Some quick love in the city: Pasig’s “motel row”

True to the “mission” of The Urban Roamer’s Journal, this blog strives to document whatever sight the metropolis has to offer. That means documenting even those places that can be considered “offensive” to one’s moral and religious feelings and risk being jailed. Then again, my “offensive” post from two years back about the “motel row” in Santa Mesa earned the distinction to be the second most read entry in the blog. Due to the popularity and the clamor, the Urban Roamer is “pressed” to write this year’s edition for my “Some quick love in the city.”

It’s the Valentine season once more, and for this occasion, this roamer finds himself at another popular “motel row” in the metropolis, located at the hilly terrains of Pasig City.

To be precise, this area straddles along the barangays of Oranbo and Bagong Ilog, Pasig’s commercially-thriving barangays. Yet despite the growing bustling activity, it is still largely a quiet neighborhood that serves as refuge from the frenzy of the urban jungle, particularly the busy commercial-business district of Ortigas Center located right next door.

With the environment and the topography taken into consideration, I suppose there should be no doubt why this part of Pasig seems to be a favored place for businesses like hotels/motels to set up their establishments here. It could be argued that the Pasig motels have a bit more “prestige” compared to its Santa Mesa counterparts, thanks to the presence of not one, but two motels belonging to a popular and quite prestigious motel chain.

Other than that, the businesses here follow the same formula as its competitors in the Santa Mesa area: promoting through bold letters in their advertisements while offering a certain level of privacy to its guests, whatever their guests have in mind to stay for a while in their establishments.

It’s also good to know that despite the not-so-positive perception on motel establishments, the establishments here strive to put a positive spin to their image by offering something different for its customers. Whether it is through offering themed rooms which can be used for parties and other social events or through its menu, the motel we know is striving to go beyond perceptions and hopefully become more known than just a place for short stay regardless of the intents involved.

© The Urban Roamer