Great Eastern Hotel – Makati (Review)

I’ll start this blog by saying that I’ve known and heard about Aberdeen Court – slash – Great Eastern Hotel since my high school days pa, and notoriously so. Haay, memories…  those nights when i felt that i own the house and everytime my whole family had gone out to cover a wedding ’til the last hours of the evening.  Coverage nights, I would always watch TV with gusto till my eyes felt heavy but then the thought that I’m all alone would start to creep me out and lose sleep all the same.  When my folks finally come home, madalas kong naririnig… “haaii, aberdeen uli...”

great eastern hotel

For years, I’ve heard about their clients complaining about the staff and the food of the hotel, but I never really experienced this firsthand until I attended one of my classmates’ debut which was held there.  Actually the food was fine, and so was the venue, the atmosphere, but I would never forget the scene when I saw our host’s mother in a heated loud argument with the hotel staff amid the disco dancing frenzy.  Ohhkay… So why is it that a huge number of our weddings still get shot there? Because they’re the most affordable hotel venue that I know of (at least in the Makati area ha).   I never really paid attention to them until recently when I took the reins as wedding photographer and shot really posh and extravagant- looking receptions of real wais couples at Great Eastern Hotel.  When I found out their rates, I was dumbstruck!! Now I know why they’re so popular, and now I’m having thoughts whether I will disregard everything I thought about them and let go all of my previous plans and have my reception there.  Ok, enough blab and let’s go into detail!

amazingly affordable, but service-wise, take a risk

Great Eastern Hotel has been around for quite a while.  It looks decent and looks fine actually It’s located along Makati Avenue and is easily accessible.  It’s somewhere between JP Rizal and Kalayaan Avenue and is right across  the new A. Venue Events Mall.  The 2nd floor (and its the abysmal darkness) creeps me out, but then again who cares? The glass elevator looking out Makati Avenue is pretty cool, and the rooms depending on which you prefer, is homely and well, downright affordable! If you have second thoughts holding your reception here, you shouldn’t have any if you plan to rent a room or two for preparation (95%  I’m aiming for this one.) Having your honeymoon here ain’t gonna hurt your credit card much either.

As of July 2009,  according to their website, their room rates are as follows:

Superior Room Single PhP 1,500.00 net Double PhP 1,500.00 net Twin PhP 1,500.00 net

Deluxe Room Double PhP 1,800.00 net Twin PhP 1,900.00 net

Suite Double PhP 2,600.00 net Twin PhP 2,600.00 net

Presidential Suite PhP 7,600.00 net

deluxe or suite rooms will do for prep

large windows and sheer draperies give you good ambient lighting for portraits (hello sir toto!)

And now, let’s talk about reception proper.  Below are the details of the Great Eastern Hotel – Makati wedding packages:

(Rates as of July 2009)

SUPERIOR WEDDING PACKAGES – P25,140

• Use of Function Room for 2 Hours
• Karaoke with One(1) microphone
• Wedding Cake (2 Layes)
• One round of assorted softdrinks
• 50 pieces of giveaway
• Flower per table
• Doves
• Guestbook
• Bridal Toast

DE LUXE WEDDING PACKAGES

Superior Wedding Packages
Plus

• Bridal Car*

FESTIVAL WEDDING PACKAGES – P27,220

Superior Wedding Packages
Plus

• Overnight stay at the Great Eastern Hotel

HONEYMOON WEDDING PACKAGES – P29,465

Superior Wedding Packages
Plus

• Overnight stay at the Great Eastern Hotel
• Bridal Car*

PREMIERE WEDDING PACKAGES – P32,775

Superior Baptismal Packages
Plus

• Overnight stay at the Great Eastern Hotel
• Bridal shower for ten persons
• Bridal Car*

Other Amenities

• Photo and Video Coverage
• Venue Floral Decorator
• Skirted Chair
• 30 Seater Luxury Coach

——-

SAMPLE MENU (for Superior Package)

• Assorted Cold Cuts
• Birds Nest Soup
• Chicken Imperial
• Seafood Dumpling Deep Fried
• Lapu-lapu Fillet in Pickle Sauce
• Tender Sliced Beef in Vegetables
• Mixed Meats Chow Mien
• Aberdeen Fried Rice
• Sesame Balls
• Passion Fruits with Almond Jelly

Rates are good for 100pax, terms are 20% reservation, 80% 2 weeks before.  Drinks are one round only.  Use of function room is for 2 hours only, they charge you 600 for every extra hour.  Unless you have a very good coordinator and emcee, 2 hours won’t be enough for you, so expect to pay extra. On which function room they give you, that depends on how many guests you’ll be having.

If you bring 200 or more guests and spend more than 60k on food, they will offer you one of their Ballrooms which is quite grand with a winding staircase

If you compare it with other hotels, GEH’s rate is unbelievably low!! I actually couldn’t believe it myself, but you might be asking, what’s the catch?

Well, contrary to my assumptions built over a decade, it ain’t half so bad in looks and taste.  The rooms and function rooms are spacious and royal   hindi ka mapapahiya dito (at least sa food and venue), and it definitely doesn’t look cheap, no no, not at all!  What’s the catch then?

Sadly, based from years of personal experiences and loads of feedback from couples, it’s the service.  They have improved over time and I still could be wrong about them at baka natsatsambahan lang everytime we shoot there, and you can call it trivial, but haii, it cud drive the guests and the couples nuts.  the last time we shot there, guests are complaining that they’re almost done with their meals pero the drinks haven’t arrived yet.  During cake-cutting, wine toasting, and dove release,  it should be routine that an attendant would assist them with all these. but despite our constant nagging, no knife, no spoon, and no one cared to come forward to even help drag the doves out!!

Then again, this won’t stop me from considering them (although by reading this they might reject me someday hehe).  They might have some faults, but if you’re into a tight budget and you still prefer a decent hotel reception then by no means don’t let this affect you!  I guess you will just have to make sure they attend to you properly during reception

Likewise, if you want to have a presentable civil wedding, GEH-Makati is a great deal.

Bridal car included in some of their packages

Click here to see a sample of  a Great Eastern Hotel Wedding.

Contact details:
Great Eastern Hotel
7842 Makati Avenue
Makati City Philippines
Phone: +63(02)898-2888
Fax: +63(02)899-3196

http://www.greateasternhotelmanila.com

Budget Factor:  Five stars! Definitely a great deal!

Shutter Factor:  No problem with this, lots of shooting opportunities.

Atmosphere:  Class, decent to grand function rooms, but service might lag sometimes

Possible Church Venues:
Saints Peter and Paul Parish (a block away, along Burgos)
Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine
Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Guad)
Saint Andrew Church (Reposo St.)

Note: I only included proximal venues here

–For bride & grooms on a budget looking for  very affordable photo-vid packages, visit www.litzv.com.  Packages starting at 17k, photo-vid service only at 10k. thanks for visiting my shutterbride blog! –

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