Korean Hotel in Angeles City
I happened to stay in the same Korean-owned hotel in Angeles City 2 weeks ago for 5 nights. I have a completely different
take on this hotel and had a positive experience. If I go back to Angeles City I will certainly be staying there again.
First, let me give you some basic facts. The hotel is called Galaxy and is located in the middle of the main walking street. This location is perfect if your goal is to do safe, late night mongering. The rooms are medium-sized, modern and
comfortable. A few of the girls I spoke to said that the hotel was new and it certainly seemed like it to me. Per night it cost about 50 dollars. There is a large wall mirror placed on the wall beside the bed, the AC works quite well and the water
pressure was high. There is also a big pool in the middle of the courtyard if that is your thing. A downside for some is that there is no elevator – no problem for me but if you are older then it could be a cause for concern! The only complaint
I had about the room was that the sheets were not that nice and were pilled up a little bit.
One particular thing I liked about this hotel is that out in front there is a built in "people watching bar". The bar faces the street and has comfortable stools to perch on. You get to see all of the girls walking to work in the
afternoon, something that I did every day.
The security guard is about my age (26) and we made a lot of conversation (almost everyone in PI seems to speak English quite well). We talked about a range of things, from how long he had been working there and what his plans are, to what
he thinks about the girls and most of the other actors on that street. One quite funny thing he told me is that the touts and guys selling garbage (fake watches and fake Viagra) looked like demons because they were so unkempt. When I studied their
facial features I really have to concede that the security guard is really on to something.
I really just disagree with Korski's assessment that the hotel is tuned specifically for Koreans (and Koreans only). Here is some hard evidence of this.
First, the restaurant downstairs serves a wide variety of food – not just Korean. I remember eating pasta, Caesar salad, grilled chicken and a hamburger. By the way, all of these items were priced about the same, and of the same quality (which
is adequate but not great), as the other establishments on the road.
More evidence is that the TV had about half of its channels in English, a couple in Korean, 2 in the local lingo and a couple in Japanese.
Third, the free computer provided for guests in the lobby is in English by default (not Korean). The owner actually introduced himself to me as well when I was playing chess (the internet was not working at that time) at this computer. We
actually had a decently long conversation about chess, Korean politics (about the north and south divide) and his interest in where I was from and what I was up to in life. He then instructed his staff to give me free coffee. That is a level of
service that just knocks it out of the park and I felt *VERY* welcome compared to almost any other hotel I've been to in the past.
Fourth, the hotel was filled with people from all sorts of countries. There was a group of wealthy Africans, a few Middle Eastern parties, some Europeans, some Koreans and Japanese and a few Americans. It seems logical to me that if the owner
was indeed an insular racist he would have excluded at least *some* nationalities.
Fifth, all of the prices and signs for guests were written in English. This includes things like massage menu in the room. I actually don't even remember seeing written Korean anywhere in my stay… although I am sure I probably missed
some, somewhere.
One of the programs I saw on the Discovery channel there was about a couple of Americans bidding on abandoned storage units… the big finds being guns, chainsaws and tattoo equipment. Those things actually seem to be the most anti-Korean
I can think of – and no, I am not making this up.
I really think this is a case of someone looking for a truth where there absolutely isn't one. Why is it odd to have a high pillow count, a stool and hardcore porn… in a hotel designed to serve sex mongers? I really, really don't
get it at all.
I fully recommend the hotel and think you'll have a great experience there as well.
Stick's thoughts:
From a personal point of view, I never pay too much attention to the hotel I am staying at because I spend precious little time there. For me, a comfortable bed, reliable wi-fi Internet and a large safe is really what I am looking for. In much of South-East Asia (expensive cities like Singapore excluded) paying north of $50 per night gets just that.
