I had an excellent stay at the Marco Polo Davao. It is truely a first class property.

The hotel is centrally located and can be seen from afar quite easily. Some of the best Souvenir shopping in the city is located directly across the street at the Aldevinco mall. Assuming that you can get past the guys with the bobo rolexes and you know how to bargain. That mall also has the best dollar-peso exchange rates that I could find in Davao.

Security is very tight - armed guards at the street entrance and a bag inspection and frisking at the door (which is standard at most large venues in Davao).

All of the staff are very professional, friendly and responsive. My room was always cleaned well with little intrusion to my odd schedule. Anything I needed from the staff was provided quickly and with a smile.

The one minor flaw is that there isnt anywhere in the property to grad a quick bite to eat. All of the resto's are full service. For this reason I might consider a Continental Club room on my next stay.

I love this hotel. The staff are very professional, friendly and courteous. I was among the pioneering staff when the hotel first opened in 1999. Being there for two years, I learned so much about the hotel industry. The management really trains their staff and takes care of them. I am now based in Southern California and married to my husband whom I actually met in the Marco Polo. This place is really special to me. When I went back in 2004 with my husband and 2 kids, I felt so good to be back home. We stayed for 1 week in the hotel. The rooms are very well maintained, look just like it first opened to the public. I love the lobby lounge and hanging there every night takes all your stress away. The music, the friendly, smiling waitresses are just perfect to set a romantic yet casual ambience. The Eagle's bar is really cool with the dimmed lights and subtle music. Everywhere in the hotel, you find smiling and hospitable staff ready to help you. It is just heaven there! I can't wait to be back. I really miss Davao!

We stayed in the Marco Polo for two nights after Christmas and we were impressed by the friendliness of the staff and the quality of the rooms. This hotel is by far the best in Davao City, and is the only one of international standard. The food has improved remarkably compared to when the hotel first opened. The Executive rooms on the top two floors are well worth the extra cost, as they give access to the Continental Club on the 17th floor with free breakfast, snacks, cocktails and concierge service. The swimming pool and the poolside snacks are great.

My family stayed at Marco Polo on our trip to Davao this year and just as it was 5 years ago, it was a relaxing and pleasant experience. We flew into Davao from Manila on Cebu Pacific and saved our boarding pass so we stayed for the first five days at about half the normal price. Security has stepped up significantly since our last stay with all taxis being searched before being allowed to approach the hotel and all bags being searched before being allowed into the hotel. Also, men are searched for any handguns they may be carrying. Everyone doing the searches are extremely courteous and friendly so its not really an inconvienience. We left for Mati for 3 days before returning to Davao and tried to stay at another hotel in the city that was a little less expensive but I have to say the cleanliness of the hotel was anything but "royal". When we complained about the cleanliness of the room they suggested "why don't you go to the Marco Polo?"....so we did. We went back to Marco Polo and paid the regular price (about $80/night) but it was well worth the money. We had a nice relaxing last week in Davao.