Why I love the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao

Admittedly, I egged Arpee into making sure that my Davao stay will be as comfortable as possible, or else I wouldn’t go. He delivered as he promised by getting us a room at the Marco Polo Hotel. I was already impressed with the pictures that I saw, but I was totally bowled over when I experienced the service and the hospitality of the staff. I can’t help but compare this to the Edsa Plaza Shangrila Hotel, which had been my personal benchmark of top notch service and hospitality. For me, there was none better. Until now.

While most international hotels are hell-bent on making a quick buck, the Marco Polo Davao gave me the impression that its reputation held a higher premium than the bottomline. From the beginning, we decided to book our Davao getaway through Philippine Airlines’ Palakbayan tour packages and bought ours as early as February. Total cost for the trip, hotel, airfare and everything in between amounted to P8,500 each (US$177.00). Transfers and breakfasts were included in the price tag for the three-day, two-night vacation. I would agree that it was kinda pricey, but considering the experience, it was worth every cent.

Upon arrival at the airport, all we needed to do was go to the Marco Polo desk at the arrival area and a well-dressed gentleman introduced himself as being with the hotel and asked for our names for confirmation. After a few minutes, the hotel airport shuttle arrived and carried our luggage for us. Even relatives aren’t THIS nice. The van was not crowded even as we shared it with other clients of the hotel. The driver gave us a receipt for our luggage, which we didn’t see until we got to the room. Check-in was a breeze and NO DEPOSIT was collected from us! I was surprised as most hotels ask for a deposit before they let you in your room. The affable front desk staff spoke seamless Tagalog and communication was no problem at all. Remember, this is my first visit to Mindanao and everything here was new to me. In my trip to Cebu some years back, the receptionists hardly spoke Filipino which made it necessary for us to communicate in English. Plus, the Dabawenos are so friendly, perhaps even friendlier than Manilenos.

 Oh how nice their hallways smelled! No mildew or moldy odors. This is even better than the Indra Hotel in Bangkok, which had some kind of masked odor though not entirely offensive.

So nice of the front desk to make sure that all of Arpee’s requests were granted. No smoking hall, queen-sized bed and a view of the ocean. Really, it’s the little extras that make it more pleasant.

They even gave us a room near the elevators, which I liked.

This is our room’s view. Breathtaking isn’t it? Wanna see the room? Here are the pictures:

A clean bathroom is one of the things I consider when looking for a hotel. My standard is that it should clean floors and none of the dirty, grimey walls. I also require hot and cold shower settings.  A hairdryer, a vanity mirror and fresh face, hand and body towels. Except for the vanity mirror, Marco Polo had everything I needed. 

I specifically loved the water heater, because it churned out hot water in seconds! Great for my morning coffee or evening hot cocoa (or cup noodles). The replenished the two bottles of complimentary drinking water and the coffee bags with cream and sugar, including the ‘equal’.

While I brooded on these extras, Arpee loved the working desk which had a docking station for an iPod and a cable for high-speed internet. Internet access was not free. Arpee paid P388 (US$8.00) for 24 hours of broadband access, which was accessible only by cable from the room and wirelessly throughout the hotel. This is one of the two lowlights that I found. Not that it was accessible only by cable, but that broadband wasn’t free. However, the speed of their Internet was neckbreaking! Imagine, downloads of up to 120 kbps!!!! 

Loved the LCD tv, which isn’t even standard in a lot of hotels in Manila and abroad. 

The second lowlight was the safe. It wasn’t working, but it looks nice in a room though. I could have called it in and have them fix it, but I didn’t because I didn’t like to use it anyway. I had no real valuables on me to find use for the safe, but I do recommend that the Marco Polo management check all their safes. Foreign guests may not be too kind when they find that it doesn’t work.

The bathroom was a joy to use. Strong water with hot and cold settings both on the showers and on the sink. So nice of Marco Polo to change towels everyday, along with daily replenishment of the toiletries like soap, foam bath, shampoo, lotion and cotton buds, which all came in pairs! Gone are the days of unsightly shampoo dispensers attached to grimy walls. The Marco Polo Superior rooms (this is their cheapest) had all the amenities that truly make them 5-star. I loved the hair dryer too! 

By the way, our room came with a full-sized mirror at the door of the bathroom. Because there was no mirror in front of the bed, as this is where they put the 37-inch LCD tv, they compensated with a full-sized mirror at the bathroom door. Not bad when you need to see how good you look in your dress before leaving the room.

A nice place to hang your clothes! I know this is standard in all hotels but theirs smell nice when you open it. Plus two slippers and two extra pillows that go well with their very comfortable bed.

Gone are the days of paper signs hanging on the door. Marco Polo has automated it! Seen here are buttons which you press to choose whether you want the staff to make up your room or not to disturb you.

By the door, easily seen from the hallway, are the signs that light up depending on your choice of buttons. There is also a doorbell that does away with knocking and unnecessary noise. There was this guest in the room across the hall. She was clanging on the door and her companions wouldn’t open. Because of the thickness of the doors, hallway noise is easily muffled. I told her to use the doorbell. She was surprised to learn there was one in their room. Only then did her companion open the door. A little more I would have called security, which would have come up faster than usual because each floor had two closed-circuit cameras and roving security.

Yes, the security! I couldn’t believe how strict they were. Despite recognizing us, they apologized for having to search our belongings each time we went into the hotel. Arpee had to go through a body search each time he went out to buy something. But we didn’t mind. We understood and appreciated that the security was for everyone. As dreamy as the place was, it was still Mindanao. I actually had almost forgotten that. Davao was nothing they said it was. It was far better.

We all know that most hotels have the Holy Bible in their night stand. But how many do you know have the Noble Qu’ran in the other night stand? I was thoroughly impressed at how sensitive Marco Polo was to the religious needs of the followers of Islam. Again this is one of those small things that make you smile. Marco Polo Davao also has Prayer Rooms at the second floor, which are separate for men and women followers of Islam. Wanna see the rest of the facilities?

Going home after Davao FAT was a bittersweet experience. I was sad because I wanted to stay a little longer. However, I was happy because Davao and Marco Polo filled my memory basket with a lot of pleasant ones to bring home to Manila.

As I look out the window of the plane during takeoff I whispered something, hoping the city would hear. ‘I will see you again, Davao”. Perhaps, soon I will make good this promise.

A million thanks to those who made this wonderful Davao visit possible, especially to Blogie  and Ria Jose. Wonderful bloggers of a wonderful city.