Makabata Guesthouse & Cafe

Top choice in Manila

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This training hotel provides at-risk youth with a chance to get a start in the hospitality industry. But it's more than just a feel-good story. Rooms boast an impressive traditional-meets-modern design, capiz-shell windows offsetting boutique wash basins and plasma TVs. Most rooms have balconies overlooking a colourful local neighbourhood, 700m south of Remedios Circle. The cafe serves tasty light bites.

Discounts offered to volunteers and NGO workers. It's run by the Balay Tuluyan Foundation, a children's rights organisation supported by the Planet Wheeler Foundation.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

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Nearby Manila attractions

1. Metropolitan Museum of Manila

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The 'Met' is a world-class gallery tracing the evolution of Filipino art from the early 20th century to the present. Virtually all great Filipino painters…

2. Malate Church

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This attractive baroque-style church, first built in 1588, is looking in fine fettle after an overhaul in 2015. This version of the church dates from the…

3. Philippine Kim Luan Temple

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Standing as a beacon of serenity among its bawdy surrounds, this Taoist temple is both peaceful and beautiful, and worth popping into for a look.

4. Cultural Center of the Philippines

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The centrepiece of the CCP Complex is this bombastic building designed by noted Filipino architect Leandro Locsin. Inside attractions include the country…

5. Baywalk

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6. 1335Mabini

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This gallery in the colonial Casa Tesoro mansion features regular changing shows of experimental art and installations in its 2nd-floor gallery…

8. Paco Park

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