One Manalo Place Hotel

Bright and modern, the One Manolo Place Hotel is a contemporary boutique decorated with an idiosyncratic flair. In the lobby, a dramatic blue-painted stone shaped like the prow of a boat acts as the front desk, while an adjacent space has monochrome armchairs twisted into playful shapes below a ceiling composed of white-painted beams that undulate in gentle curves. This leads through to a dining room with clusters of lights descending from a cut-out ceiling, gray slate walls, and splashes of vivid lime green. Outside is a sleek pool terrace with a vast jellyfish mural, overlooked by the hotel gym with glass walls that cantilever dramatically. The hotel attracts mostly couples looking for a convenient setting near the airport, or a hip base from which to explore Puerto Princesa. 

Set only a four-minute drive from Puerto Princesa International Airport, the One Manolo Place Hotel is ideally located both as a base for exploring Puerto Princesa, and for travelers stopping over on their way to El Nido. Although the area is mostly residential, there are both a spa and a karaoke place next door and a number of restaurants nearby. Kalayaan Beach is a 21-minute drive away, while the restaurants in the Puerto Princesa City Baywalk Park are 15 minutes away by car. 

The One Manolo Place Hotel’s rooms are cool and contemporary, albeit a bit generically decorated in the lower-category rooms. Standard and Deluxe Rooms have white walls decorated with gray tree trunk murals, dark wooden furniture, crisp white bedding, and gray tile floors. While some guests have complained about the small size of Standard Rooms, they are kept immaculately, with either two twin beds or a double, a wardrobe, and desk that doubles as a flat-screen TV stand. Modern bathrooms have mosaics of grippy pebbles on the floors of the shower cubicles. Deluxe Rooms are slightly larger, and some of them have terraces, although in practice, this means a tiny courtyard surrounded on all sides by high walls.

More impressively decorated suites, meanwhile, are far larger spaces divided into a bedroom and a sunken lounge by a white screen composed of octagons like the cross section of a giant beehive. Bedroom areas have a king-sized bed and big flat-screen TV, while lounges have a sizable corner sofa upholstered in sage-green crushed velvet, and a small desk. Bathrooms have a shower with a rainfall showerhead at one end, and a bathtub at the other. All rooms have AC, free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, kettles, free toiletries, and slippers, but only suites add mini-fridges. Occasionally, airplanes can be heard overhead, but it's minimal.

One Manolo Place has a brief but well-thought through list of amenities, including a courtyard terrace with a decent-sized swimming pool and a number of comfortable loungers. In a room with glass walls that dramatically cantilever out over the deck is a large and well-equipped gym, with cardio and weight-training machines, free weights, and a punching bag. The modern restaurant serves a free buffet breakfast, but the mostly Asian fare may not appeal to all guests. A range of international and Filipino dishes are on the menu for lunch and dinner. Free Wi-Fi is provided throughout the hotel, and staff can organize excursions around Palawan with local guides. They also offer free airport transfers.