H0TELS in Manila

[payxibka 10,044]

9 hours ago, Mojito said:

How many nights are needed in hotel near the Embassy if you are coming up from Davao for the medical, then the interview, then waiting to pickup the Visa and fly to America from Manila? It seems more expensive to keep flying back and forth from Davao to Manila, vs. staying in an inexpensive hotel. I'm thinking its 3 weeks. 2 weeks between medical and interview and 1 week after interview to pickup the Visa. Any other opinions? Thank you in advance. 

 

 

you certainly don't need 2 weeks between medical and interview,  more like 2 or 3 days.  Visa issuance can be 2 to 4 weeks (or longer)  after visa issuance.  In our case we hit an unexpected snag and it took 6 weeks.

 

Depending on where ticket prices are, I think your plan would actually be more expensive considering she theoretically only needs to make one short trip to Manila for the medical and visa process 

 

 

[Carpe Vinum 2,313]

45 minutes ago, payxibka said:

 

 

you certainly don't need 2 weeks between medical and interview,  more like 2 or 3 days.  Visa issuance can be 2 to 4 weeks (or longer)  after visa issuance.  In our case we hit an unexpected snag and it took 6 weeks.

 

Depending on where ticket prices are, I think your plan would actually be more expensive considering she theoretically only needs to make one short trip to Manila for the medical and visa process 

 

 

I agree.  If you schedule it right you will have a 3-4 day stay in Manila for the medical and interview. Visa issuance is another matter. It can take 4 days to several weeks depending on circumstances. I think in most instances it will be cheaper to have the visa delivered to her in Davao and then make another trip to fly to the US. On a side note I lived for years in Godfrey, IL. I enjoyed living there. It has the least crowded and most luxurious Walmart Supercenter I have ever seen))) I take the occasional trip there from St. Louis so I can shop in peace)

Edited September 16, 2020 by boris64

[Mojito 17]

5 hours ago, payxibka said:

 

 

you certainly don't need 2 weeks between medical and interview,  more like 2 or 3 days.  Visa issuance can be 2 to 4 weeks (or longer)  after visa issuance.  In our case we hit an unexpected snag and it took 6 weeks.

 

Depending on where ticket prices are, I think your plan would actually be more expensive considering she theoretically only needs to make one short trip to Manila for the medical and visa process 

 

 

Thank you very much for the information! Right now short notice flights between MNL and DVO appear to be only about every 3 days at best (AirAsia,CebuPacific,PAL) and about $100 USD one way at best. I have some time to see how things adjust nearer her time frame pre-medical. But really appreciate knowing your times from medical to visa on hand. When to start scheduling everything is our uncertainty at this point. Thanks again. 

[payxibka 10,044]

5 minutes ago, Mojito said:

Thank you very much for the information! Right now short notice flights between MNL and DVO appear to be only about every 3 days at best (AirAsia,CebuPacific,PAL) and about $100 USD one way at best. I have some time to see how things adjust nearer her time frame pre-medical. But really appreciate knowing your times from medical to visa on hand. When to start scheduling everything is our uncertainty at this point. Thanks again. 

Unless you are extremely lucky,  the interview will not be on short notice but a month to two months out,  that is if scheduling is anything like it was before 

[Mojito 17]

4 hours ago, boris64 said:

I agree.  If you schedule it right you will have a 3-4 day stay in Manila for the medical and interview. Visa issuance is another matter. It can take 4 days to several weeks depending on circumstances. I think in most instances it will be cheaper to have the visa delivered to her in Davao and then make another trip to fly to the US. On a side note I lived for years in Godfrey, IL. I enjoyed living there. It has the least crowded and most luxurious Walmart Supercenter I have ever seen))) I take the occasional trip there from St. Louis so I can shop in peace)

Small, small world my friend! Thank you for the information and the info on your time in Godfrey  I'm semi-new to the area and have been enjoying it. The last Mister Donut in the USA is here in Godfrey, the maple long john donut is to die for  . Really appreciate the feedback on the timeframe. It's such a gray area with flight uncertainty and how both governments restrictions will be at that time related to covid. FIngers crossed all goes well with no RFE delays added too as the process is really long right now without any "self-imposed" delays. Take care. 

[payxibka 10,044]

14 minutes ago, Mojito said:

Thank you very much for the information! Right now short notice flights between MNL and DVO appear to be only about every 3 days at best (AirAsia,CebuPacific,PAL) and about $100 USD one way at best. I have some time to see how things adjust nearer her time frame pre-medical. But really appreciate knowing your times from medical to visa on hand. When to start scheduling everything is our uncertainty at this point. Thanks again. 

I just read your timeline.   The world will be a much different place next summer, which is when you most likely get an interview appointment 

[Mojito 17]

13 minutes ago, payxibka said:

I just read your timeline.   The world will be a much different place next summer, which is when you most likely get an interview appointment 

Unfortunately, I agree about the interview not until next summer and the world being very different then. Probably 9-10 months or even 11 months from my NOA1 to Visa on hand completion seems a realistic timeline. Reading about priority being put on K1 is encouraging but with the backlog already I'm thinking 10 months total. Thanks for the feedback too. P.S. One of my good friends is in Minneapolis. Lots to do. 

[Mojito 17]

Hotels I have stayed at in metro Manila:

Conrad-Awesome if you have points to cover it. It's right there at MOA/seaside and is super convenient

Hyatt City of Dreams-Another great place if you have points to cover it. Casino area is fun to be around. 

Golden Phoenix-Near to the convention center is a plus. It isn't near as nice as the others I mentioned, but the rooms are big and it is clean overall. 

Crowne Plaza Galleria- In Ortegas and is very nice. Metrowalk is not far and Robinsons is connected. 

IM Hotel-Makati-Has an awesome see-through glass bottom pool I think its on the 3rd floor, and great evening music scene on the rooftop, fun place. 

Seda Vertis North-near Quezon City-really a good hotel if up north right by SM North and another mall up there I forgot the name. 

Cheers!

Edited September 16, 2020 by Mojito

[Mike V 56]

10 hours ago, boris64 said:

I agree.  If you schedule it right you will have a 3-4 day stay in Manila for the medical and interview. Visa issuance is another matter. It can take 4 days to several weeks depending on circumstances. I think in most instances it will be cheaper to have the visa delivered to her in Davao and then make another trip to fly to the US. On a side note I lived for years in Godfrey, IL. I enjoyed living there. It has the least crowded and most luxurious Walmart Supercenter I have ever seen))) I take the occasional trip there from St. Louis so I can shop in peace)

Don't count on getting through the medical & interview in 3-4 days.  You can schedule them back to back and hope it works out, but large numbers of applicants are being diverted to 2 months of TB testing before their medicals can be completed. 

 

In our case they sent my fiance to the TB testing and requested a report from a shrink on one of her kids, which they would not do until her TB testing was completed. The medical approvals took 10 weeks, and they managed to complete the embassy interview (along with the medicals) on their 2nd trip to Manila.  It then took another 5 weeks for her to get the passports back with the visas in them (partly because the embassy "forget" about them -- it took phone call to remind them they they had everything they had requested)

 

Plan on 2 trips to Manila for your fiance (you're really optional, but it's 2 more meetings you can document for the interview ) and a 3rd trip to bring her to the U.S.

 

My experiences with hotels in the embassy/St. Lukes area:

 

First trip (just to teach them how to travel in case I couldn't make the later trips):  Cherry Blossoms Hotel, very cheap, located close (2 blocks) to Robinsons Place mall, bedbug central!!!  You get what you pay for.  They also charged my fiance extra for milk with her breakfast.

 

Second trip:  Lotus Garden Hotel, very close to St. Lukes, easy walk to the embassy, physically an OK hotel, but run by shysters.  We had two rooms, one for myself & my fiance while I was there, and one for my fiance & her kids.  Before I left, I paid for & received a receipt for the minibar charges for both rooms.  When she left a day later, they made her pay for her minibar charges a second time and would not respond to my inquiries.  I did successfully contest the double charges with AMEX.

 

Best Western Hotel La Corona Manila:  Closer to the embassy than the other 2, somewhat more expensive, but no issues This hotel will be my first choice if I ever return to Manila.

 

Be forewarned that cab drivers in the Manila metro are mostly crooks.  DO NOT get in cabs in Manila unless the drivers agree to run & start their meters.  You might have to flag 3-5 cabs before you get an honest driver.  I ended up tipping the Manila cabbies P100 for being honest & running their meters.  It's so different from Cebu where that's never been an issue for us.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Mike V

[RO_AH 1,625]

On 9/16/2020 at 1:25 PM, Mike V said:

Best Western Hotel La Corona Manila:  Closer to the embassy than the other 2, somewhat more expensive, but no issues This hotel will be my first choice if I ever return to Manila.

I have stayed there and plan to use them again in the future.

[JLJoseph 16]

I stayed for 3 weeks. It was fortunate too because the medical wanted her to return (no issues... just the fickle system there), the Embassy delayed the interview, and we had put off getting the Philippine CFO stamp. 
With the extra time, we were able to relax and be tourists.  
I am sure it is different now with COVID but I did learn that the interview scheduling website that the embassy has is MUCH more updated than the over the phone people. Once I figured that out, I was able to schedule my interview for a MUCH sooner date. (But remember, this was pre-COVID)
The CFO, I heard, can be done over the phone now. We did it in person. That took only 2 days but scheduling was difficult because they would not see her until she had her passport with her and, of course, the embassy had that. It took us a week to get that appointment taken care of.
We stayed at the CityState in a nice condo. It is right in Korea Town so there was a lot of food around and walking distance to the mall.

[CovidSucks21 4]

My fiance loved it at Bayview.  It had an open air pool and the breakfast buffet every morning was stellar.  So much so they were full til Dinner.  She was able to walk to the embassy.  She passed her intervew in less than an hour and half.  They asked basic family questions and didn't even look at the pics enclosed.  Now we are just waiting on the Passport to come back!

[abaa 21]

I'm currently picking out a hotel near the embassy for my fiance's medical exam and visa interview and I would appreciate any suggestions. I would like for the hotel to have good WiFi. An included meal would be nice but not necessary. Last time, she stayed at the City Garden Suites, but the WiFi was not functional and the "included breakfast" was gone by the time she went to breakfast. I was looking at Bayview Park Hotel, so if anyone has any comment on that or another option I would appreciate it.

[Mountain CO 0]

Alright I know this topic is old and sorry if its a repeated question, but if anyone has stayed recently I'd love to know if any hotel has particularly good internet near the embassy, I was planning on going out with her for the whole duration of the medical, CFO, Interview process and flying back with her but I will need to work remotely while I'm there.

[madmanmike 191]

On 9/19/2023 at 6:31 AM, Mountain CO said:

Alright I know this topic is old and sorry if its a repeated question, but if anyone has stayed recently I'd love to know if any hotel has particularly good internet near the embassy, I was planning on going out with her for the whole duration of the medical, CFO, Interview process and flying back with her but I will need to work remotely while I'm there.

I will echo this request. My finance is going to Manila without me for the physical, but we will return together to Manila for her interview the following week. Surely there are some folks out there that have stayed recently and would have suggestions?