Review #4: Touristation @ Crowne Bay Tower

The 2 single beds are comfortable

Touristation @ Crowne Bay Tower is located along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay, Metro Manila,  Philippines. Touristation itself is actually a collection of 10 or so apartment units located in the Crowne Bay Tower condominium building. So don't be surprised if you don't find a traditional reception desk at the ground floor of the building. A brief inquiry with the doorman of the building revealed that the Toursitation property office is located at the 5th floor of the building and for us to just go on ahead and go up the elevator to register with their office first. The property office is actually just another apartment unit in the building that was transformed for such a purpose.

WiFi, a landline telephone and cable TV in the room

It's proximity to the airport, Mall of Asia, CCP complex, Solaire, City of Dreams, Lunesta Park, Manila Ocean Park and other nearby attractions in Manila makes it a good area to stay in if you are visiting Manila or even just having a staycation nearby these places just to avoid the notorious traffic jams of the area.

Our accomodations was a 1 bedroom unit with a mini living area/mini kitchen with a spacious sofa, a mini refrigerator and a kitchen sink. Don't expect to have the same amenities as a regular apartment though as they do not offer any cooking facility even just a microwave oven. They do however have an electrical water pot which you can use to make (instant) coffee, tea or perhaps instant cup noodles if you want. No, tea and coffee are not offered but there is a nearby convenience store (several actually and you have the choice of ministop and multiple 7 Eleven stores nearby). Complimentary drinking water is provided every day (2x 500 ml bottled water)  but I would recommend buying one of those 6 liter containers from the nearby stores.

Plates, mugs, glasses and utensils for 2 are provided and a new dish washing paste with sponge is available if your will use the eating implements. The small table can accommodate 2. In terms of nearby places to eat (walking distance) there's not much options however. There is a Lydia's Lechon and a Pancit ng taga Malabon nearby,  as well as BBQ place just downstairs but we did not try that restaurant during our stay. If you want a more substantial meal and I would suggest going to Mall of Asia or if you have a craving for fresh seafood then Dampa Seaside Paluto is an excellent destination. 

A small dining table

Basic toiletries are provided in the bathroom (body wash and shampoo) and a water heater provides hot water for the shower and sinks. There's no bidet in the toilet (for those of you who are bidet fans).

Shower and toilet area

The room itself is fairly spacious with 2 single beds arranged side by side. The air-conditioning was quiet and more than adequate for the space of the entire apartment. A small flat screen TV (around 32 inches) with cable TV. Don't expect a lot of channels available though as most of the channels we tried have the "We are sorry your subscription does not include this channel" message. International news channels were sadly missing with the exception of the local CNN Philippines channel. There is a balcony accessed via a glass sliding door with the view of City of Dreams across the street. Internet is provided with the Wifi signal strong and the speed/bandwidth decent enough. A small room safe is provided if you require it.

One thing that I want to highlight if you are bringing a car is that the driveway going up the parking levels are so tight. Lucky for us that we have a small car but I cannot imagine having to go up and down using a bigger sized sedan and or an SUV. Parking fee for guests is 100 pesos good for the whole day.

Both the Crowned Bay Tower and the Touristation staff were all friendly, welcoming, helpful and were generally sensitive to our needs. We did have some minor issues during the first day of our stay but nothing that wasn't resolved within that day (see my previous blog post if you want to know the details).

Mini kitchen with a sink, eating utensils for 2,  a small ref and a combination lock safe

If I could make a few suggestions on how to make the place better, I would recommend providing a luggage table (we just used the floor or the sofa) since the space in the room was spacious enough. Also, it would be nice if they can provide disposable slippers (although it looked clean, I realized it really wasn't after spending the first day barefoot around the bedroom). Also an emergency escape plan prominently displayed on the inside of the door would be nice also (maybe that's just me but an escape route is the first thing that comes into my mind whenever I book accomodations).

Overall a pleasant stay and definitely worth the cost. I wouldn't hesitate recommending the place to others as long as they have an idea beforehand on what to expect.

Some 360 degree photos to give you an idea how the whole area looks like.