Stay | I’m Hotel: 5 Star Luxury in Makati and the First Onsen Spa in the Country | Ironwulf En Route - A Travel Story, Photography, and Video blog by Ferdz Decena from the Philippines

The bedroom at the 1BR Executive Suite at I'm Hotel — The bedroom at the 1BR Executive Suite at I’m Hotel

It’s all about you at I’m Hotel. It’s time to celebrate your individuality and indulge yourself with some much deserved luxury. I’m Hotel is a 5-star hotel in the heart of the bustling Poblacion, Makati. It’s hard to miss this 24-story hotel, towering at the corner of Kalayaan and Makati Avenue. It’s near the central business district and just walks away from where the nightlife and shopping areas are.

I’m Hotel Luxury Rooms

I’m Hotel house 434 spacious rooms with a minimum floor area of 30sqm (Classic Studio) to as large as 82sqm (2BR Executive Suite). For my stay, I had the 57sqm 1 BR Executive Suite with balcony. Upon checking-in, they had to let me sign a waiver for the balcony use (probably for any untoward incidents like jumping off a building?). A proximity card was given as the key as well as the vouchers for breakfast and access to wifi.

The dial pad for the elevators were overwhelming at first. With so many numbers and varying layouts for each elevator, it is easy to get lost. I did find my suite once at the 22nd floor of the building. The proximity card worked without a glitch. I was impressed with the luxurious suite once I got it. A large living room area with walls in earth-pastel colors and cozy lighting, a balcony overlooking Makati and Guadalupe area, full featured kitchen complete with cooking wear, utensils and fridge and a washing machine too. And I must give props for having pour-over coffee from Brillo instead of those cheap 3-in–1 coffees at the bar. Wifi worked well in room enough for me to finish a few task.

Full featured kitchen and cozy living room area

Then there’s the bedroom itself that could pass for another room. There’s a large king sized bed, fluffy yet firm pillows, 500 thread count linens and uber comfortable memory-foam mattress. There’s a large LCD TV here as well as outside at the living room. The dark themed bathroom uses a sliding door. There’s a glass divider for the tub and shower.

Bird cage lounge areas and acrylic-bottom glass pool

Topnotch Facilities

I didn’t want to get too comfortable in the room as I was also planning to check out the other facilities. I went to the 2nd floor for the swimming pool area. It has a glass-bottom acrylic pool with colorful bird-cages inspired lounging area. I went up to the 2nd mezzanine area for the fitness center. I must say they have the best set of workout equipment for a hotel gym. I did my legs day routine here as well as a little cardio before leaving for the night as I had to fetch my sister at the airport.

The men's regular and volcanic hot springs at the Onsen Spa — The men’s regular and volcanic hot springs at the Onsen Spa

I’m Onsen Spa

I’m Hotel’s I’m Onsen Spa is the first and biggest onsen spa in the country. It occupies 6 stories of the building with corresponding rooms and treatments on designated floors. There’s the oriental style Bloom restaurant at the 4th floor for the included buffet. We got in our preferred schedule and went to 2nd floor to change to our Japanese yukata. They have separate sections for men and women. The 2nd floor also have the showers, steam and sauna room. The lockers also use proximity keys. The onsen has two sections. The large onsen utilizes technology that mimics the minerals of traditional Japanese Hot Spring. The smaller spring has volcanic and sulfuric content. The staff recommends switching from both hot springs staying only up to 5 minutes on the volcanic spring then dipping on the other hot spring. And in Japanese tradition, you have to be bare naked to enjoy the onsen. I tried the onsen a few minutes before my massage and enjoyed the permeating heat.

The massage was on the upper floor. We were asked to wait at the lounging room with comfy chairs and free oolong hot tea. We were led to our individual massage rooms with dim lighting and enclosed only by curtains. I like the ambiance and music. For me who enjoys having regular massages, their massage was good but could be better. Even at past 1am in the morning, we were able to make it for the final call for the buffet at Bloom to enjoy some hot pot before retiring for the night.

Afternoon coffee with the city skyline view

The I’m Hotel Experience

Luxurious room, top notch facilities, great food, wonderful spa and convenient location makes I’m Hotel an attractive choice for the grandeur traveler. An overnight stay wouldn’t do much justice here to enjoy the full experience.. Honestly if I didn’t have a meeting the next day, I would stayed here until check out time to enjoy the facilities.

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