my girlfriend and i had our vacation with a couple of friends at metro manila and stayed at the kabayan hotel as suggested by her sister. the place was a short taxi ride from terminal 3 of the naia airport and was along the busy EDSA avenue. we were actually supposed to have three days and three nights reserved but an acquaintance of the sister reserved us for only two nights. the facility was nice enough, simple and clean. the receptionist was a nice lady who was very accommodating with us and our queries. the mostly male staff were all very friendly and courteous, greeting us good evenings and good mornings every time they saw us. the three girls stayed at one dorm style room and i stayed at a separate room of the same style with other male guests. the room was not bad but the double deck beds creaked and moved easily. i was on the top bunker and had to move to the sides as slowly as i could so as not to keep moving the entire bed and awaken the sleeper underneath. i had to move to another room though because the previous guest who slept on my bunker lost the keys to the room along with the key to the bunker locker where i was to keep my belongings for safe keeping. the receptionist at the time of the change (a male newbie it seemed) had some problems with my name not being registered on their records. my girlfriend came to the rescue by telling him i was recorded as her companion. so they gave me another room and another top bunker. on the second day they mixed up my bunker with the bottom bunker on the bed beside mine and said i was using that bunker according to their records, when i wasn't. i had all my stuff placed in the locker on my top bunker and as per their suggestion (since they screwed up), i transferred to the bottom bunker they had recorded me in. so i moved all my stuff to the new locker that woke up another guest since it was late at night. on the third day though we moved to a family room which was a lot more comfortable. it was kept well clean and organized. i had little qualms with it, two of them being the bed being hard and the air conditioner not being cold enough, but not weak enough to keep us up at night with the heat either. overall the room was very nice and we all had a good sleep. the free breakfast and lunch were nice too - the food was good and the dining area was quaint. the location isn't as bad as some have said. although it was bordered by streets - one being a busy one and the other being a small alley - we had experienced no real safety threat. i love how we were close to the train stations so we could easily go about our planned day trips. the wifi connection was strong even inside the rooms so that was a good plus. in conclusion, if you want to stay in a place that's affordable with their simple yet clean rooms, within reach of common public transportation, close to the airport, with courteous staff, and within a few minutes from big malls and shopping complexes, then this hotel is for you.

I made an online reservation a week before heading to manila and got my confirmation within 24hours. We arrived at around 7am in the morning and was told the room reserved for us is still in use and will be available by 11am. We were ushered at the hotel lobby to wait until the room is available. All in all, this place is a very busy hotel, ideal for a short stay specially with those having to fly the next day. So far service is good, from the hotel desk to the shuttle driver and the restaurant attendants. The place is clean as well. Food served needs improvement specially with their "recycled" (brewed several times probably or too much water added in brewing) coffee and bland scrambled egg with my breakfast prompting us to eat somewhere the next day before checking out.

Overall, we were fairly happy with our short (7 hour!) stay at Kabayan. Our flight was 3 hours late and we didn't get to the hotel until almost 5 AM. The shuttle service was quite difficult to find at that late hour, but the hotel did know that our flight had been delayed and had sent someone--once we got connected together.
We were so exhausted that we didn't use the complimentary breakfast or lunch, though we had considered that and the free airport pick up as part of the "value" of staying at Kabayan when we booked it.
The room was OK, not great, and the AC was similar. Overall what we'd expect at this price range in the Philippines.
We were actually more impressed with Kabayan until we stayed at the Best Western La Corona at a fairly similar price on our way home from the Philippines. For a pretty similar price range, we found the Best Western way better. If you go there, be sure to Google search it by exact name and check several websites before booking. The price from the US website is way higher than what we paid or what some other sites offer.
We were billed at Kabayan as a "no show" in addition to paying when we arrived--we think it had to do with the confusion of being supposed to arrive at 1:30 AM and not arriving til 5 AM due to the delayed flight. It took an email and a long distance call to Manila to get it resolved. Not ideal.

i forgot what was the reason why i chose to stay in this hotel, probably because of the good reviews here.

i stayed here back in august 2008, with my then boyfriend (who's now my husband) and my sister. we only stayed there because we had a stop over from palawan and our flight to cebu was for the next day. and i wanted to visit my sister and my relatives, but chose not stay at their place coz we might be a burden to them.

the location was generallyy good, close to the airport, mall of asia, transportation, and there's even a 7/11 close by. but it was a scary, dark location. if u aren't taking a taxi, u couldn't tell there's a hotel on that street.

their room was ok. spacious, with a double bed and single bed. i found a cockroach in the fridge though, terrible.

another thing, we booked online and asked to be picked up from the airport coz they have a pick up service. but they never picked us up!!! we waited and waited and we don't know their contact info. so we just took a taxi (manila taxi drivers can be horrible). sad, very sad.

and oh yeah, their breakfast was very meager, we were hungry afterwards.

i'd say, stay in this hotel if u don't have to stay in manila that long. like for a day.