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Manila · Hotel shortlist

Cheap hotels in the university district, Manila

Ellie Brandt

Ellie Brandt Southeast Asia

Updated 1 September 2026 · 8 Manila hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Manila, out of the 8 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 5 down to 3.5.

Every one comes in under $130 a night, and the one I would book first is $10.

Rom's Place

Highest rated of the five

Rom's Place

★★★★★5 from 80 reviews

Rom's Place comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 5 from 80 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is found under the university district and around $10 a night on the dates we checked.

8 hotels in Manila qualified for this list and five made it. Crossroads Hostel Manila Co. Ltd. is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. Rom's Place1

    Rom's Place

    ★★★★★5 from 80 reviews

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    • Crossroads Hostel Manila Co. Ltd.2

      Crossroads Hostel Manila Co. Ltd.

      ★★★★★4.5 from 134 reviews

      • Spa
      • Restaurant
      • Air conditioning
      • Airport shuttle

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    • Victoria Court Hillcrest3

      Victoria Court Hillcrest

      ★★★★★4.2 from 234 reviews

      • Spa
      • Restaurant
      • Parking
      • Pet friendly
      • Kid friendly
      • Air conditioning

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    • RedDoorz Plus near Uptown BGC Mall4

      RedDoorz Plus near Uptown BGC Mall

      ★★★★★3.5 from 105 reviews

      • Air conditioning

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    • Nest Fort BGC5

      Nest Fort BGC

      ★★★★★3.7 from 97 reviews

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      How this list was put together

      8 Manila hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

      Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

      The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

      What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

      Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

      Ellie Brandt

      Ellie Brandt Southeast Asia

      Works weekends at an animal shelter and saves the pay for off-season flights. Hostels, night buses, and volunteering at animal sanctuaries for a bunk. Six countries in three years.

      Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.