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| The owners and the Clingers at Makati Junction Hostel (Photo credit to Rodel Flordeliz of NognogintheCity.com) |
It's a new place that deserves to be mentioned. This is the new Makati Junction Hotel located at the Annex Matheus Building at General Luna St. corner Don Pedro, Makati City. I had fun when the Clingies and I visited the place a few days back. You see, I've always have high standards with hotels, and hostels were much like a different league for me so I don't really expect much if I'm staying in one when I'm out of the country. I guess in the Philippines, this might just change your mind when looking at hostels. Yes, I think I found a spot that I can say, be worthy of fun, worthy of the trip to be there.
The interiors and design was done by Edwin Uy, a well renowned Architect in Manila. When this project was given to him, he had hesitations because the place was pretty much like a dump when he found it. The building was new, but the floors and everything else looked dated. There were things here and there that he knew would be a pretty tough job to work on. He mentions "If you really saw what this place looked like when we started, you wouldn't think it would turn out this way. It was hard because we also had a similar adjacent building, we painted the walls, the windows, the rooms, the hallways, the tiles were "baduy", even the air conditioning, we had to make everything else from scratch to make it all look different."
"The kitchen is made of a trailer, and needed a ten wheeler truck, plus a crane to put it in (it was a nightmare waiting to happen). They decided to cut it up on a weekend and opened up the windows so they could get it all in, then rebuilt it by welding it back. We felt we needed something different to give back to Pinoys. It has to be Pinoy. It's a global Filipino, the millenas, that's how it started. We took a trip but only got drunk when we got there. When we found it, we offered it to him (Edwin Uy) and he said NO. It was a huge work and we were in a budget, City really pushed it and it was scary. We did go over budget a little but it is a challenge, and he liked that challenge. It's an economical way of making interiors. From there, it just came through. The lights on the ground floor, it wasn't easy either. It's 123 individual lights so just imagine the magnitude of it. The board is the map of the world and those who stay are encouraged to pin up something from their country to signify they're here." says Ms. Cyndy Jarabata who owns the hostel.
When we saw the ground floor, we felt Edwin Uy seems to be very experimental. It was like taking the things from outside the street in.
His play in textures, colors and graphics is unbelievable. I think he's been given a lot of freedom when it comes to the aesthetics, I like it a lot. The common room would be so nice to hang out in. The decor would also be a nice conversation piece. Aside from that, the kitchen, the tables, the chairs, the windows, everything else contributes to a whimsical play on Makati, to show what it's like to live there.
I don't know any other hostel in the area that encourages hooking up, but I know it's conducive for talk and communing. The rooms are also set up to accommodate male, female, or coed bed spaces and could fit up to 100 people in one go. This is one of the firsts among a number of hostels and hotels that they want to put up. They showed us the rooms later on with the help of their very warm staff.
As for me and my friends the "Clingies", we'll definitely be back there and try out the stay. There's more things to discover and more reasons why to stay in this new place in Makati. There are hundreds of people to meet and who knows, it could happen right here in Makati Junction Hostel. It's a stones throw away from Makati Avenue and about a few meters away from the fun district. You just have to try and stay in a place that's unique, ultra modern and fun because that's where you'll meet the most interesting people. You can call them at +632-5016575 or visit them at Annex Mattheus Building at General Luna Street Corner Don Pedro in Makati City.
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| Fun hehe! |
For more information about their hostel:
Makati Junction Hostel
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