Marco Polo Hotel Davao

If you want the most from your stay in Davao City and you don't intend to scrimp, put yourself up at Marco Polo Davao, the city's premier address, a perfect home away from home. It is located smack in the middle of Davao City’s shopping and business district, a leisurely 20-minute drive from the international airport.

You can select between rooms with sea view (facing the Davao Gulf) and mountain view (facing the majestic Mt. Apo, the Philippines' highest peak), all elegant and generous in comfort and space. (I prefer the latter, as the mountainside sunset is always a spectacle to be enjoyed.) There are also suites on the Continental Club floor if you prefer utmost privacy. All rooms have broadband Internet.

The hotel itself serves international buffet (Cafe Marco), Cantonese cuisine (Lotus Court), high tea (Lobby Lounge), and international à la carte (Bistro Pool Lounge). Your favorite drink is served by the Eagles Bar any time of day. Bars and restaurants also abound around the hotel vicinity and other nearby districts.

Other amenities include the spa, swimming pool, fitness room and business center.

I prefer this hotel over the Insular Waterfront Hotel in Davao hands down. The staff are very friendly. The hotel is newer and a lot cleaner than the Insular.

Security: If you pull up in a taxi or any other vehicle, there are 2 security guards that will stop the vehicle and walk around it with a mirror to inspect the underside of the vehicle and will ask the driver to open up the trunk for a visual inspection. When they see all is in order, they will wave you on. When you reach the front entrance of the hotel, you will be required to have purses, carry-on bags, and shopping bags searched. There is a staff member who will quickly "pat" the men down around the waist and thigh areas looking for certain "items" deemed dangerous that they will naturally confiscate and hold you at bay for.

Hotel Rooms: They are quite nice and clean including the bathrooms. We stayed on the 14th floor and can see the view of Davao City, Mt Apo, and the gulf. It was a lovely view. There is a modest size television in the room with cable that have American, Filipino, Japanese, and Arabic channels. The bed was comfortable for me. Every morning there is a hotel staff who delivers a complimentary newspaper called the Philippine Star. If you are not in your room, they will place the newspaper in front of your room door. There is a hotel key card holder in the room that activates the lights in the main living area and in the bathroom. I don't know why this is and seems silly but that's how it works. So be sure you ask for 2 or more hotel key cards when you check in. One key card can be devoted to the lights, while your other key cards can be kept in your wallet or purse when you leave the room.
A thermostat is located in the room to adjust the room temperature.

Breakfast: Their breakfast area is very large and decorative. Breakfast is in a form of a buffet. As soon as the waitress picks a table for you, it's off to the buffet area. You can get anything from bacon, eggs, rice, chili, waffles, muffins, hash browns, garlic rice, a variety of juices, water, coffee, tea, etc. You can either pay or have it charged to your room.

Internet Access: If you have a laptop, you will need 2 things. 1) A transformer (if it's a U.S. or other foreign laptop that uses a different voltage), and 2) internet vouchers. A transformer can be sent to your room directly by the housekeeping staff after you call the front desk requesting for one. Be sure the transformer has the right plug fittings before you let the housekeeping staff member leave. Naturally, they will require you to sign for the transformer so you don't "accidentally" bring the transformer along with you after you check out. When you are done with the transformer, either return it to the front desk prior to checking out, or call housekeeping for them to stop by your room to pick it up.
Internet vouchers are purchased at the front desk and you can buy them by the hour or an all day rate. The vouchers contain perforated edges for you to peel back to reveal a predesignated username and password which can only be used for that internet session only. When your session expires, you will need to buy another internet voucher that will have a totally different username and password associated with it.
There is a lan cable next to the desk in the room that will allow you to make your physical internet connection.

Fitness Center: I've used this facility only once during my 2-day stay there. It's not a huge fitness center but it is adequate size to get a good cardio workout and to tackle on any strength training you may want to knock out. They have treadmills, stair climbers, nautilus equipment, and other things. My main focus was my 60-minute run on the treadmill machine. There is a staff member at the front desk who will have you annotate your name and room number on a form and will hand you a workout towel afterwards.

Currency Exchange: Yes, you can exchange certain currencies there to pesos at the front desk. However, you will not get the best rate. The hotel staff even admitted to this and referred me to a place not to far away from the hotel to exchange currency.

Swimming Pool: A very nice size pool. Nothing too fancy, but it is a welcome break from the heat and humidity.

There are many other features and amenities this hotel has to offer; but, I haven't the opportunity to experience all of it during my short stay there.