Clark Marriott Hotel — Hotel in Mabalacat

My ratings are based on experience relative to expectations, and those expectations are set by price and status. This is my definition of value, and I think is the only way to fairly compare experiences across differing price points.

It is on this basis that I rate Marriott Clark at 3 stars. It underperformed my expectations of a 5 star hotel at its price point in the local market. These are my observations:

The lobby is voluminous, with four dining spaces,leading to conference suites. It is a big, bustling space designed to handle large groups of people - weekday conference trade and weekend package tours. This means it lacks any kind of ambience and from the moment of your arrival you feel like one of a crowd. In a top hotel, when you enter a room it should feel like you are the first person to stay in it. By contrast, our deluxe room felt old and tired. We had a number of maintenance issues; some were fixed (a wardrobe light which wouldn’t go out, likewise a flashing ceiling light), and some weren’t (a faulty bedside electrical socket, broken tracking on window shades which meant they didn’t open or shut fully). Other than this there general signs of wear and tear. The best thing about the room was the view from the 7th floor, which was beautiful. The pool is really disappointing. It is rectangular, small and shallow (4 ft). The poolside area is large but sparsely dressed - only about a dozen beds with no attempts to create any ambience. It is bizarre such a major hotel makes so little effort with such a key amenity - there are 2 and 3 star hotels in the area with much better pools. 10 people and it feels crowded. The pool bar is also distinctly average. At night it is a bit livelier due to its popularity with local girls and young foreign military men - say no more. The gym is inadequate. Again, too small and sparsely equipped. I went in to do some weights and stretches, but I couldn’t find any mats and with 5 people inside it already felt busy. I left. I think female guests would find it even less appealing than I did.

Why does Marriott feel it doesn’t have to make an effort with such things? The answer is the business and casino traffic guarantee their occupancy is high, so there is no incentive to invest. If you are a non-gambling leisure traveller paying your own bills, you can do better elsewhere.

On the plus side, the staff were courteous and cheerful, and the breakfast buffet covers all the bases (but no baked beans, oddly - a cooked breakfast essential). These aren’t really differentiators for a decent Filipino hotel, however. One thing was - Smoki Moto. We were very well looked after there. It has spectacular views, good food options and knowledgable bar staff. It was the highlight of our stay. If we do come back, it will probably be because of that. It is just a shame the rest of the hotel is so lacking...

I rate hotels on how they meet my expectations. Of course those expectations are set by the price and status of the hotel in question. It is in this basis that I rate Marriott Clark at 3 stars, as it underperformed my expectations of a 5 star hotel at its price point in the local market. This is why:||1. The lobby is voluminous, with four dining spaces,leading to big conference suites. It is a big, bustling space designed to handle large groups of people - weekday conference trade and weekend package tours. This means it lacks any kind of ambience and from the moment of your arrival you feel like one of a crowd. |2. In a top hotel, when you enter a bedroom it should feel like you are the first person to stay in it. By contrast, our deluxe room felt old and tired. We had a number of maintenance issues; a wardrobe light which wouldn’t go out, likewise a flashing ceiling light, a faulty bedside electrical socket, and broken tracking on window shades which meant they didn’t open or shut fully. As well as this, there general signs of wear and tear. The best thing about the room was the view from the 7th floor - which was great. |3. The pool is really disappointing. It is rectangular, small and shallow (4 ft). The poolside area is large but sparsely dressed - only about a dozen beds with no attempts to create any ambience. It is bizarre a major hotel makes so little effort with such a key amenity - there are 2 and 3 star hotels in the area with much better pools. With 10 people it feels crowded. The pool bar is also distinctly average. At night it is a bit livelier due to its popularity with local girls and young foreign military guys - say no more. |4. The gym is inadequate. Again, too small and sparsely equipped. I went in to do some weights and stretches, but I couldn’t find any mats and with 5 people inside it already felt busy. I left. I think female guests would find it even less appealing than I did. ||Why doesn’t Marriott make more of an effort with the facilities? The answer, I suspect, is the business and casino traffic guarantee their occupancy is high, so there is no incentive to invest. If you are a non-gambling leisure traveller paying your own bills, there are better options nearby. ||On the plus side, the staff were courteous and cheerful, and the breakfast buffet covers all the bases (but no baked beans, oddly - a cooked breakfast essential). These aren’t differentiators for a hotel of this calibre, however. One thing is - Smoki Moto. We were very well looked after in this top floor restaurant, which has spectacular views, good food options and knowledgable bar staff. It was the highlight of our stay. If we do come back, it will probably be because of that. It is just a shame the rest of the hotel is so lacking...

We are very pleased with our stay in Marriott! We celebrated our twins' 7th birthday and we are very delighted for the effort the team has exerted to set-up the room to surprise my kids. I believe this is through the effort of Randolph from Concierge, together with Karen, Ria and Lucky. I've note met them all personally except for Randolph, but i i want to thank them for the preparation as i saw their names on my kids' cards. Everything was perfect, the banner, balloons, sweets, the kids loved them, so did we. Kristine in the hotel reception was also very friendly and warm in welcoming us. We arranged for a dinner at Goji and Geraldine, was also very attentive to our needs. Appreciated the safe-keeping of our cake and bringing them out with a happy birthday song. The kids were delighted.

I guess the only unsatisfactory we experienced is the miscommunication for ur dinner. I booked this on the same day i booked our stay, Jun 21. Although I cannot remember who i spoke with, but i was told that 7-12yo will be half the price of adults, while 6-below is free of charge. We were a family of 5, 3 kids (12, 7, 7) plus us parents. I humbly requested if the fee for the twins can still be waived since they just turned 7 on that day. She said yes its ok. But in the evening of that dinner, we were charged with 3 half-price. I told Geraldine that that was how it was explained to me (2 kids free, 1 half price), but she told me, 6-12yo is half the price, not 7-12 as explained to me in the phone. Anyway, she was apologetic for the misunderstanding and i just had it charged to us.

After our check out, Randolph talked to us again to ask how our stay was. I told him about the dinner incident and he called Paul the manager. He was apologetic as well and told us that next time we come to Marriott again, the kids can come in for free for dinner. It was nice of him. However, in this situation, it is really hard and rare to travel. It just so happens that its my kids birthday so we tried to plan it the best way we can. I've stayed in Marriott in Manila and in other countries and i am always impressed by its service and standards. So i really chose Marriott Clark (actually over Hilton Clark). It would be a long time again before we can come back, if we will.

Anyway, we really had a great time. Most importantly, the kids were very happy. Thank you Marriott for your excellent service!

By the way, i love the cute bathrobes and slippers just right for the kids. Also...