Lately, our family is quite into quick getaways aka staycation. We so love traveling around far places but since time and work does not permit a long vacation right now, we just settled for staycations around the metro. We frequent places in the South of Metro Manila and would always look for good deals for a quick R&R. We chanced upon Crimson Hotel’s Rainy Day Promo and book it right away.
We stayed a total of two nights at Crimson Hotel. One night on September and another night last October. Even though we stayed in just one hotel and we booked the same room, Deluxe type, we had very different experiences in each night we stayed, one good and the other not so.
We checked-in late on our first night stay last September. Check-in time was at 3PM and we arrived past 4PM. A lot of guests were checking in during this time and our room was not yet ready. We had to wait for almost 30 minutes before we were given our room. And because they made us wait, the receptionist gave us an upgrade on the room – from Deluxe to Premier type. She also allowed us to check-out late the next day (something we were not able to avail). The room given to us was superb and we had a good night’s sleep. The next day buffet breakfast at Café Eight was also good.
Our second night stay in Crimson Hotel last October was a little bit different. We checked-in on time. The room assigned to us was on the 25th floor and was ready ASAP. We left our bags and decided to go to Alabang Town Center to have an early dinner and rode the shuttle. Our not so good experience happened after our early dinner. We waited for Crimson Hotel’s shuttle on schedule and we waited for more than an hour – this is because the shuttle decided not to follow their schedule. In lieu of this situation, which we brought up to the concierge, they allowed us to check out late the next day.
What’s worse came when we went back to our room. The room given to us has quite a lot of problems. The television set was not working; a technician went to check it and apparently it was unplugged. The TV remote was not working; a replacement remote was sent. The water heater (kettle) inside the room has a broken lid that opens several times while heating water; we made do with it. The rain shower was not working in full capacity – when we checked, the dirt already accumulated in the water spouts and we had to clean in ourselves. The regular toiletries inclusions such as bathrobe, slippers, and laundry bag were not complete and we had to request these as oppose to our first stay when everything was provided beforehand. Overall, we felt like the room given to us was not used for a very long time. We informed the duty manager of this scenario. She told us the she will investigate the problem, but we haven’t heard from her since.
Now let me give you a fair rating for our two nights’ hotel stay at Crimson Hotel.
Rooms – 4.5 out of 5.0 (for our first stay) and 1.0 out of 5.0 (for our second stay). The premier room given to us was superb. It has a two double beds, cool air-conditioning, LED television, complete toiletries, mini bar, and coffee making facilities. The room was clean and good. I deducted a 0.5 rating for the Premier Room since there was no bathtub (Crimson Hotel has no bathtub in all types of rooms).
Needless to say, I was not impressed with the hotel room given to us on our second night stay. 🙁
Amenities – 4.0 out of 5.0. Crimson Hotel has near perfect amenities. It has a swimming pool that we enjoyed. It has ample parking spaces for guests. A buffet breakfast is given to hotel guests in the morning. In-house massages can also be availed. The only set-back in the amenities and facilities for me was the shuttle service, which was supposed to follow the schedule provided to guests but did not.
Staff – 3.0 out of 5.0. The staffs at Crimson Hotel were all courteous and helpful. They attend to needs and queries as best as they could. Even the television technician who went to help us with the television on our room was very helpful. I was not impressed though with the Duty Manager who was supposed to give us feedback on the concerns we had on our room.
Food – 5.0 out of 5.0. We had very different experiences in our two separate night stay in Crimson Hotel but only one thing was constant: The Café Eight buffet breakfast. The food selections were plenty, the attendants were attentive, and ambience was nice. The breakfast buffet at Café Eight would be one reason for me to go back and check in at Crimson Hotel.
Location – 5.0 out of 5.0. Crimson Hotel is located at Filinvest area the heart of Alabang, Muntinlupa. It is walking distance to Festival Supermall.
Value for Money – 4.3 out of 5.0. We had a marvelous time and a wonderful staycation at Crimson Hotel during our first stay last September. This is contrary to the stay we had last October which if I rated will be 3.6 out of 5.0. The rate we got for two nights’ stay was Php7000.00 inclusive of buffet breakfast.
After our two nights experience at Crimson Hotel, it made me believe that no two staycation are created equal 😀
Disclaimer: We paid for our accommodation at Crimson Hotel and all opinions are mine.
