Marco Polo Hotels in Cebu

This visit to Marco Polo truly saddened me. If you read some of my past reviews of this hotel I noted it was my favorite place to stay anywhere in the world. This was my first post Covid visit and I was shocked and disappointed. - Basic maintenance has not been completed. For example, there is a glass elevator that goes to Blu their rooftop restaurant. This elevator was out of order and when I asked why I was told “Covid.” Covid travel restrictions were lifted a long time ago and that’s no excuse. In a second example, we returned to our room after a long night and the key did not work. It turned out the battery in the electronic device on the door needed to be replaced and the front desk understand the issue immediately, so this must happen often. Good hotels replace these batteries on a schedule so the guests never suffer from dead batteries. - Service, which used to be outstanding?@, is now unacceptable. First, the English language skills of most employees we encountered were sub par. Second, the person who checked me in was being trained, so the check in process was very slow. Third, service at the poolside bar during lunch was slow, the waitstaff inattentive and they failed to include my banana shake on the bill so as we are leaving the grab us and give us a second bill to pay. Fourth, service at breakfast was terrible. I had to ask for black tea three times before I got it, seeking some out 3 times as no one ever came to check on us. When we arrived around 9 AM there was no bacon (later replenished with bacon that looked so bad I did not even try it, fatty and not crisp), there was 1 banana, which was never replenished, there were no juice glasses (later replenished). The food quality was adequate but not nearly up to pre-Covid standards. Overall the service was lacking. - I was also disappointed that the lobby lounge, which used to have live music every night now has piano music only and only 1 night per week I am told. - There was a cart of dirty linens in our hallway both days Some of these things are not expensive or hard to fix. It doesn’t cost a lot to have live music in the lounge nightly as there are lots of singers groups looking for opportunities. It doesn’t cost a lot to make sure you change door card batteries regularly Others are basic requirements if doing business. For example you don’t leave a glass elevator to one of the most expensive restaurants in Cebu out of order for month/years. I am purchasing a condo unit in Marco Polo residences and expected to regularly visit the hotel for meals/drinks, but if this is the quality and service we can expect, then I will not be utilizing their services.