I used to think Hotel Benilde was simply a high-rise playground building for culinary and Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) students from the College of Saint Benilde. I am guilty of downplaying the establishment as merely having the basic necessities needed for elevated education, assuming it was still not up to par with industry standards. Oh man, how mistaken I was—when, after stepping foot inside its lobby, I quickly noticed how everything is run professionally, just like the other fancy hotels I’ve been to.
Where to Stay in Manila: Hotel Benilde Maison De La Salle
A 4-Star Hotel for Business and Leisure Travelers
Apart from realizing Hotel Benilde Maison De La Salle isn’t just an expansive workshop venue for students, I was also pleased to learn that it is a four-star-rated hotel. Situated right smack in the busy Taft neighborhood of Malate, Manila, the hotel enjoys a very strategic location. In fact, prior to my checking in, I had just come from exploring some of Manila's top museums: the National Gallery, the National Museum of Natural History, the Intramuros Museum, and the Destileria Limtuaco Museum. Getting to the hotel took only about ten minutes via a Grab car.
The check-in process concluded like clockwork, with the young receptionist thoroughly explaining to me all the amenities the hotel provided, the breakfast schedule, and the checkout time before handing me my keycard.
The reception desk stands right in front of the main entrance. It is flanked on both sides by the small lobby and the restaurant Cafe Romancon—known for its delicious medley of fusion cuisines (thanks to the world-class culinary program of the College of Saint Benilde).
Modish and Spacious Accommodations
Hotel Benilde Maison De La Salle offers five different types of rooms: dormitory room, superior twin room, deluxe queen, deluxe king, one-bedroom suite, and the presidential suite. I was billeted in the thirty-square-meter Deluxe Queen room—which I found roomy enough even for two people.
Everything I look for in a hotel room was inside: a working station, a large LED-screen TV, a mini-refrigerator, a couch for reading a book, a soft queen-sized bed, a spacious closet, and an airy bathroom (with complete toiletries and vanity kits, plus excellent water pressure and a bidet). The warm colors and the various locations of the lighting fixtures gave me many options for achieving warm illumination inside the room—or otherwise, the perfect combination of lights that was not too dark and not too bright.
As for their other rooms, the Deluxe King also measures thirty square meters, while the One-Bedroom Suite spans sixty-one square meters, and the Presidential Suite covers ninety square meters.
Cafe Romancon
Highly rated in user-submitted reviews across various travel websites, Cafe Romancon has earned a stellar reputation as a place where culinary students of Benilde show off their cooking skills. True to it, after just one bite from the salmon dish I ordered, I already understood all the raves.
Cafe Romancon is located on the ground floor of the hotel, where non-guests can also dine in and enjoy the restaurant's international menu.
The hotel's breakfast inclusion is also served at Cafe Romancon. Not to be outdone by other leading hotels in Manila, they serve a more-than-modest array of breakfast choices catering to both Filipino and foreign tastes.
Other Premium Amenities
Because a TV crew from GMA coincided with my stay, I wasn’t able to fully explore the other amenities of the hotel, like the physical fitness gym, the rooftop swimming pool, and Vatel Restaurant—which offers a more fine-dining vibe, also located at the rooftop. It’s not that the crew caused a disruption, but rather each time I stepped out of my room, I would chance upon them interviewing someone. They were there to feature the hotel for a TV show showcasing the best places to stay in Manila.
Summing Up My Stay
On the rare occasions I feel glad to be proven wrong, this is one of them. I am pleased to discover another fine hotel in Manila that I can confidently recommend to families and friends who are looking for a place to stay in the city—whether for business or for leisure.
Being a sprawling “laboratory” for the students of the College of Saint Benilde to hone their skills in cooking and hotel management has also given the establishment a young and fresh vibe. This is very much welcome—especially in the hospitality industry—as it brings new concepts that elevate guest experiences.
If given another chance to explore and do business again in Manila, I will surely give myself another go at staying at Hotel Benilde Maison De La Salle.
Hotel Benilde Maison De La Salle
Instagram: @hotelBenilde
Facebook: Hotel Benilde
Website: hotelbenilde.com
