After meeting Mayette Bustamante of Motif and Styles, we went to three hotels that are near San Sebastian Church: Manila Hotel, Manila Diamond Hotel, and Hotel Sofitel.

Among the three we have visited, Manila Hotel offered the cheapest room rates, not to mention that it is the nearest to the Church. It has this "Old Manila" ambiance once we stepped inside -- we get the feeling that we're suddenly transported back to the early 1900's. However, we think the place doesn't offer much when it comes to finding a place to get a photo shoot. If we would want to stay at a hotel for a family event, we'd heavily consider Manila Hotel, but in choosing a hotel as a bridal residence, we're having second choices.

The second hotel we visited was Manila Diamond Hotel. The rooms are just of the same size as that in Manila Hotel, but the overall ambiance is different. The color of the room feels lively, and the bath and toilet seems to be bigger. The rooms are oriented in a way that you have a view of the bay on the side of the window, so getting a room on either side of the hotel building doesn't really make any difference.

The most beautiful of the three hotels we have visited was Hotel Sofitel. From the main lobby, to the grand staircase leading to the restaurant and pool area, down to the Zen-inspired corridors when going to the rooms, the hotel gave us the feeling that we are in a place where only the priveleged can stay. We would have chosen this among the three, but the room rates and the Php5000 fee for using the grand staircase for photo shoots made us think otherwise.

We finally decided that we would be staying at the Manila Diamond Hotel before and after the wedding ceremonies. We would be making reservations before the next weekend comes.

We'll be checking in to the hotel in the morning, prepare for the wedding and photo shoot, leave for a while for the main event, and then go back to the hotel to spend some time in the spa, stay at the pool, and then spend the rest of the night in the room.