Will be visiting Marriott's Frenchman"s Reef & Morning Star Resort soon. Is it worth the extra amount they want to charge to stay in the "Morning Star" section (supposedly right on the beach)?

Also any recommendations on whether to rent a car?

Thanks!!

hi, the reef part of the hotel is a tall building quite a ways up a hill from the beach. morning star is several 3 story island style buildings and is directly on the beach. personally i would opt for morning star section, probably beach front not garden view.
marriott is not within walking distance of anything so i would definetly advice renting a car for some or all of your stay.

Hi ozarkone - We'll be staying at Frenchman's Reef next week as 1st time visitors to the USVI. We plan to ask for an upgrade to the Morning Star, as my husband is a Platinum Marriott Rewards client. We're not expecting to get it, but it would be nice as most people seem to like the Morning Star side better.

We're definitely renting a car. We chose Dependable Car Rental after reading good reviews about them.

Also, I understand there's a boat service that will take you from the Marriott over to Charlotte Amalie for $6.

Hi,

I will also vote for Morningstar. It has more of an "island" feel to it than FR. FR IMO is a lot like staying in any other high rise hotel back in the states. Morningstar feels different. If you do that, get a beach view rather than the garden view. The former opens onto the beach area while the latter opens into the foliage facing away from the beach.

Definitely rent a car.....easy to drive around the island, gives you the freedom to go where you want to on your own schedule. There is no better way to discover the real island than getting out and about on your own. If you take 2 cabs with 2 riders a day, a rental car will cost you less.

The "Reefer", the little water taxi at FR will take you across the harbor into downtown for shopping, etc.

Schultz

The Reefer... never heard the name before.

Thanks Schultz.

Cawhite,

Thanks for the response. We are not going until late July. Would love to hear any thoughts, suggestions or advice when you get back!

I would also ask for Morning Star. The Frenchmen is a good walk to the beach. Not for the faint of heart - a steep hill. And, it is nice to be able to walk up to your room to use the bathroom!

I found the main hotle was in much need of repair as well, MS looks to be in a lot better physical condition.

The water taxi is nice - $6 to town.

Renting a car is probably a good idea, although the roads are not marked well and some roads were like a roller coaster.
We had 4 people - and the taxi's always cost $80 round trip wherever you went. We felt fleeced and totally ripped off!
Havana blue was nice at sunset - The food was good.

Hi annesherrod - I was trying to pull up your trip report and post the link here... but couldn't find it trying a quick search yesterday.

We will be there in less than a week!!

Carole

Carole,

Have a great time!!! Please post back a trip report!!!

Enjoy the snorkeling!! I do miss the beautiful emerald green water!!!

I will definitely post a report, Anne.

Thanks so much for all the information you provided from your trip. I ONLY have about 30 items on my "to do" list before leaving... yikes!

Carole

Carole,

Have a great time!! Look forward to hearing about it... I hate those last minute "to-Do" lists....

cawhite, how was your trip to STT? We'll be there in Oct and used Marriott pts to reserve at FR. Did your platinum status get you an upgrade to Morning Star? Sounds like a better location on the resort.

carole - How was your trip?????

Hi wanderlst and Anne!

I tried to get the Morning Star side, based on hubby's platinum status, but the MS side was booked solid. Still we had a great time on the FR side.

Here's my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35043867

By the way, it's been 7.5 weeks since we've been back and we're still waiting on 1 of the 2 boxes we shipped home (from Virgin Gorda). We received the 1st box last Saturday... 7 weeks to the day from ship date!! School starts next week and my kids have a bunch of clothing in that 2nd box... and our scuba and snorkeling gear is in there too!

Carole

I have stayed many times at both Frenchman's Reef and Morningstar.

I have used points for all stays. At the Reef, I paid additional for their loft suite. It was terrific, two bathrooms, one with separate shower and jucuzzi tub, living room and loft bedroom.

At Morningstar for less additional cost, and with one trip exception, the rooms were very nice but not as luxurious as the loft suite.

This November, I will be paing more for an ocean front room. I am anxious to compare.

No matter what you decide, do not miss the ocean side walk between the two. It is just spectacular with lots of photo ops Also, early morning best viewing of the cruise ships as they prepare to dock can be had by the Reef's pool area.

Last November, there was much scaffeling around the Reef. You may want to inquire to see if it will be there during your stay.

Has anyone stayed at Morningstar recently?

I got a very good AAA rate for early December, but have not heard much about the place lately.

I was hoping to hear from people who have stayed there in the last year or so.

Thanks!

Did anyone have an all inclusive plan at the Marriott? I read on Trip Advisor that it is the way to go, but we didn't sign up for it when we made our reservations and noone at the hotel has called me back about it. Any idea how much it costs and how to add it if it wasn't part of your original package? Thanks!

I, too, would like to hear more recent reviews of the Marriott. I spoke with the hotel yesterday and they said ALL the rooms have been updated (FR and MS). Because of the price difference we were thinking of spending an extra day (8) if we stayed in FR. But if people still think MS has superior rooms we will stay at MS for 7 days. Any opinions?
Thanks, Carla

I stayed at Morningstar this past November in a Gardenview room, which I preferred to their beachfront (I felt it ofered more privacy especially 2nd or 3rd floor). I felt that there was much improvement over my past stay. The room had been renovated, and the service and reception was superior and much more guest friendly.

I found that breakfast food at Coco Joes to be fair, but found the sight and sound of the ocean lapping just a few feet away. Dining at Havana Blue is sensational and not to be missed.

In the ealy morning I also enjoyed watching the giant majestic cruise ships sailiny closely by.

Morningstar rooms are closer to, in fact, right on the beach, FR rooms since they are up high on a cliff offer outstanding vistas, but are not as quiet.

Sorry for the delay in sharing my trip report.

I spent a week in an oceanfront room at Morning Star Beach Marriott the week before Christmas. This was my second time at Morning Star and my 4th at the Marriott. Overall the staff is very good at their jobs and friendly/helpful.

I was very pleased with the room. Right on the beach nicely furnished and updated with a king bed and couch/table and a great lanai with an eating table and great views. The room also had a big flat screen TV with lots of channels and an iPod clock radio.

The bathroom was a bit small and it lacked the Hollywood features, but was fine. Housekeeping was good but not great...the room was clean, but not spotless. As others have commented, the sheets were not super nice. Bathroom amenities are standard Marriott - not the very cool stuff I had a few years back.

The hotel sits on a great beach with free loungers and umbrellas for guests. I was always able to get a chair/umbrella without having to get to the beach before breakfast and save a chair with a towel.

The "ugly American" cruise ship people do arrive en mass and try to scam chairs, but the staff does a good job keeping them at bay.

It would be nice if the management would keep the boat people in one area away from the guests since they tend to be loud and drink heavily. The hotel does rent chairs to the cruisers.

My room rate included breakfast and I ate at Cocco Joes from the menu and Windows from the buffet. The food was good at both places although a bit more upscale at Windows. If I had to pay for it, I would have found it very expensive for what I got, but I am not a big breakfast eater.

I did dinner at Cocco Joes (fine), Windows (very good) and Havana Blue (OK, but too much attitude from the staff - I asked for a table overlooking the beach and was told they were all reserved...by the time I left they were all still empty...this is not NYC!) the staff need to get over themselves...the food was very good, but overpriced. That said, I would probably go back. The Captain’s Cove restaurant was just plain odd… the menu was mostly apps and the atmosphere was not welcoming… I left with out ordering.

Aside from a quick trip to Havensight by cab to stock up on snacks/drinks for the room (mini fridge in the room) and a day trip (rental car) to St. John, I stayed at the resort and was happy to just veg. There is a full service Pueblo supermarket across the street from Havensight, but it was closed (“for a problem”) when I visited so I got what I needed at a couple of nice shops in the Havensight mall and at Kmart (where the cruise ship crew shop).

My room came with an ice maker that did not work. A call to the front desk produced a very nice young man who replaced the unit - a very smooth experience.

The ladies at Coco Joe's breakfast were happy to pack up my leftover breakfast and I had it for lunch a couple of days.

There were great beach waiters for drinks/lunch although I did not take advantage of that.

The pools were nice and fairly empty.

There is a very nice gym and the locker rooms had saunas and a steam room.

We did lose internet access for a couple of days, but the staff was good about letting me know that the business center in the main hotel was available and they also took the charge off my bill. You can check your airline's site and print your boarding pass for free at the business center. Other internet access is available for a fee.

The shops at the Marriott had a good assortment of necessities at very high prices, although the $11 chef salad at the store at Morning Star was enough for 2 meals and a good deal.

The front desk crew at Morningstar was great!

I did not experience any pressure to tour the time share at Frenchman's Cove, although the hotel made it clear that they wanted people to do it. I did walk over there and it was nice, although a bit tightly packed. The beach is not as nice as the one at the main hotel, but the pool is very nice and there is a good convenience store on site.

My stay was consistent with my prior stays...the hotel does a nice job and it is a great location.

This is not a 5 star place, but does not charge those rates (at least off season). I've found Cuisnart, Little Dix and Peter Island to be better, but at a significantly higher price.

The Marriott is great for what it is!