most underrated corner of Makati.

One specific tip: if you’re working remotely, Salcedo’s coffee shops (Toby’s Estate on Rufino, Single Origin in Salcedo, EDSA Beverage Design at Cooper Stadium) have better wifi and quieter tables than anywhere in the CBD proper. I’ve spent enough mornings nursing a flat white in this neighbourhood to vouch for it.

Legazpi Village

The mirror image of Salcedo, sitting north of Ayala Avenue. Same residential feel, similar serviced apartments and mid-rise hotels, and a Sunday market (Legazpi Sunday Market, runs 7am to 2pm) that’s a touch better for cooked food than Salcedo’s, which leans more towards produce and fresh fish. The two markets together make a brilliant weekend if you book a Friday-to-Monday in this neighbourhood.

Legazpi is closer to Greenbelt than Salcedo and slightly further from the MRT, which is the only reason it gets less attention from travellers. For people whose plans involve walking to Greenbelt restaurants and ordering Grabs everywhere else, Legazpi works at least as well.

Poblacion

Then there’s Poblacion. Drive five minutes north from the Ayala MRT and the streetscape changes: low-rise houses converted into bars, the smell of grilled pork from the corner sidewalk *ihaw-ihaw* stand, a queue outside Ramen Yushoken on Felipe Street that builds before sunset. This is where Manila’s drinking scene lives now. Bank Bar, OTO, Polilya, Run Rabbit Run, ABV, the cocktail rooms that get listed in every Asia’s Best Bars roundup are all within fifteen minutes’ walk of one corner.

The hotels here are different from the CBD: hostels, condo-conversion boutiques, a few small chains. Z Hostel, Lub d, Hotel Durban, the kind of places where a 24-year-old solo traveller and a thirty-something couple could end up at the same breakfast. Poblacion is louder than the CBD and not as polished, but for the bar-and-late-dinner crowd it’s the right neighbourhood. For families, retirees, or anyone in bed by 10pm, sleep in the CBD and Grab over for dinner instead.

How to Choose Where to Stay in Makati

Three questions answer most of the decision.

How are you getting around? If the plan is to use the Ayala MRT (Line 3) for day trips to Cubao or Quezon City, stay in the CBD around Ayala Avenue, ideally inside the Glorietta-Greenbelt block. The walk to the MRT entrance from Greenbelt 1 is two minutes covered. If you’ll Grab everywhere instead, you have more flexibility, and Salcedo or Legazpi become more attractive because they’re calmer at street level. Jeepneys you can ignore unless you specifically want the experience; for actual transport, Grab is faster and the fares are reasonable (₱200 to ₱400 across most of Metro Manila during normal hours).

Are you eating out or sitting at the bar? The Greenbelt and Glorietta restaurant scene is dense and reliable, anchored by Wildflour, Manam, Mecha Uma, Toyo Eatery (a short Grab to BGC, but Filipino fine dining’s reference point), and a stack of regional chains. Stay in the CBD and you walk to all of it. The bar scene is in Poblacion, which is a ₱150 Grab from the CBD or twenty minutes on foot. If you’ll be hitting bars three nights out of four, sleep in Poblacion and Grab to dinner. If it’s the reverse, sleep in the CBD and Grab to bars. Read more in the where to eat in Manila guide and the Manila nightlife piece for specifics.

How long are you staying? For one or two nights, the CBD wins on simplicity. For a week or more, serviced apartments in Salcedo or Legazpi (Citadines, Somerset, Ascott) cost less per night than a hotel and come with kitchens, washing machines, and proper desks. The math flips around night four. If you’re working remotely from Manila, this is non-negotiable, you want the apartment.

The Makati Luxury Tier (Brief, Because It’s Covered Elsewhere)

Five hotels define Makati’s luxury bracket. They’ve all been reviewed in depth in the Manila luxury hotels guide, so I’ll keep the summaries here short and use this section as a way of placing them in the wider Makati map.

The Peninsula Manila sits at the corner of Ayala and Makati Avenues, right at Ayala Triangle. Iconic lobby, the chocolate buffet on Saturday afternoons that everyone you’ve heard of has been to at least once, plush rooms that are showing their age slightly but service that still runs at world-class standard. Best for: business travellers who want the address, couples doing one big-night-of-the-trip, anyone who values lobby theatre. From around ₱20,000 a night.

Raffles Makati is the all-suite property next to Fairmont in the Raffles complex behind Greenbelt 5. The country’s only Raffles, butler service, the largest entry-level room in Manila luxury, and a top-floor pool that runs at near-rooftop standard without the noise of a real one. From around ₱28,000.

Fairmont Makati shares a building with Raffles and a lobby. It’s the more “hotel-like” of the two: bigger, more guests, more amenities (the pool deck is excellent), and more accessible pricing. Best Fairmont in Southeast Asia for the price-to-experience ratio. From around ₱14,000.

Discovery Primea is the Salcedo Village luxury option, opposite the Peninsula in style: contemporary, sleek, the infinity pool with a Makati skyline view that genuinely is the best in the city. Honeymoons and milestone trips end up here. From around ₱15,000.

Makati Shangri-La on Ayala Avenue is the long-running family-friendly five-star. After a 2020 closure for renovations, it reopened in late 2024 as the cleanest, most updated of the legacy luxury properties. The pool is huge, breakfast is excellent, kids’ programming exists. From around ₱13,000.

One historical note: Mandarin Oriental Manila closed permanently in 2014 and was demolished. If you see it on older lists, that’s why it’s gone. The site is now home to The Estate Makati, a residential tower.

The rest of this guide is the working middle and the value end, where I’m going deeper.

Makati CBD: Mid-Range Hotels Worth Paying For

The mid-range bracket in Makati (roughly ₱4,000 to ₱9,000 a night) is the most competitive in the country. Service is generally tight, locations are central, and you’re rarely more than a fifteen-minute walk from somewhere good to eat. These are the hotels I keep going back to.

Holiday Inn & Suites Makati: Mid-Range All-Rounder

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT (Line 3), 6 min walk through Glorietta
To Greenbelt 5: 8 min walk
Best For: First-time visitors, families with kids, business stays under five nights
From: ₱6,500/night (~$115)

If a friend asked me “we want a comfortable hotel in Makati, near the malls, where the kids can swim, breakfast is included, and we don’t need a five-star price tag,” I’d send them here. The Holiday Inn & Suites occupies the same Ayala Center block as Glorietta and is connected to it by a covered walkway, which sounds trivial until it’s noon and 33 degrees outside.

Rooms are bigger than the Holiday Inn brand standard (the “Suites” half of the name is real, base rooms are 35 square metres), the pool deck is a proper pool deck rather than the apologetic five-metre lap I’ve seen at other mid-range Manila chains, and the breakfast buffet runs to 10:30am which matters if you’ve come off a red-eye. It’s the easiest first booking I can recommend in Makati.

What’s not great: the lobby gets crowded around check-in time, and the in-house restaurant is fine without being a destination. You’ll eat at Greenbelt anyway. Also, the connecting bridge to Glorietta is sometimes closed late at night (the mall shuts at 10pm), which means a 90-second outdoor walk if you’re coming back from a midnight cocktail.

Check prices at Holiday Inn & Suites Makati

Ascott Makati: Long-Stay Apartments at Glorietta

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT (Line 3), 5 min walk
To Greenbelt 5: 6 min walk
Best For: Long stays, business travellers, couples wanting kitchen and laundry
From: ₱9,500/night (~$170) for a studio, ₱14,000 for a one-bedroom

Ascott’s been at Glorietta 4 since the early 2000s and they’ve earned the address. Studios are around 45 square metres, one-bedrooms push 65, and they all come with a real kitchen (induction hob, oven, full-size fridge) and an in-unit washer-dryer. The pool deck on the upper floor genuinely is the rare urban-Manila pool that gets sun for most of the day without high-rise shadows.

It works on two levels. As a hotel, it’s well-run, the breakfast is good, and the location is unbeatable. As a serviced apartment, it makes a six-night stay feel like an actual home base instead of an extended hotel session, you can do laundry instead of paying ₱500 per kilo of in-house service, you can buy groceries at Landmark Supermarket downstairs, you can have friends over without the front desk doing the eyebrow-raise.

Downside: weekday breakfasts get crowded with corporate guests between 7 and 8:30, and the in-house restaurant prices are pitched for business per-diems rather than self-funded travellers. Eat downstairs at Glorietta or Greenbelt.

Check prices at Ascott Makati

Citadines Salcedo Makati: Smart Long-Stay in the Quieter Half

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT (Line 3), 12 min walk through Salcedo
To Salcedo Park: 4 min walk
Best For: Long stays, families, anyone who wants Salcedo Saturday Market on the doorstep
From: ₱5,800/night (~$103)

Citadines sits two blocks off Salcedo Park and a short walk from the Saturday market, which is one of those small things that completely shapes a stay. You wake up Saturday, walk three minutes to the market, eat a *bibingka* off a banana leaf, drink a halo-halo, and you’ve already had a better morning than 80 percent of Makati visitors that weekend.

The rooms are smaller than Ascott’s (studios are 28 square metres) but the price difference is significant, and Salcedo’s quieter street grid makes the building’s quieter feel less of a marketing claim and more of a daily reality. It’s serviced-apartment style, kitchenettes rather than full kitchens, washing machine at the end of the corridor instead of in-unit, but breakfast is included on most rate categories and the pool is a genuine workhorse-sized pool.

Downside: the walk to Greenbelt is fifteen minutes through Salcedo’s residential streets, which is fine in the morning but dark and quiet at midnight. Grab works for ₱100 each way, just budget for it. Also, the Saturday market is a magnet, so the area gets a small surge of weekend foot traffic the rest of Salcedo doesn’t usually see.

Check prices at Citadines Salcedo Makati

Somerset Olympia Makati: Old-School Long-Stay Value

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 10 min walk via Makati Avenue
To Greenbelt 5: 12 min walk
Best For: Families, longer trips, value-seekers wanting full apartments
From: ₱4,800/night (~$86) for a studio

Somerset is the older of the Ascott family’s Makati properties (Olympia opened in 1997) and that shows in the building style: it’s brick-and-balcony rather than glass-and-steel, with bigger rooms than the newer condo-hotels and a slightly tired feel that some travellers love and some don’t. The studios start at 45 square metres, every unit has a full kitchen with a four-burner gas hob, and the price-per-square-metre is among the best in the CBD.

I’ve put friends here for two-week stays and the verdict has been consistent: the location is fine, the apartments are bigger than they expected, and the building feels like a residential block rather than a hotel, which they meant as a compliment. The pool is rooftop with a view to the Salcedo skyline, breakfast is decent, and the staff turnover is famously low (most of the front desk has been there a decade or more).

Not for: anyone who wants a polished modern check-in. The lobby is functional rather than designed, and the lifts have a rumble that I find charming and other people don’t.

Check prices at Somerset Olympia Makati

Picasso Boutique Serviced Residences: Salcedo Design Pick

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 11 min walk
To Salcedo Park: 3 min walk
Best For: Couples, design-led travellers, mid-range with character
From: ₱5,500/night (~$98)

The Picasso is the rare Manila mid-range that actually feels like someone with taste designed it. The lobby has art on the walls (real art, by name-recognised Filipino artists), the rooms run a bit dark but in the moody-cinematic way rather than the depressing way, and the rooftop has a decent infinity pool overlooking Salcedo. It’s a serviced residence with hotel-style daily housekeeping and a small breakfast buffet, which puts it in a useful gap between bare-bones Citadines and full-service Ascott.

The Salcedo location is half the appeal. You’re four minutes from the park, three minutes from the Saturday market, six minutes from the closest fine-dining restaurants, and ten minutes from Greenbelt. For a four-night couples trip, this might be my single favourite Makati booking under ₱8,000.

One real flaw: the corridors and lifts are narrow. With one suitcase you don’t notice. With two and a stroller you notice. Pack lighter than feels reasonable.

Check prices at Picasso Boutique

St Giles Makati: First-Timer Workhorse

Nearest Station: Buendia LRT (Line 1) and Ayala MRT, both 8 min walk
To Greenbelt 5: 10 min walk
Best For: First-timers on a mid-range budget, business stays
From: ₱3,800/night (~$67)

St Giles sits at the southern edge of the CBD on Buendia, which is two MRT stops south of Ayala but only a ten-minute walk away on a quiet morning. It’s an unfussy four-star, the kind of place where the rooms are 28 to 32 square metres, the bed is good, the curtains are blackout, and the housekeeping is reliable. There’s a proper pool, a 24-hour gym, breakfast that runs to 10am, and the staff have been there long enough to remember repeat guests.

Where it shines is on consistency at price. Most other CBD hotels at this rate have one element that breaks (the bathroom, the air-con, the wifi), and St Giles doesn’t, which is rarer in Manila than you’d think. Don’t expect personality, expect competence.

One downside: the immediate neighbourhood (Gil Puyat between Pasong Tamo and Ayala) is busy with traffic and not the most pleasant walk. Once you’re at Ayala or Greenbelt you’re fine.

Check prices at St Giles Makati

Berjaya Makati: Mid-Range with a Pool

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 6 min walk via Eduque
To Greenbelt 5: 7 min walk
Best For: Business travellers, mid-range price hunters
From: ₱4,500/night (~$80)

Berjaya is on the corner of Eduque and Makati Avenue, which puts it in walking distance of both Greenbelt and Burgos Street (Poblacion’s edge). Rooms are functional rather than stylish, the pool is bigger than the price suggests, and the breakfast buffet is a notch better than expected for a mid-tier hotel. It’s owned by a Malaysian chain and that shows in the food, the curries at the lunch buffet are surprisingly good.

What’s noticeable when you walk in: the bones of the building are nicer than the finish. It’s an older property that’s been refurbished in pieces, and some pieces (the lobby, the executive floor) feel newer than others (some lift cars, some corridor carpets). For the rate, this is fair.

One specific thing to know: ask for a room facing east (away from Makati Avenue) for quieter nights. The rooms above the building’s front doors hear the late-night taxi queue.

Check prices at Berjaya Makati

I’M Hotel Makati: Design Boutique with the Big Pool

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 14 min walk; Grab is easier
To Burgos/Poblacion: 5 min walk
Best For: Couples, nightlife-curious travellers, rooftop pool people
From: ₱5,500/night (~$98)

I’M Hotel sits on Kalayaan Avenue at the edge of where the CBD meets Poblacion, and that location is the whole point. The rooftop pool runs along the building’s spine with the Makati skyline as a backdrop, and at sunset it’s the photo your friends will text you about. Rooms are bigger than the price tier suggests (entry-level kings start at 36 square metres) and the design language is contemporary in a non-generic way: dark wood, marble bathrooms, real art rather than mass-produced prints.

The hotel houses Antidote, the cocktail bar that consistently makes Asia’s 50 Best lists. You don’t have to go up there to enjoy the rest of the property, but if you’re already a guest it would be silly not to. The breakfast restaurant looks across the same skyline, just at a lower angle.

The flaw is the location’s other half: Kalayaan can be loud at midnight, and Burgos Street’s nightlife economy includes the kind of bars I don’t recommend (the strip-club-adjacent stretch). Stay east of the I’M block and you’re fine. Walk west on Burgos at 2am and you’ll see why I mentioned it.

Check prices at I’M Hotel Makati

City Garden Hotel Makati: Nightlife Value Pick

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 12 min walk; Grab is easier
To Burgos/Poblacion: 4 min walk
Best For: Nightlife visitors, value-conscious business stays
From: ₱3,200/night (~$57)

City Garden Hotel Makati is on Makati Avenue between Kalayaan and Eduque, in the strip that locals call the Burgos District because it’s the corridor leading to the bar street. The bones of the hotel are basic three-star, the rooms are 24 to 30 square metres, and the building is older than most of its neighbours. What City Garden offers in return is location-plus-rooftop: the Firefly Roofdeck on the 32nd floor is a working bar with one of the better Makati skyline views, and as a guest you walk straight in.

For the price, this is a competent base if your priority is being close to the bars and not paying ₱5,000 a night for the privilege. The breakfast is generic but functional, the wifi works, the air-con is cold (over-cold in some rooms, ask for a different one if it bothers you).

It’s not for: families or anyone who doesn’t want to be in earshot of the late-night street. The Burgos area is loud until 3am most nights of the week.

Check prices at City Garden Hotel Makati

Makati Budget: Hostels, Capsule-Style, and Properly Cheap Hotels

Below ₱3,000 a night, the Makati hotel market splits cleanly between branded budget chains (Eurotel, Hop Inn, Tune, Red Planet) which give you a clean room and not much else, and Poblacion hostels (Z Hostel, Lub d) which throw in a social scene and a rooftop. The choice between them is about whether you want to meet people or just sleep.

Eurotel Makati: No-Frills Cheap and Reliable

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 10 min walk
To Burgos: 5 min walk
Best For: Solo travellers, late-night arrivals, peso-counters
From: ₱2,400/night (~$43)

Eurotel is a Filipino-owned chain that’s spread across Metro Manila with a recognisable model: small functional rooms, 24-hour check-in, basic amenities, and a price tag that comes in below most international budget brands. The Makati branch on Makati Avenue near the corner of Kalayaan is one of their better-located properties.

What you get: a 16 to 20 square metre room with a queen bed, en suite bathroom, working air-con, basic toiletries, wifi, a flatscreen TV, and a desk. What you don’t get: breakfast, a pool, a fitness centre, or any sense that someone designed the lobby. The rooms are clean, the staff are practical rather than warm, and at this price that’s the deal.

The straight read: if you’re flying in past midnight and need somewhere to crash before exploring properly the next day, Eurotel works. If you want a hotel as part of the experience, look further up this list.

Check prices at Eurotel Makati

Hop Inn Makati Avenue: Thai-Style Budget Done Right

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 11 min walk
To Greenbelt 5: 13 min walk
Best For: Solo travellers, short stays, value with a clean lobby
From: ₱2,800/night (~$50)

Hop Inn is the Erawan Group’s budget brand from Thailand, and they ported the formula across to Manila a few years back. The Makati Avenue branch sits on the south end of Burgos, which means you’re a five-minute walk from the bars but in a slightly less rowdy stretch than the I’M Hotel side.

The model is straightforward: small clean rooms, 18 to 22 square metres, queen bed, modern bathroom with a proper hot shower, wifi that works, air-con that’s reliable. No pool, no breakfast included on most rates, no spa. What sets Hop Inn apart from Eurotel is the lobby and the consistency: it feels like a hotel rather than a budget motel, the staff are visibly trained, and the rooms are slightly bigger and noticeably newer.

For the price, Hop Inn is the most consistent budget hotel in Makati. I’ve sent solo female travellers here without hesitation; the security is good, the front desk is staffed 24/7, and the location is well-lit at night.

Check prices at Hop Inn Makati Avenue

Tune Hotel Makati: Airport-Stay Pricing in the CBD

Nearest Station: Buendia LRT (Line 1), 7 min walk
To Ayala MRT: 14 min walk
Best For: Solo travellers, transit nights, peso-counters
From: ₱2,500/night (~$45)

Tune is the AirAsia-affiliated budget chain that runs on the Ryanair model: cheap base rate, charge for everything else (towels, wifi, air-con time on some rates). The Makati branch on Buendia Avenue is the best-located Tune in the country, walkable to the CBD without being in it.

Rooms are tiny but functional, 14 to 17 square metres, with the brand’s signature red-and-white scheme and a bed that’s better than the price suggests. The bathroom is en suite, the wifi is included on most current rates, the air-con is included always, and check-in is fast. There’s no pool, no gym, no real lobby.

The straight read: this is a bed for the night, not a hotel stay. For a single overnight before flying out, or for a solo traveller who just wants to sleep, it works. For longer than three nights you’ll want more.

Check prices at Tune Hotel Makati

Red Planet Amorsolo Makati: Legazpi Village Bargain

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 9 min walk through Legazpi
To Greenbelt 5: 8 min walk
Best For: Solo travellers, business on a budget, Legazpi Sunday Market visitors
From: ₱2,200/night (~$39)

Red Planet’s Amorsolo branch is hidden on a side street in Legazpi Village, which is unusually quiet for a budget hotel in the CBD. The rooms are 16 to 20 square metres, the design is the brand’s standard red-and-white box, and the bed is firm without being uncomfortable. There’s no pool and no real lobby, but the breakfast room serves a basic Filipino breakfast and the wifi is reliable.

What makes the Amorsolo branch stand out from other Red Planets in Manila is the location: you’re inside Legazpi, two minutes from the Sunday market, eight minutes from Greenbelt, and surrounded by leafy residential streets rather than a roaring main road. It’s a quiet sleep at a noisy-area price.

The flaw is consistency: Red Planet rooms vary in age and refresh state, and you might get a slightly tired one on first allocation. Ask politely at check-in for a recently refurbished room and they usually move you.

Check prices at Red Planet Amorsolo

Hotel Sogo Buendia: Cheapest Decent Option in the CBD

Nearest Station: Buendia LRT (Line 1), 5 min walk
To Ayala MRT: 13 min walk via Pasong Tamo
Best For: Cheapest acceptable bed, late arrivals, very-short stays
From: ₱1,400/night (~$25)

Hotel Sogo is a homegrown Filipino chain with a particular reputation: it’s the country’s most famous “drive-in” / short-stay brand, used for everything from late-night transits to discreet rendezvous. The Buendia branch is the most location-useful of the chain’s Makati properties, near the LRT and walkable to the CBD.

I’ll be straight: the rooms are clean (Sogo is fastidious about housekeeping), the air-con works, the bed is fine, and the price is the lowest in the CBD by some margin. The vibe is pragmatic rather than welcoming, the lobby has a transactional feel, and you’ll see the full cross-section of Manila’s hourly clientele wandering through. None of that’s a problem if you know what you’re walking into.

Who shouldn’t book this: anyone uncomfortable with the chain’s reputation, families with kids, anyone wanting hotel-like service. Who should: solo travellers between flights, peso-counters who just need a clean bed for one night, and travellers who’ve stayed at Sogo before and know the deal.

Check prices at Hotel Sogo Buendia

Poblacion Hostels and Boutique: Where the Bar Crowd Sleeps

If you’re in Manila for the bars more than the malls, sleep in Poblacion. The walk to OTO, Bank Bar, ABV, Polilya, Run Rabbit Run, and the rest of the Asia’s-50-Best list is measured in minutes, not Grab fares. The catch is the streetscape, which is louder, less polished, and more exposed to the city than the CBD. For some travellers that’s the appeal; for others it’s reason to stay one neighbourhood over.

Z Hostel: The Original Poblacion Anchor

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 18 min walk; Grab from CBD ₱120
To Burgos/Don Pedro intersection: 5 min walk
Best For: Backpackers, solo travellers, social drinkers
From: ₱1,200/night dorm bed, ₱3,400/night private (~$22 to $61)

Z Hostel opened in 2014 and pretty much created Poblacion’s reputation as a backpacker neighbourhood. The rooftop bar (Z Hostel Roofdeck) is open to non-guests and turns into one of the most reliably busy bars in Manila on Friday and Saturday nights, which is great when you want to meet people and slightly inconvenient when you want to sleep before midnight.

The dorm rooms are clean and well-ventilated, with thoughtful touches (proper reading lights, individual lockers big enough for a 50-litre backpack, USB charging at every bunk). The private rooms upstairs are basic, but the bed is good, the air-con is cold, and the wifi works. Breakfast is included on dorm rates and decent.

What’s not great: the rooftop bar runs late, and rooms in the building’s central core hear it. Ask for a room on the floors furthest from the rooftop if you’re a light sleeper, or accept that part of the deal is the soundtrack. Also, the lifts are slow during morning checkout.

Check prices at Z Hostel

Lub d Philippines Makati: Polished Hostel-Hotel Hybrid

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 11 min walk via Pasay Road
To Burgos: 6 min walk
Best For: Backpackers wanting more polish, solo travellers, design-led budget
From: ₱1,800/night dorm bed, ₱4,200/night private (~$32 to $75)

Lub d is a Bangkok-headquartered hostel brand that opened their Makati property in 2019 with a design vocabulary that splits the difference between hostel and lifestyle hotel. The lobby has a coffee bar, the pool is a real swimmable pool, the dorm beds are pod-style with curtain privacy, and the private rooms are unusually well-finished for the price tier.

What I like specifically: the building sits on the CBD edge of Poblacion (technically on Pasay Road, which is the boundary), so you’re a five-minute walk into the bar district but a ten-minute walk back into Greenbelt. That straddle-position works for travellers who want a little of both worlds. The pool deck is also one of the best things about staying here, it gets sun for most of the afternoon and the loungers are real loungers.

What’s not great: pricing has crept up since launch, and at ₱4,200 for a private the value gap with brand-name three-stars closes. Also, the front desk runs full-service hotel-style during peak check-in and gets a queue.

Check prices at Lub d Philippines Makati

Hotel Durban Poblacion: Boutique Hidden in the Bar District

Nearest Station: Ayala MRT, 17 min walk; Grab from CBD ₱120
To Burgos/Felipe Street: 3 min walk
Best For: Couples on a mid-budget, walking-distance-to-bars stays
From: ₱2,800/night (~$50)

Hotel Durban is the kind of property that flies under the radar even in Poblacion. It’s a small, boutique-style mid-rise on Durban Street, three minutes from the densest cluster of cocktail bars, and the rooms are unexpectedly well-presented for the price. Polished concrete floors, dark-wood headboards, decent linens, a small but functional desk.

The building’s compact, around 30 rooms across four floors, and the breakfast is served in a small ground-floor cafe that turns into a low-key bar in the evening. There’s no pool, no gym, no spa, and the lobby seats four people. What there is: location, decent design, and the rare Poblacion mid-range that doesn’t feel like a glorified hostel or a tired budget chain.

One thing to know: the immediate streets are loud on weekend nights. If you’re a 1am bedtime, this is fine. If you’re an 11pm bedtime, ask for a room facing the back courtyard rather than Durban Street.

Check prices at Hotel Durban

Why You Might Not Want to Stay in Makati

I’ve spent most of this guide arguing for Makati. Time for the other side, because not every traveller should sleep here.

If your trip is mostly about Intramuros, Binondo, Quiapo, and Manila Bay sunsets, you’re spending an hour each way in Grab traffic to get to the historical core. The right answer for that kind of trip is the Manila Hotel or a heritage stay near Intramuros. The hub guide breaks this down by area at where to stay in Manila.

If your trip is mostly about BGC’s bar scene, fine dining, art walks, and corporate Manila, the case for Makati is weaker. BGC has its own dense cluster of restaurants and bars (a cleaner, more polished version of Poblacion in some ways), and the Grab from BGC to Poblacion is short enough that BGC works as a Manila base if your week leans modern rather than historic.

If your stay is under 24 hours and centred on flying out, sleep in Pasay near NAIA. Makati to NAIA is twenty minutes off-peak and 75 minutes during morning rush, and the airport hotels (Belmont, Marriott Manila, Conrad) eliminate the morning-traffic gamble.

If you want a beach holiday with a Manila stopover, sleep at one of the Entertainment City casinos (Solaire, Okada, Hyatt Regency Manila City of Dreams) for one night. They’re built for the airport-to-resort hop and have direct fast transfers to the airport. None of that experience benefits from being in Makati.

If you want quiet, stay in Salcedo or Legazpi, not the CBD core. Or stay outside Makati altogether, in Ortigas (Marco Polo, EDSA Shangri-La) or in newer condo-stays in Mandaluyong.

Getting To and Around Makati

From NAIA, Makati is twenty minutes off-peak and up to 75 minutes during the morning rush. Grab is the easiest option, ₱400 to ₱650 depending on time of day and surge. Yellow taxis at the airport are also fine if you insist they use the meter (the words to use are “metered, please”). The official airport bus runs hourly to Makati but takes longer than Grab once you factor in the wait.

Once you’re in Makati, the Ayala MRT station (Line 3) connects you north to Cubao and Quezon City, and south to Pasay (the EDSA station near Mall of Asia). The fare is ₱13 to ₱30. It runs from 5am to 10pm and gets crowded between 7 and 9am and again 5 to 8pm.

The LRT-1 Line at Buendia connects you down to Pasay and the airport-area, also ₱13 to ₱30. Use this for evening trips to Mall of Asia or to one of the Manila Bay sunset spots.

Within Makati itself, walking is the answer for distances under fifteen minutes during daylight hours. Grab covers everything else, fares of ₱120 to ₱250 for most CBD-to-Poblacion or CBD-to-Salcedo trips. Jeepneys exist and you can ride them, the standard is the route number written on the windscreen and ₱13 to ₱20 fare paid in cash to the driver, but for tourists the calculus is rarely worth the saved peso. Read more on the city’s transport in the getting around Manila guide.

Makati By Traveller Type: Quick Picks

First-time visitor on a 3 to 5 night stay: Holiday Inn & Suites Makati at Glorietta. Walk to the malls, walk to the MRT, breakfast included, kid-friendly pool, mid-range price.

Couples on a milestone trip: Discovery Primea (Salcedo) or Raffles Makati. Both are full-luxury, both have the kind of rooms and pools you’ll remember. Discovery Primea is the better view, Raffles is the better-feeling space.

Couples on a mid-range budget: Picasso Boutique in Salcedo or I’M Hotel Makati. Picasso for design and quiet, I’M for the rooftop and the proximity to Poblacion bars.

Backpackers and solo budget travellers: Z Hostel for the social scene and rooftop, Lub d for a slightly more polished alternative. Both put you in walking range of Poblacion’s bar street.

Families with kids: Makati Shangri-La (after the 2024 reopening) for the big pool and the kids’ programming, or Holiday Inn & Suites for value with similar amenities. Skip Poblacion entirely with kids in tow.

Long-stay (a week or more): Citadines Salcedo or Ascott Makati for the mid-range sweet spot, Somerset Olympia for value. All three give you a kitchen, a washer, and a desk that survives a working week.

Business travellers: Fairmont Makati for status, Holiday Inn & Suites for value, Ascott if you’re staying more than four nights.

Nightlife seekers: Hotel Durban or Lub d in Poblacion. Walking distance is the entire point.

Booking Tips for Makati Hotels

A few things I’ve learned over enough Makati hotel bookings to fill a small spreadsheet.

Book directly through Booking.com or Agoda for the best base rates. The hotel’s own website is sometimes cheaper, sometimes not, and the price gap rarely justifies the lost benefits of Booking’s Genius level discounts (typically 10 to 15 percent for repeat bookers). Don’t bother with hotel-search aggregators that quote a price they can’t honour.

Peak season is December. The “ber months” (September through December, locally known by the -ber suffix) build into Christmas, and the run from mid-November to early January sees rates 30 to 50 percent above off-peak. If your dates are flexible, January through April is mostly cheaper without much weather penalty (it’s dry season).

Off-peak is August. The end of typhoon season pushes the soft window into August, and most non-luxury hotels run their best rates of the year then. Weather-wise it’s dicey, you’ll see rain most days, but the rooms are 25 to 35 percent below peak.

Check the cancellation policy before booking long. Manila weather and political cycles can both shift plans on short notice. Booking.com’s “free cancellation up to 24 hours before” rates are usually only ₱200 to ₱500 more than the non-refundable equivalent, and that’s worth paying nine times out of ten.

For longer stays (seven nights or more), email the hotel directly. Most Makati serviced apartments will quote a weekly rate that beats the seven-times-nightly listed price by 10 to 20 percent, and a monthly rate that’s 30 to 40 percent cheaper. Booking.com doesn’t always show these.

FAQ: Makati Hotels

Is Makati safe for tourists?

Yes, generally. Makati CBD is among the safest districts in Metro Manila, with visible police presence around Ayala Avenue and Greenbelt, well-lit streets, and few of the petty-crime pressure points common in older parts of the city. Standard urban awareness applies: don’t flash phones in jeepneys, don’t walk alone on Burgos Street late at night if you’re uncomfortable, and use Grab rather than street taxis after midnight.

Where in Makati is best for first-time visitors?

The Ayala Center / Glorietta block. You’re walking distance from the MRT, both major malls, the restaurants of Greenbelt, and Ayala Triangle Gardens. Holiday Inn & Suites and Makati Shangri-La are the best choices in this zone for first-timers, and Fairmont if budget allows.

How much does a hotel in Makati cost per night?

The full range runs from around ₱1,200 (~$22) for a hostel dorm bed to ₱30,000 (~$535) for a luxury suite. Mid-range hotels with a pool and breakfast are typically ₱4,000 to ₱8,000 (~$70 to $140). Budget chains like Hop Inn and Eurotel sit at ₱2,200 to ₱2,800 (~$40 to $50).

Should I stay in Makati or BGC?

Makati if your trip leans towards the historic and food sides of Manila (Intramuros, Binondo, Filipino dining, Poblacion bars). BGC if your trip leans towards modern Manila (art walks, cleaner streets, fine dining, rooftop bars without the Poblacion grit). Both have a comparable luxury hotel selection, and the Grab between them is fifteen minutes off-peak.

What’s the difference between Salcedo and Legazpi villages?

Salcedo is south of Ayala Avenue with the Saturday market. Legazpi is north of Ayala Avenue with the Sunday market. Both have the same residential calm and serviced-apartment-leaning hotel scene; pick by which weekend market you’d rather be near. Legazpi is marginally closer to Greenbelt; Salcedo is marginally closer to the MRT.

Is Poblacion safe at night?

Mostly yes, with caveats. The Burgos Street to Felipe Street corridor that hosts the cocktail bars is busy and well-lit until 2am, with security in front of most venues. The streets immediately west of Burgos (towards JP Rizal) are quieter and require a touch more awareness, especially solo. Use Grab between bars if you’re moving more than two blocks, and carry minimal cash.

Can I walk from Makati to Greenbelt safely?

From most CBD hotels yes, daytime and into mid-evening. The Ayala Center pedestrian network connects Glorietta to Greenbelt directly, and the streets between Ayala Avenue and Salcedo are pedestrian-friendly during daylight. Walking back to a Salcedo or Legazpi hotel after midnight is fine but feels quieter; Grab is ₱100 if you’d rather.

Does Makati have a beach?

No. Makati is inland Metro Manila with no coastline. The closest swimmable beach is in Batangas, around two and a half hours south. Manila Bay is technically reachable but is a working harbour, not a swim spot. For beaches you’ll want to fly out to Palawan, Boracay, or Siargao after the Manila stopover.