Nanceetom

We need to use our Marriott points for a place in Florida. Any "great" recommendations. We, too, like a place with a great pool to read and relax by and good places to eat. I read about the Renaissance Vinoy and Marco Island but have heard mixed review. Any place in Florida that's a Marriott that anyone has any information on and would recommend? Thanks

mclaurie

No personal experience, but everyone seems to like the Marriott(s) in Delray Beach. They're both on the ocean-one's a hotel, the other I think is more a timeshare. What's nice about Delray is there's a main street (Atlantic Ave.) with lots of restaurants so you don't have to drive in the evening to eat dinner. In fact, this is a place where you could do without a car if you wanted.

My other suggestion is to go to the message board at flyertalk.com These people are "points" junkies who know their stuff. There should be a separate board for Marriott. Not only will there be info about the various properties, but you may get some ideas about maximizng your point redemption.

andy

Best one in my opinion is the DELARY MARRIOTT in Delray Beach Fla..
It is directly across from the beach ( with NO hotel or homes on the beach side of the street)..NEW hotel - at the edge of Atlantic Ave and on A1A ( Ocean Blvd) in Delray...

You do not need a car and can walk to all the neat little shops and restaurants on E.Atlantic Ave ) a restored downtown area) in Delray...

ON thursdays, they even have street bands and close off auto traffic to Atlantic Ave....

LilMsFoodie

JW Marriott in Orlando is a fabulous resort with excellent restaurants on site and you have access to the Ritz Carlton Spa. I wrote a review here on this last December. The restaurant at the Marriott, Primo, is spectacular.

http://www.grandelakes.com/photogallery.cfm

There is no need to leave the grounds for your vacation but an evening at Universal or Pleasure Island at Disney could be fun and both are very close but you won't be inundated with Disney tourists per se.

My other recommendation is the Marco Island Marriott which has just finished a huge renovations. The negative reviews came during renovations. They have a new spa as well. The beach there is wonderful.

tinamidon

I have been to many Marriots in Florida. JW Orlando is absolutely TOP NOTCH. I personally LOVE Marco Island's Marriott and the Renaissance Vinoy is also a beautiful property however, the surroundings are not so great (no beach; downtown area). Marco's beach is great. So is the Harbor Beach Marriott in Ft. Lauderdale. Any of the JW's are going to be awesome...there is a brand new one in Miami as well as the South Beach Marriott which has an art-deco style. I have not stayed there yet, but will be going this weekend. If you need any other details, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].

LilMsFoodie

I drove by the new JW in Miami last month and must inform that it is very business oriented. Right down in the central banking district of Miami.

I've stayed at the Marriott South Beach and found it just ok. They weren't able to buy enough land to really make a statement and have, instead,replicated a Deco style but one representing the lesser style. No fab pool like the National or the Delano, instead a tiny little thing. Boring lobby and a restaurant that is an afterthought. Really not that great but located on the beach and next to the Nikki Beach complex and a short walk to Big Pink and Nemos.

A funky place to use your points in South Beach would be the Eden Roc (bat ta bing) which is operated by Renaissance. We stayed there in February and really enjoyed it but it is no JW luxury brand. Two pools, great open air beach side restaurant (miami's only one) and a fabulous lobby. Drawback is that it is north Miami Beach not in the thick of South Beach madness.

LMF

bethinks

We stayed at the Marco Island Marriott over Spring Break and LOVED it! The rooms are a little larger than the other rooms we have stayed in and even the bathroom was larger than most. The bathroom sink was built into a beautiful cabinent with a granite countertop. The room also had a mini-fridge inside one of the cabinents. The two pools were beautiful, one geared toward kids (waterfall and slide), with the other pool geared toward adults. The hotel has a spa (didn't do any of that), tennis, arcade room, ping pong tables, a pizzeria, two or three other restaurants-lots for kids to run around and do. We ate at both the pizzeria (took take-out pizza to the beach) and had lunch at the outdoor restaurant. The food (grouper sandwiches) was very good for "hotel food." The drinks at the Tiki Bar- a little pricey at $7-9.00 each were very tasty as well. It is also very family oriented-no spring breakers-which disappointed my high school daughter! The hotel is directly on the beach with a very nice large beach with complimentary lounges, beach chairs and towels. The water is not as blue and clear as Destin, but it was still very nice. The hotel has parasailing, jet skis, banana boats, Catamarans, and some other play stuff for rent. The only negatives: non-valet parking is across the street-don't forget anything in the car, because it is a pain to walk all that way. Secondly,the toliet was the loudest-most powerful toliet ever seen/heard! We quickly learned to close the seat before flushing. The first time we heard it, I thought my son had dropped something big! Very noisy! Lastly, I used the washer machine and it was not working properly. I put in a brand new bathing suit in along with a couple new shirts and put the washer on cold water. When I returned the top of the washer was extremely hot with the clothes lying in scalding water. I called the front desk (this was around 10PM) and the desk wasn't exactly concerned. But, amazingly enough the clothes were okay. But I wasn't happy at the time.
All, in all a great stay and we would definitly stay again. We too, used my husband's points, but because it was high season we had to use double the points and they only had availablity for two nights. So call asap to grab a room if you want to use points. And after staying at the Holiday Inn in Clearwater, we gladly paid the $380.00 for the additional nights at Marco Island. By the way-this hotel just underwent major renovations that cost tons of money-and it showed in linens, decor, etc.. Have fun.