Manila Condo Near Mall of Asia | Solemare Parksuites

Outdoor pool and basketball

Solemare Parksuites is a quiet, modern high rise condo complex in the Pasay area near Manila bay (the seafront) and walking distance to the Mall of Asia, and casinos. Rooms start at ~$400/month.

Some helpful blog fans said an apartment at Solemare would be well located for online dating and live poker. So on my last Philippines trip I booked a daily rental on AirBnb for $35/night to check it out.

Heaviest dumbbell 25kg

Indeed the Mall of Asia is the one of the nicest malls in Manila and Filipina girls are happy to go there as a bit of a day out. Easy for them to take a shuttle bus to get there for a date without flaking.

And if you’re a live poker player it’s a short walk to City of Dreams, Solaire, and a short cab ride to Resorts World. Dating and gambling on tap!

Lat pulldown, exercise bikes, treadmills

If you’re more into the red light scene than dating site girls the best area of Manila to live would be by P. Burgos Street which is quite far from Solemare in rush hour.

Personally I’d still prefer Gramercy Residences or Knightsbridge to be walking distance to gogo bars and more nightlife.

Living room at Solemare

The gym is also not that great (no barbells) at Solemare Parksuites so if you’re into serious lifting that’s another reason to prefer one of those Makati condos, or The Beacon.

If casinos aren’t a priority and you have the cash to burn the BGC is the most upscale part of Manila, somewhere like Trion Tower or Serendra.

Outside chillout area

Solemare Parksuites is still pretty nice though, relatively cheap (e.g. 21,000 pesos negotiable one year lease on Craigslist) and the outdoor basketball court is a really nice touch.

And there still are some mongering options nearby, it’s across the street from two KTVs Apeiro and The Bay, a short cab ride to KTVs Titans and Air Force One, and the EDSA bikini bars are also located in Pasay.

Room service massage at the condo complex

So if you prefer Asian style discreet mongering in KTVs then Solemare Parksuites is perfect. Not many bars or discos around though, it’s a quiet area. Some laid back restobars on the promenade by the sea.

It’s also near the airport you can see planes taking off and landing from the window, no noise though.

Room

Separate bedroom

The 1 bedrooms are pretty small about 25 square metres, like a studio cut in half with a separate living room and bedroom, with a small kitchenette along one wall and the bathroom by the door.

Most units should come furnished with fridge / TV / microwave / sink, hot water and air con. Cute pinay not included.

About to hop in the shower

The daily rental I stayed in didn’t have wifi and the bed was small, you can Google site:airbnb.com solemare parksuites to find much better units.

For example this listing is cheaper and better, has a balcony. You can see pics of the jacuzzi on that link too, and a games room with a pool table that I missed. Sign up here first if you’re new to Airbnb for $35 off your first booking.

That long black hair

Facilities

There are four towers and several shops and cafes downstairs, and a restaurant. Also a 7/11 open all hours.

Security didn’t hassle me when I bought girls home although I only took one. Guests are definitely allowed but they might ask for the girl’s ID.

There’s a river on one side and the whole complex is slightly away from the main road so no noise pollution and it’s quite relaxed to walk or jog around the block.

Lots of office worker chicks milling around to hit on.

River on the left

The basketball court and pool are part of a huge outside garden courtyard type area with green spaces, tables, gazebo.

It’s on one of the middle floors and in between all of the condo towers, can only be accessed by the lifts.

Central courtyard

There’s an internet room with free wifi connected to that courtyard, a karaoke / cinema room and a function room. All mostly empty like the pool and gym.

The female security came in when I took this pic lol, it would be a pretty safe condo for a family to stay at, access card required in the lifts, CCTV etc.

Karaoke / cinema

The pool deck was under renovations when I was there (happens a lot in the Philippines) but it’s separate area to the main pool and has a jacuzzi.

Here’s the rest of the pics I took.

Security

Pool deck

So there’s two swimming pools

Function / dining room

Lobby

River view

Overall it’s a pretty nice modern condo that doesn’t quite have the same high end feel as the other Manila apartments I checked out, or facilities quite as nice (gym / pool), and not as many floors (Solemare has 18).

But it’s cheaper, quieter, sea views, and is perfect for certain things, poker, basketball and KTVs.

Meet Filipinas in Pasay here

Location

  • Solemare Parksuites on Google maps (not the Ayala location, that’s a leasing office)

Address – Diosdado Macapagal Blvd, Parañaque, Metro Manila

22 Responses

  1. -Cam says:

    Oh yeah! I’d stay in Solemare just for the ball court

  2. BangkokBaller23 says:

    Funny, Solemare Parksuites is the ONLY one I was looking at for a stay in Manila. Outdoor basketball court is a major selling point as I actually play 3-4x/week.

    In BKK there’s Red Bull X-Park (my fav) and other local options scattered about.

    Saigon/Vietnam….didn’t see ANY courts; but, they are probably there….with 9′ rims so I can dunk on them and feel good about myself! :p

    • jspill says:

      Hehe I read your mind

      The Base condo in BKK has an outdoor court http://i.imgur.com/JBXJCrQ.jpg

      • BangkokBaller23 says:

        Thanks for the tip!

        Yeah I see The Base Sukhumvit 77 has ONE hoop on a nice court….but not fenced in/enclosed? Plus, I’ve never stayed over near On Nut area….but could be a new adventure sometime.

        Appreciate the “shameless pandering” to your reader’s interests!?!?! 🙂

  3. Henry says:

    This is a good area, and there is a new mega-casino called Okada, which just opened. I play lots of live poker at both City of Dreams and Solaire – next time gotta try Okada.

    Lots of new Condos and buildings coming up in this area. Will get better in the future.

  4. Spirit maze says:

    I stayed in Hotel 101 in Pasay for a few weeks last year. Fucking expensive, but was a prime location for Mall of Asia meet-ups. Every girl in Manila knows Mall of Asia, so it’s an easier sell for a date.

    I get loads of girls who claim not to know where Century Mall is (Knightsbridge and Gramercy meet up point). For some weird reason girls are intimidated by the traffic and logistics of Makati far more than Mall of Asia. Maybe MOA has more direct Jeepneys going there. Who knows?

    • jspill says:

      Yeah I did a quick google theres a 40 peso shuttle bus from across the city to MOA. Dante will prob know more on jeepneys hehe

      • kick2dante says:

        ive jeepneyed it before from makati, goes to bundia and then there is a free jeep from there i believe

        ya lots of girls in manila have no clue where century mall is, cant exactly tell them you will meet them at burgos, and if you say its near greenbelt just 2km’s up on makati ave they cant comprehend

    • Henry says:

      Well, Century Mall is very new and quite small. Everyone knows Greenbelt in Makati.

      • Spirit maze says:

        Downside of Mall of Asia is it’s location in Pasay. I had Makati divas openly smirking at me for staying in Pasay. Most of my shags at Mall of Asia were Cavite slum dogs and dirty Paranaque poontang. You can usually get them quite young from those parts tho which is nice. And by young I mean 18 years old. No pedo.

  5. bluegrassplayer says:

    I used to recommend solemare but no longer do. My last few months there the place was infested with bugs. I asked and apparently it wasn’t just my room. Also I began noticing that there are long hairline cracks running throughout the building, I’m assuming from the earthquake which happened last year. Given the 3 recent ones this week I wouldn’t want to stay there.

    Seeing the drawn guns outside of the shopping center there didn’t help either.

    I also think resorts world is the best option for any live grinder (although honestly I wouldn’t recommend Philippines for anyone serious about grinding live) so the time saved by living in solemare vs Makati isn’t worth the other sacrifices.

    If someone was set on living in the moa area I’d suggest choosing shell or sea residences or one of the ones closer to moa.

    • Henry says:

      i did not like sea residence too much, even though their pool is big.
      damn hard to find a good place in manila.

    • sled mobiles says:

      I’m strongly considering moving to Manila and playing live. Why do you say grinding live there isn’t a good idea? In your opinion where would be the best place to live for a guy who just wants to play live and isn’t a nightlife or sexpat type of guy. Appreciate any help, thanks.

      • bluegrassplayer says:

        It’s hard to find above 100/200 stakes ($2/$4). 200/400 doesn’t run regularly anywhere.

        Rake is too high to make a lot of money given the low stakes. I think a good expectation would be a few thousand usd a month for crushers.

        Macau, Vegas

        • sled mobiles says:

          Appreciate the responses fellas. I meant the best place to live in Manila to play live. Have a gf there and am considering moving and playing live and online in Manila, trying to narrow it down to the 2 or 3 best spots to avoid crazy traffic, have decent to good internet, and in a decent area. Obviously not trying to pick up girls and not a nightlife kind of guy either… Looking at gramercy and knightsbridge, they look kinda far with traffic from casinos?

          • jspill says:

            After I checked out Trion Tower condo in the BGC for this review

            https://www.nomadphilippines.com/the-fort-manila-bgc

            I went to play poker and it only took 10 mins to Resorts World cos there’s a road directly from the BGC to there without much traffic, Lawton Avenue. I’ve added a route map to that page.

            I know some grinders at Gramercy / Knightsbridge they go to grind before rush hour and come back late at night, and they don’t mind it

      • jspill says:

        Yeah I know some guys play in Macau 3 months at a time (90 day visa on arrival) then just relax in the Philippines, or grind semi-professionally, not expecting to make a huge hourly

        • Henry says:

          Macau is really expensive, they hardly play any low stakes there.
          I think the lowest is 25/50 Hong Kong Dollars, which would be like 3/6 Euros right now.
          I managed to blow 2000 Euros in 3 days at playing Cash Game in Macau. Not for the faint-hearted.
          And most Maniacs / rich fish seem to play the even higher stakes there.

        • jspill says:

          True but not sure if it’s possible to earn much of a living long term at $1/$2 in the rest of Asia after rake, when that’s the most common stake

  6. Cos says:

    Is online poker still legal in the Philippines? I’m from Australia, no online poker here. I’m thinking of moving to the Philippines after the borders open up to grind online, or in live games if they are profitable enough.

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