Manila Hotel

This hotel is spectacular. Opened in 1912 it has 550 rooms and is built in traditional Spanish style with rich dark tropical hardwoods. marble and now glass.

The atrium is huge but doesn't look unwelcoming and is busy. The rooms are very well equipped with all modern conveniences but the main feature is the culture and staff attitudes. They are not 'icily' welcoming but warm, sincere and discrete--and there's hundreds of them all over the place. All dressed like air hosts / hostesses in traditional costumes . Their approach reminded me of the Buckingham Palace trained staff at Waddesden Manor in Bucks.

The breakfast eating area is huge but looks smaller as they have some separated  large tables with floor to ceiling open lattice screening with loads of space so you can feel private and intimate as a family, while kids play on the carpet nearby and staff just drift pass looking for cues that they are needed. None of this  'are you enjoying your meal' stuff. There are about 10 different kitchens scattered among the screened tables each with a different nationality food and chefs ready to cook anything special for you. No music , no overheard conversations etc and no feeling of rush or pressure. I felt spoilt.

It's not part of a chain, either. The government now owns it, but the culture may have been set by a previous billionaire owner who was a well respected philanthropist .

All this for less than half the price of an average  Sydney hotel.