Hometown Hotel is a new budget-friendly lodging that just opened three months ago in Makati City. Located near the intersection of EDSA and South Super Highway where the Magallanes Flyover can be found, the 19-room hotel is easily a sought-after layover by foreign backpackers who are mostly from European countries, the United States, Japan, South Korea and China. Some of them have stayed at the brand's other relatively new branch in Bacolod City which is actually the original one. And most guests are always on their way to a local destination in the provinces either to surf or simply see the Philippines' various natural attractions.

Local travelers have also recently been catching up in the hotel's guest list because of the latter's affordable room rates that are complemented with decent room features which some of the nearby lodgings at the fringes of Pasay City and Makati City seem to lack. For starters, Hometown Hotel's spacious bathrooms are equipped with basic rainshowers that can enhance one's relaxing stay. Bed sheets are clean, hallways are well-lit and have CCTVs, room interiors are far from gloomy, hotel security is topnotch and there's a common room for board games and simply hanging out with fellow guests.

My booked room

Spacious bathroom with rainshower

The hotel's hip roof deck

There are also stay add-ons that make one's booking worth every cent. For example, welcome drinks can be had at the reception area and guests can always drink more of the featured drink (during my stay, it was iced tea) during their stay. For Php1,300-worth solo stay, a complimentary breakfast is always a steal versus another nearby budget hotel's Php2,000++ rate. And, guests can have the breakfast as room service or at the hotel's roof deck where the ambiance is metro hip.

Should I stay at the hotel again, I hope to see free coffee at the reception area since it's something that can be another inventive add-on for guests like me.

The hotel facade

Access to free drinks and board games

Here are three tested reasons why Hometown Hotel Makati is easily a good choice in Metro Manila for layovers:

1) Affordable Rate For An Enhanced Stay

Designed with no-frills facilities, the hotel is easy to settle into after a long trip. There's no jarring design that agitates one's mood and no fancy room feature that makes the rate expensive. Each room has a cable TV and access to Wi-Fi. Since the hotel's guests are mostly backpackers, each room is equipped with spacious cabinets for storing stuff so that they won't have to be left on the floor. A big bonus to one's stay is the bathroom rainshower which other budget hotels in the area don't have. What's more, the complimentary breakfast makes the room rate one of the most competitive rates in Metro Manila.

For hotel rates, check here.

The hotel has available bunk beds for extra guests (P800 per extra guest)

Complimentary breakfast

Common area

2) Chicken Inasal For Dinner At The Roof Deck

Since the owners are based in Bacolod City, guests can look forward to the Negrense hospitality via dinner that's known worldwide as Chicken Inasal. Grilled in front of guests at the hip roof deck of the hotel, the delicious local favorite can be had for early dinner at 6:00 pm just in time for sunset.

Chicken Inasal, a Bacolod City pride

Grilling the chicken inasal at the hotel's roof deck

3) Accessible Location In Makati City

Guests arriving from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on board a taxi cab can be at the hotel in just less than 30 minutes on a good day. Those getting off at the MRT in Magallanes Station can easily walk under the Magallanes Flyover to reach the hotel.

While they're checked-in and have nothing much to do inside the room, they can also find it easy to reach the SM Mall of Asia and the Ayala Business District in different directions. A decent stroll in Bangkal a few blocks away can also lead to a nifty antique souvenir purchase at a thrift shop called Bodega that's owned by one lady named Aling Luring.

The view from the roof deck

The hotel front desk

Bangkal's Bodega by Aling Luring for souvenir antiques

An airport shuttle costs Php150 per guest or it's considered free for guests with a minimum stay of three days. A shuttle to SM Mall of Asia and Glorietta can be conveniently arranged at the front desk. Foreign guests who love to experience riding a jeepney can find the hotel's location accessible to a lot of local jeepney routes unlike in expensive commercial enclaves where other hotels are.

Regular guests of this hotel and its Bacolod branch can look forward to seeing a third branch opening in Quezon City's Tomas Morato area late this year.


Hometown Hotel Makati

Official website of Hometown Hotel Makati
Official Facebook fan page

Address: 57 EDSA, Bangkal, Makati City, Philippines 1233
(EDSA-Osmena/South Super Highway Intersection; across Magallanes MRT Station)
Phone: +6328053386
Mobile: (Globe) +639279593480
Email: [email protected]



Where to dine out in Makati City?

• The affordable steakhouse called Cow Dadi
• Local coffee, desserts and art at Art Circle Cafe
• The romantic Top of The Citi By Chef Jessie
• The cosmopolitan Museum Cafe
• Exquisite dishes at Restaurante Pia Y Damaso
• City Garden Grand Hotel's Spice Cafe
• The inventive Kabila
• The upscale Terraz
• Go Japanese at Saboten Philippines