Marco Polo Ortigas Manila — Hotel in Pasig

I am a repeat customer of the establishment and had polar opposite experiences during both of my staua. The first time was in July, the accomodations and service was spot on. Room service was great, housekeeping made sure everything was stocked.

The second time was in August when I stayed for 6 days- and was very disappointing. Upon check in, I was offered an upgrade which I took- considering my previous experience with the service. It was not what I expected. Upon entering the room, I noticed some things wrong with the room- robes, shower door would not close, and the GREATEST (and NASTIEST) FLAW was the DIRTY UTENSIL PLATE next to the welcome fruit plate (picture attached). Of course, I immediately brought these issues to the front desk’s attention and I have to commend the staff because I later on received a supplemental fruit plate when I returned to the room, perhaps as an apology for the service.

All was pretty good but the housekeeping service- it was very inconsistent. One day, room slippers were missing, the next, only one towel was left, etc. The shower door still did not close causing water to go outside of the bathroom. One day, one of the closet bracket screws came off when I opened it. It just got to a point where it was routine for me to call guest services to have whatever was missing replenished. Again, I was impressed, although I am not sure what the real reason was- but I was offered a gift of chocolates and wine. Perhaps as an apology, again.

Lastly, I do have to mention about my dining experience. I went to Cusina for breakfast. I was well greated and seated next to the waiter/waitresses’ station was. When I was given a table, I was asked if I wanted any drinks, so I requested coffee and warm water. I then went ahead and got myself food from the buffet. When I got back to my table, my drinks were not yet there, which at the time, I thought was fine. But upon reading the room, I noticed that more attention was being given to other tables (foreigners), like refilling their coffee cups and water glasses, getting them tea, etc. So maybe about 15 minutes had passed since I was seated and asked what I wanted to drink, I asked a waitress where I was supposed to go to get coffee and water, and she said she would get some. I had to ask again and the waiter gave me both the water and coffee. Everything after that went “ok,” so I thought… After finishing my plate, I stood up to get more food, leaving my silverware, half full glass of water and cup of coffee. When I got back to my table, it was completely cleaned as I had finished eating. The one waitress who cleared my table saw me and said, “Ay!” That’s it. No apology whatsoever. That time it felt unwelcome and like I was being singled out and rushed to leave. Unlike tables surrounding me, the attentiveness and service was night and day compared to what I received. Perhaps it was because I was an ordinary looking Filipino, I don’t know. I didn’t go back for breakfast again. I really think that the Cusina restaurant (or perhaps all of the food services in the hotel) needs to do something about their service especially for us ordinary looking folks. I understand it is a difficult and demanding job, but it’s quite rude to clean out a table of a person who is not yet finished eating. Even more rude to not offer a simple apology.

I do want to note that the waiter in that section stood out and gave me better service. Before I left, I approached him and gave him a tip.

Lastly, upon check out, I was trying to bring up the issues I experienced to the front desk attendant and she wasn’t interested. I consequently asked where I could leave a review and she said the email I will receive after checking out should have a link. I checked our 8/24 and until now, I still did not received one.

That being said, my initial visit to the hotel was great but the succeeding stay had too many things wrong. Perhaps next time, I will choose to stay elsewhere. I WILL NOT STAY in this hotel again. I DO NOT RECOMMEND this hotel. There are other...

I just want to quickly spend time in telling you my recent experience in Marco Polo Ortigas. By the way, I hope you still work there and if not, feel free to share with me the person I need to attention this email to as I want to really pass on the GREAT experience I had last night. Let’s start of with a massive 10/10. We celebrated my son’s graduation dinner at Cucina. But before I get there 2-3 weeks back i brought my wife to Cucina to make a reservation and also experience the dinner buffet at Cucina. As always I was impressed and for my wife who really does not want “Greek” said yes we should bring our family there for the special occasion. So Pola who was the attending manager there took our details and I must say made my reservation experience perfect. The details were on point and even if I had to call 2 nights before to confirm my reservation (my choice) I was impressed that down to the last minute detail she took note of it and passed in on to the person present during the night. Professional is the best remark I can think of. During the night of the dinner, the mood and the food was delicious and on point. My in-laws who I must say is hard to please due to the numerous experiences they’ve had commented that the food was great, the ambience was worth mentioning and even of the choices were not like the other buffets out there; each option was worth tasking and eating. My mom also mentioned that she liked it. She does not go out that much due to home cooking but for her to appreciate it also adds up to the perfect experience. So thank you and I don’t need to give my comments for the breakfast buffet, I always love it (we also a spent the night at Marco Polo). Special mention to the Cucina staff last night Chriszalie as she made sure all our requests even if we did not ask for was provided. I think she made that experience an extra +1 on the 10/10. So 11/10? 😊

Regarding the overnight stay, as usual it was an experience. A night never to forget. We had a sound sleep. The room and view was perfect. We got a complimentary cake, balloon, and note when we got back from the graduation ceremony near Marco Polo. What impressed me is that the minute we entered our room 5pm MNL is that one of your staff was already at the door knocking to give the goodies. Compliments to her and I did not get her name but she took a picture of my son with the cake and balloon so please check who she is and just pass on my high regards. I almost thought she was waiting for us to come back in the last 3-4hours. Kim the front desk manager was amazing, other than her presence my felt. It made my family happy to know she recognized me in the elevator and to call me by name made me feel special and well cared for. She also checked on us the other day to see if we were happy. I said yes. Ofcourse! Must mention to Shai the lady at the front desk who assisted us in getting a room. The small talks while processing my check in made it personal and again feeling special. I like those things, I really felt like I am a valued customer. Though I have been staying at Marco Polo I think for the nth time. This is my fifth I feel, FYI.. I did stay there during my birthday as promised in our last email exchange. We are again planning to have another stay a couple of months (next month I hope) from now. Sorry if the email is long, I just wanted to say and elaborate how great my experience was. Thank you so much. Please pass on this email to whoever needs to read it. I hope the people involved in the email gets to know how well they made my experience a...

The gym The gym gets hot, humid and musty and not enough airflow gets there. They have a thermostat but it seems like it never works. Their yoga mats stay wet. People spray the cleaner on them (foam), roll it up, then store it away so it can never have a chance to fully dry. When it rains, water leaks from the roof and makes the floor more slippery than it already is. The floor is slippery even without the roof leak. Perhaps too much body oil accumulation from not cleaning the floors regularly? This gym would be better if they put foam mats all over the floors, fixed the air ventilation and room temperature. The lights they use omit a lot of heat. The gym is not very spacious so you can feel the heat being omitted by the lights.

The elevators The worst elevators ever. They are super slow to arrive and they stop at floors for no reason (no one there waiting to get on). Using their elevators is frustrating. Did I mention that their elevators are slow?! You have been warned…

Room service They will only service your room if the light is on which doesn’t make sense. They should pass servicing your room if the “do not disturb” is on. It seems like if you have none of the service lights on, they assume you do not want service. I do not agree with this concept. Their service light is unnecessary and has caused my room to not be serviced on multiple occasions.

The drawers The rooms are very nice however the choice of drawers are terrible. The handles are flat so there is nothing to grab when trying to open the drawer causing my fingers to slip, every single time, and I have to strategically find a way to open the drawer. Internet Just like their elevators, the internet is the worst. It is SO SLOW that I haven’t had any success making a facetime call or video chat without a lag or the call dropping. They provided alternate internet codes which is apparently “faster.” Ive tried 3 different wifi passwords and they are all subpar.

Dim Lighting Lights are meant to help see better- please install some brighter lights in your rooms. Its easy to dim the room than to brighten so please give the customer that option. The light switches are buttons. This is quite an annoyance because there are buttons on both sides of the bed (like 7 different buttons) that do not have labels so it takes a while to learn which button controls the lights. Minor issue- more of an annoyance if anything.

Thermostat in Room Like the gym thermostat, I question its adequacy in working. My room will never cool below 21 degrees.

Alcoholic drinks I’ve tried 3 of their red wines- worst wines I’ve ever tasted. “You cant go wrong with a cab” – but yes, YES you can go wrong with a cabernet if you get it from the Marco Polo. I love wine and the wine selections here are just terrible. Ordered a Pina Colada to avoid any more wine- which turned out even worse. Could not taste any alcohol, it was not sweet at all, they mixed pineapple chunks in the drink which had a papery texture. I did not like the feeling of drinking paper and was constantly spitting it out. Also, the worst pina colada I’ve ever had in my life.

Overall The staff is very nice and will always greet you and make you feel special. The hotel is aesthetically pleasing. However, the above mentioned should not be issues at a 5-star hotel. I would not stay here again and would pay extra to stay at a true 5-star hotel like...