Opening Late 2026

Mandarin Oriental

Mandarin Oriental Makati, Manila

Name: Mandarin Oriental Makati, Manila
Address: Manila, Philippines

Mandarin Oriental's return to Manila after the original Makati hotel closed in 2014

Manila, Philippines

Get notified when it opens

The day it opens + our first honest verdict. No paid placements. Joins the Fat Voyage list — leave any time.

First look

Mandarin Oriental is heading back to Manila. The brand shut its original Makati hotel in 2014, and this new property brings it back to the same district, with around 275 to 276 rooms set above Ayala Triangle Gardens. The dates are a little fuzzy: the official site points to November 2026, while developer Ayala Land cites December 14, 2026, so we're calling it late 2026 until the two line up.

Not yet scored. We publish a Fat Score only once a hotel is open and real guests have stayed and written about it — this is a first look, not a verdict.

What we'll be watching

We haven't stayed yet — here's what will decide whether it lands when we do.

Whether the return narrative holds up on the ground. Mandarin Oriental operated in Manila from 1976 until 2014, so this is a comeback story the brand is leaning into hard. Whether the new property earns that weight, or just borrows it, is the first thing we'll be watching.
Whether the opening date actually sticks. Ayala Land's own bond prospectus quietly mentioned 2027 at one point, and construction progress slipped before recovering — the developer has since reaffirmed late 2026, but that kind of setback leaves a margin for further slippage.
Whether five dining venues spread across one urban hotel deliver on the promise. The official site describes modern Cantonese, Filipino, and international concepts across five outlets. That's a real dining program for a 275-room city hotel — and city hotels in Manila face a sharp local restaurant scene. We'll be watching whether it pulls diners in from outside or just feeds guests.
Whether the Filipino-wellness angle reads as genuine or cosmetic. The spa is built around indigenous healing traditions — Hilot massage and Philippine botanical treatments — which is a more specific, grounded proposition than the usual luxury-spa menu. The 25-metre outdoor pool over Ayala Triangle Gardens is the other test: city-hotel pools live or die on access and atmosphere, not size.

First look · gallery

Renderings & press imagery, courtesy of the hotel — details may change before opening.

Sofie, who runs the Fat Voyage booking desk with Nicolas

Want us to get you in when it opens?

Nothing to book yet — rates usually load a few months out. We're Sofie and Nicolas; tell us roughly what you're after and we'll come back the moment Mandarin Oriental Makati, Manila is bookable, with rates, what the rooms are actually like, and whether we'd go in the first season.

You'll be dealing with the two of us the whole way through, which is why we only take on a handful of trips at a time — if we're full, we'll say so. We reply by email, usually within one working day. The hotel pays us, not you: your rate is the same as booking direct, and the perks come on top.

Before it opens

When does Mandarin Oriental Makati, Manila open?

The hotel is slated to open in late 2026, with December 2026 the date most widely cited by press and the developer Ayala Land. The timeline has shown some movement — Ayala Land's own bond prospectus referenced a 2027 opening before the company publicly reaffirmed 2026, and construction progress slipped at one point before recovering — so treat it as expected rather than fixed.

Where is Mandarin Oriental Makati located?

It sits above Ayala Triangle Gardens at the corner of Makati Avenue and Paseo de Roxas in Makati, the Philippines' financial district. The hotel is reported to be about 15 minutes by car from Manila's international airport.

Is this Mandarin Oriental's first hotel in the Philippines?

It will be the brand's only property in the country when it opens. Mandarin Oriental operated an earlier Manila hotel from 1976 until 2014, so this is a return after a 12-year absence rather than a debut — and it reopens on a different site within the same Ayala Triangle area.

How many rooms will Mandarin Oriental Makati, Manila have?

The hotel will have 275 rooms and suites, spread across a roughly 99-metre tower above Ayala Triangle Gardens. Rooms start at around 50 square metres, with club-floor options that include access to a dedicated lounge and 24-hour butler service.

What restaurants and facilities will it have?

Five dining and bar concepts are planned, spanning modern Cantonese, Filipino, and international cuisine alongside cocktail bars. The wellness floor covers around 800 square metres and draws on indigenous Filipino healing traditions including Hilot massage; a 25-metre outdoor pool overlooks the gardens and Makati skyline. Event space includes a grand hall that reportedly accommodates up to 1,000 guests. No named architect or interior designer has been confirmed in official press materials.

Will Fat Voyage score Mandarin Oriental Makati, Manila?

We publish a Fat Score only once a hotel is open and real guests have stayed and written about it — drawn from luxury travel communities, editorial publications, and verified guests, never paid placements. This is a first look, not a verdict; we'll score it once there's enough independent signal to be fair.

Open now

What you can book today

Mandarin Oriental Makati, Manila is still under wraps. Here's what's already open and scored in our collection — more from Mandarin Oriental, and nearby in Philippines.

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Mandarin Oriental Bodrum earns its keep on the hillside, not just the brochure line about it. Rooms cascade down toward Paradise Bay, several with their own pools, and the grounds are genuinely green rather than landscaped for a photo. The spa is the other reason people come back: one guest's contact lens emergency got solved by a therapist who tracked down a lens case and saline mid-treatment, and the hammam gets called out on its own terms often enough that it's clearly not a fluke. Families do well here too, with a kids' club that parents actually praise rather than tolerate, and an ambassador system that handles the small stuff: one guest's lost phone got traced through a taxi driver and returned before checkout. The gap opens at the waterline. Beach and pool service lags well behind the rest of the property, particularly by September, when one guest gave up after asking three times for a beer that never came. Food and drink pricing is a real sore point too: a chicken wrap near €50, cocktails around €28, and quality that regularly doesn't back it up, including a flat night at the on-site Ferdi Baba. Visit in October and you'll find restaurants and shops closing early for the season, which thins out what the rate is meant to cover once August ends. Book it from May through September for the setting, the spa team, and a beach scene that still has energy, and go in knowing the beach bars are where the wheels come off. Outside peak summer, or on the outer beach service specifically, price your expectations down accordingly. For the hillside, the hammam, and the way the team on the ground treats you, it's worth booking.

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The reason to book is the villa and that pool, and both hold up. Guests who've stayed on multiple lakes call the floating pool the best they've experienced anywhere, and it's the kind of thing you can't get elsewhere on Como: it sways when boats pass, and it sits right on the water in front of a 19th-century building with gardens people are still talking about years later. The upgrades and small gestures come up constantly too: a phone charger cord wrapped in velcro, a birthday treat waiting in the room, a golden retriever treated like a guest in its own right. The staff culture is the other real reason to go — Alicia at the spa desk and Isabella in guest relations get thanked by name, and the tone across most stays is warm rather than stiff or performative. Where the money doesn't stretch as far: check-in has run past an hour more than once this year, sometimes worse at night, and small requests (a hard pillow, a toothbrush, extra water) have been fumbled or taken two hours to show up. That points to being understaffed rather than uncaring, but it's still not what you expect at this rate. The food is the clearest letdown — breakfast draws repeated complaints about being thin for a five-star property, and L'Aria gets flagged for confusing portions and 30-euro cocktails that leave you hungry. The recommended transfers also run well above what a taxi or Uber costs locally, which is worth knowing before you book one rather than after. Book this for the villa, the gardens, and that pool, with a staff that genuinely seems to enjoy the work. Treat the restaurants as optional and use the Como town shuttle for dinner when you want more choice, which plenty of guests already do.

Fat Approved

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Mandarin Oriental, London (Hyde Park)

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Get notified

Be first when Mandarin Oriental Makati, Manila opens

We'll email you the day it opens — and our first honest verdict once guests have actually stayed. No paid placements, ever.

Joins the Fat Voyage list — leave any time.

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