Sunsets, Suites and Superb Service: A First Review Of The Hyatt Hotel At City Of Dreams Manila
City of Dreams Manila is the latest large scale attraction to open in the nation’s capital and it promises all sorts of wonderful entertainment and excitement. While the official opening may not be until February, we already dashed ahead and tried out one of the three hotels forming part of this $1.13 billion resort and casino. Read on to find out what it’s like to spend the night at the Hyatt City of Dreams Manila.
The entrance of the Hyatt City of Dreams Manila
Even according to the best real money casinos online from www.EasyMobileCasino.com, this place is one not to miss. At its core, CoD Manila consists of three hotels surrounding a large casino, and in a way is very much reminiscent of City of Dreams Macau, with the main difference being that in Manila it includes Hyatt, Nobu and Crown hotels, while Macau has a Grand Hyatt, Crown and a Hard Rock Hotel. The concept is very much the same, though, and even the scent in the air-conditioning system is the same as across the water, or at least it seemed like it to me.
Our home for the night: one of the Aqua Suites on the top floor
We opted to try out the Hyatt as I had stayed at the Macau version before and thought this would be a good opportunity to see how the Manila one stacks up. Our accommodation of choice was one of the flagship Aqua suites situated on the top floor. These 85-sqm corner rooms are Hyatt’s top of the range way to spend the night and our room included views across the CoD grounds as well as Manila Bay, meaning we got the glorious sunset treatment thanks to massive floor-to-ceiling windows throughout.
Clockwise from top left: The huge bath tub, walk in shower, fancy coffee making equipment
Guests booking this type of room have a special check in area at the club lounge on the 7th floor, meaning instead of queuing at the front desk, you get to enjoy a cup of coffee in the lounge while someone brings the paperwork and room keys to you. This is the kind of thing a queue-disliking person like me really appreciates and it sets the right tone for the stay. The club lounge also doubles as space for the continental breakfast in the morning and for cocktails and nibbles at certain times during the day.
Looking out over the grounds of City of Dreams Manila from our room at the Hyatt
The main room of the suite itself has a spacious feel to it thanks to the high ceiling and windows, with a king size bed taking center stage and decent sized TV giving all the usual choices for TV and movie entertainment. Other things of note are the posh coffee maker (one of those fancy capsule thingies), the iPod / iPhone docking station that also doubles as alarm clock (and features a lightning connector for newer iOS devices) as well as the free Wifi throughout not only the room, but the whole resort.
The suite came with beautiful views of the Manila Bay sunset
Step from the main room into the marble clad bathroom and you’re bound to go ‘wow’ on seeing the large spa tub by the window and the huge walk in shower. This is one impressive and posh looking bathroom, but it does come with one small caveat: While the tinted windows will preserve your modesty during the day, switching the lights on at night means you may be putting on a show for the neighbors when taking a bath. Just remember to lower the blinds before hopping in the bathtub, which by the way takes quite some time to fill due to its size.
Looking out over City of Dreams Manila at night
If the bath tub is too small for your swimming exploits, then there are three main swimming pools in the grounds of the resort, two of which are accessible to Hyatt guests. While Nobu and Hyatt share their pools, the Crown hotel keeps its pool reserved for their own guests. Not that it matters much: there’s plenty of swimming space to keep everyone entertained and friendly staff are always at hand to ensure guest safety or to deliver drinks straight to the poolside chairs. Especially in afternoon, when the sun reflects off the buildings and paints the area in a warm, golden glow, this is a really nice place to hang out and relax.
A bath tub perfect for a romantic late night bubble bath. Just remember to keep the lights off or close the blinds.
One thing worthy of a special mention is the gym, which is open 24 hours a day and features a good array of the latest exercise equipment. My favorite piece of kit there is without a doubt the treadmill, as it features a big touch screen interface that doubles as a video player. Next to watching TV or connecting your own mobile device, it also has a feature that contained an unexpected surprise: it has pre-recorded first-person-view video footage of routes from locations across the world built in, allowing you to feel as if you were running through a particular city or location. One of these routes includes Munich, and as a born and bred Bavarian, this meant I could run ‘through’ the city I know so well and feel like I’m back home while actually being 10,000 miles away. I didn’t expect that and it certainly made the workout easier. The other machines have similar features, with, for example, the cycling machine having a route that lets you ride around the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Run through Munich or cycle through Paris thanks to fancy equipment in the 24 hour  gym.Â
City of Dreams Manila is officially still under soft opening, meaning not all shops and restaurants were open when we visited, but the final look and vision are already quite clear when walking through it. While the gaming space dominates the main areas (this is a casino resort after all), there are also plenty of other things to do and explore, many of which we will no doubt feature on When In Manila in the near future.
Brand new and inviting: The Hyatt at City of Dreams Manila is definitely worth checking out.
The Hyatt City of Dreams Manila is an impressive new addition to the country’s hotel landscape and a good choice if you’re planning on checking out CoD Manila or are simply looking for a nice place to stay while visiting the Metro. Staff were friendly and amazingly helpful throughout, starting from the very moment you arrive at the front door, where your bags are quickly whisked away to be brought to your room before you have even placed one foot inside the place, to everyone else we came across. From the club lounge to the gym, pool, restaurants and casino, the service was excellent and staff acted with impeccable professionalism and friendliness, making the stay an enjoyable and memorable experience.
Hyatt at City of Dreams Manila
https://cityofdreamsmanila.hyatt.com
Sunsets, Suites and Superb Service: A First Review Of The Hyatt Hotel At City Of Dreams Manila
