Having just opened its doors in December 2023, Fairfield by Marriott Cebu Mandaue City was one of my top choices, in terms of affordability, when browsing for Cebu hotels. TLDR, we enjoyed our time at the hotel and this Fairfield by Marriott Cebu Review will go into various aspects such as the service and cleanliness.
Location + Getting There
The hotel is located slightly out of Cebu’s city centre and takes around 20 minutes to get to by car from the airport.
As the hotel is not located near any public transport, it’s best to take a taxi or private hire.
Upon pulling up at the hotel, I noticed right away that there weren’t any malls or shops within walking distance of the hotel. This may pose a problem if you want the convenience of having shops at the doorstep of the hotel. We solved this by using GrabFood during our stay so it wasn’t a dealbreaker for us.
Check-in
Upon arriving at the doorstep of the hotel, we were immediately greeted by the bellboy and shown to the checkin desk. Check-in was straightforward — just present your booking details and identification documents.
Standard check-in time is at 3pm; we arrived around 4pm and could check-in right away.
The Room
Overall, the room was pretty spacious and bright (if you keep the curtains open), as we got a room with unblocked views, on the 4th floor. There wasn’t really a view though, as it was just a small road in front of the hotel.
The design of the room was pretty strange to me. It was like an open concept design, where by the bathroom and bedroom were separated only by a sliding door.
The TV had many channels, ranging to NBA Philippines to HBO movie channels. The image quality of some of the channels was questionable though.
The Bed
The bed wasn’t too soft or hard, most importantly, I did not get a backache from it. Pillows were soft, but not flat and cushion-less — understandably so as this hotel is pretty new at the time of writing, just 5 months old.
However, we did find a strand of hair under the fitted sheet (which I should have taken a picture of). As the fitted sheet was pretty translucent, it was easy to spot the strand of hair. Kinda gross.
The Toilet
The toilet area does not have a door separating it from the sink and entrance area, which feels slightly unhygienic. It could also create awkward situations if you are sharing the room with a friend.
Water pressure of the shower was also just right. Also did not find stains on towels, which is a big plus for me now that I keep getting stained towels in hotels. So nothing to complain about here.
Room Amenities
The room amenities were nothing out of the ordinary; everything you would expect in an average hotel room like bedroom slippers, hairdryer, kettle and water were available. The bottles were really tiny though, and the fridge was empty.
Facilities
Gym
The gym, located on the 6th floor, though small, was sufficiently equipped for a workout away from home. There were 3 treadmills, 2 ellipticals and free weights in the gym. I also appreciated that there were towels and a water cooler in the gym.
Swimming Pool
Located next to the gym, the 1.2m deep pool has a nice sitting area where you can work from, if you want some fresh air. The wifi by the pool was also great and I managed to get work done on Google Slides. If you want a swim at night, note that the pool closes promptly at 10pm.
Just note that outside food is not allowed by the pool, so you wouldn’t be able to enjoy your meal here if you bought your food from outside the hotel, unfortunately.
Breakfast Buffet
The spread at the breakfast buffet was pretty limited and I wouldn’t recommend paying if it doesn’t come with your room rate. However, if you do choose to try out the breakfast buffet, you do get a 20% discount if it wasn’t included in your room rate.
Service
The service we received throughout our stay was great; the staff were always quick to greet whenever our paths crossed. They also make sure to check our taxi once you alight, to make sure you did not leave anything behind — a really thoughtful touch.
Whenever we requested for something, such as a fork or a box of tissue, the staff would always make it up to our room within 5 minutes.
Final Rating
We paid SGD $497.40 for for 5 nights in the King Room. This works out to around SGD $100 per night for 2 pax. Fairfield by Marriott Cebu is a good choice if you’re looking for an affordable hotel without compromising on service and comfort.
Cleanliness: 4/5
Price: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Remote workability: 5/5
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