The Marco Polo is well located on the edge of a man-made lake in the city. It is slightly jaded, having been around for about ten years, but is, generally, ok. Rooms fairly comfortable, public areas quite acceptable. Breakfast is awful! Cold, poor quality food and absolutely chaotic service. Rates are rather expensive for the standards it offers.

Stayed at Marco Polo, Xiamen for 4days 3nights and enjoyed each of my day there. Before I even reached Xiamen, Danny, the GM already assured my reservation with hotel pick up via email! His reponse is prompt too! Really appreciate it :)

About the staff -
On the day of arrival, received with warm welcome from staff who came to airport to pick up my mother and myself. Then there was this waiter who added a little more warmth and touch to our stay by remembering our favourite seat and our "usual" beverages. Another staff, a bellboy showed us directions to where we wanted to go (which is only within walking distance), saving us from the taxi fare and indirectly, allowed us to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the park/ lake opposite the hotel!

Hotel Room -
Clean and spacious with complimentary bottled mineral water topped up daily. In addition, complimentary toiletaries were replenished after each room make-up.

Breakfast -
Buffet breakfast was fantastic with lots of variety - Asian, Western and Japanese spread. Slight changes in the variety for the 3-day breakfast that I had. I would consider the breakfast served to be healthy as most of the dishes were neither too oily or salty. To top it up, lots of fruits and yogurt to balance one's diet!

Location -
Not much around the hotel, which would suit travellers who enjoyed peace and quietness...a good place away from the city area.

Others -
Really enjoyed my stay at Marco Polo having considered that I didn't give any tips at all to "buy" these kind of services. The staff who I encountered are very approachable and friendly. They served us with real sincerity and warmth, attending to our every needs. Isn't this what travellers look out for when they are overseas?

Good hotel. Service outstanding from all staff. Room a little smaller than expected (king size double bed) but seemed refurbished with new carpet. Airconditioning worked well. Free bottled water and safe in room were very good. Chinese restaurant at the hotel is relatively cheap (Y44 for evening smorgasbord). Good Italian restaurant and Australian coffee ship in the street outside (shortcut by side-door near elevator). Beautiful lake and park across the road. Checkout time is 2pm. Need to travel everywhere else by taxi, but taxi fare is Y8, so no problem!

I would definitely suggest staying somewhere other than the Marco Polo while in Xiamen.

Good Points:
1. Room was clean
2. Most staff were courteous
3. Nice location and outside surrounding area

Bad Points:
1. Although clean, room looked old when compared to other hotels in China
2. Very expensive for what you get. I paid 710RMB per night. Definitely not a good price for this level of hotel in China
3. Breakfast buffet was subpar. Some western and Chinese dishes, but not too much to choose from

I have stayed in numerous hotels in numerous cities throughout China, and for my money, Marco Polo was by far the worst one.

The killer for me was when I checked out of the hotel. I had paid my deposit for the hotel in cash. So, when the hotel staff gave me my deposit back they slipped in a FAKE 100RMB bill.

Now this seems very odd to me, because when the staff takes your money they run it through a machine to see if there are any counterfeit bills. Therefore, they should not have any counterfeit bills in their cash registers, unless one of their staff slipped it in.

Anyways, it doesn't matter how the bill got in there, the fact that I received a counterfeit bill from a "reputable" hotel left a very bad taste in my mouth. NO MORE MARCO POLO FOR ME!

Also, warning to anyone traveling to China...ALWAYS check your money. A friend of mine even got counterfeit bills from an ATM in China. So beware!!!