City Garden Grand Hotel is the tallest and smartest of the hotels within walking distance of P. Burgos Street, and if your budget stretches to it, it is where we would put a first-time visitor to Manila. It stands at the top of Makati Avenue where it meets Kalayaan, roughly 200 metres — three minutes on foot — from the head of the Burgos strip, with the whole of Poblacion on the doorstep and the Ayala business district fifteen minutes the other way.
The reason to book it is the roof. The 32nd floor has an infinity pool with an unobstructed view over Makati and BGC and a restaurant-bar beside it, and sunset up there with a San Miguel is the best hour of a Manila day. Rooms below are proper four-star: big beds, walk-in showers, blackout curtains that actually work, and enough soundproofing that Poblacion does not follow you upstairs. The breakfast buffet is generous and gets consistently good marks in 2025–26 reviews, as do the front-desk staff.
Guest policy, as reported by guests and by the guest-friendly listing sites in August 2026: visitors are welcome with photo ID registered at security, and no joiner fee is charged. That combination — a genuine four-star with a relaxed door — is rarer in Manila than it is in Angeles City, and it is the main reason this hotel keeps turning up in forum recommendations. Confirm the policy at check-in.
The gripes are minor and consistent: the pool gets crowded at weekends and closes earlier than guests expect, the gym is small for a hotel this size, and the lift wait at breakfast can be tedious. Rates start around $71–95 (₱4,000–5,400) in normal months and climb over Christmas and Holy Week.
Who it suits: the man who wants a real hotel, a pool with a view and a three-minute walk to the strip, and does not mind paying twice what the Burgos budget rooms cost. See the alternatives on the Manila hotels page and the policy explainer on guest-friendly hotels.
| Tier | Upscale (4-star) |
|---|---|
| From | About $71 (₱4,000) a night, Aug 2026 |
| Walk to P. Burgos | ~3 min (about 200 m) |
| Pool | 32nd-floor rooftop infinity pool with restaurant-bar |
| Guest-friendly | Yes — visitor registers photo ID (reported Aug 2026) |
| Joiner fee | None reported |
Pros
- + 32nd-floor infinity pool with a Makati skyline view
- + Genuine four-star rooms and soundproofing
- + Guest-friendly with no joiner fee (as reported, Aug 2026)
- + Three minutes from P. Burgos, fifteen from Ayala
Cons
- − Roughly double the price of the Burgos budget hotels
- − Pool crowded at weekends and closes early
- − Small gym for the size of the property
