Marriott Rewards (including Ritz-Carlton) - Key West Marriott

Search is not being my friend. Anyone stay here lately? Any reviews from FT'ers???

Thinking of a quick summer week here in 2 weeks. Thoughts?

Search is not being my friend. Anyone stay here lately? Any reviews from FT'ers???

Thinking of a quick summer week here in 2 weeks. Thoughts?

Hope you like Hot. Think it depends on what you want to do while there...

I go to Key West often - the Marriott is just across the bridge and some distance from Duval Street - the main entertainment area. Most hotels up that way have a shuttle which will take you down/back within certain time frames.

That said, I have heard from local friends that it is a very nice property, but I haven't stayed there

Hi,

I went there with wife and two kids last January. Stayed for four or five nights on points. We were all pretty happy with it.

Given the kids were 10 and 6 we didn;t go to Duvall Street. Normally, we did a touristy trap kind of thing in the morning and then hung out at the hotel pool and beach in the afternoons. January was a slow time fo rthem so it wasn't crowded at all.

The sand beach is small but more than adequate. It was clean. Water wasn't deep, and no waves, more of a bay, really.

The restraraunt had a buffet breakfast that was priced right, kids weren't free but the final daily bill was low enough that it didn't make sense to drive to a Waffle House. The choice was extensive and well prepared.

There were two bars, one pool side that didn't open (there was easy access to waiters that would bring drinks and food pool-side. The other bar opened at night and was kind of in a tree house type thing. They had live music on weekends. Again never super crowded but not deserted either.

The four of us shared a double room, which made it a little cramped. If just my wife and I in a King it would have been fine.

My only irritation was we arrive dhourse later than expected, like 2:00 AM, due to flight delays. By the time we arrived I think they had given my room away as the first nigth we were in a room that faced the street and was definitely not what I requested. The check in desk said thye knew what I was supposed to get and moved us the next day and refunded some points to me. It was frustrating but at 2:00 AM after coming from Boston I wasn't in the mood to fight.

Otherwise the staff was great, the views and cleanliness were great, I think was remodeled a few years ago. I'd go back.

Mike

Stayed in February for a week....actually built 2 years ago as a private condominium project. Still selling condos...1 br for $1mm+.

Due to slow economy they decided to go for the Marriott Resort franchise which allows them to rent, etc.

We rented a 1 BR for a week for 120,000 points compared to 210,000 points for the Courtyard down the road.

Hi,
We're considering the Key West Marriott for a last minute stay in August. We are 3, 2 adults a 14yr old. It seems there's no availability for any more than 2 guests in a normal room (king) or even a 1 bedroom suite. Also doesn't seem to a have a pull out sofa and the room type notes that no roll away's. Can anyone comment on the rooms types at this hotel? Could I be seeing the last dregs of rooms available or is this just policy as I've seen this before and in the end didn't have a problem. I'll ultimately call the hotel but it would help to get better educated in advance if possible.
Also, is their a concierge lounge at this hotel? Just turned gold and that would be a nice benefit.
Thanks!

Hi,
We're considering the Key West Marriott for a last minute stay in August. We are 3, 2 adults a 14yr old. It seems there's no availability for any more than 2 guests in a normal room (king) or even a 1 bedroom suite. Also doesn't seem to a have a pull out sofa and the room type notes that no roll away's. Can anyone comment on the rooms types at this hotel? Could I be seeing the last dregs of rooms available or is this just policy as I've seen this before and in the end didn't have a problem. I'll ultimately call the hotel but it would help to get better educated in advance if possible.
Also, is their a concierge lounge at this hotel? Just turned gold and that would be a nice benefit.
Thanks!
I decided to call the hotel. Presently they only have king rooms and suites but may change in the future. They have no objection to more occupants in the room but no pull outs or roll aways. No concierge lounge but they offer full breakfast buffet to everyone in the room. She also mentioned about champagne but I didn't quite get exactly what is provided. Seems quite a nice benefit.

I decided to call the hotel. Presently they only have king rooms and suites but may change in the future. They have no objection to more occupants in the room but no pull outs or roll aways. No concierge lounge but they offer full breakfast buffet to everyone in the room. She also mentioned about champagne but I didn't quite get exactly what is provided. Seems quite a nice benefit.

Thought I would report. Just got back from Key West (and Captiva Island). Great experience! Great staff! Upgraded to a 1br suite with a pull out sofa, full kitchen on the 2nd floor with a partial water view. The normal king room must be a lock out.
Our room wasn't ready so we went to walk around and when ready they drove around in a golf cart looking for us, very good front desk service and Tony who checked us in always remembered our name.
As a gold got free breakfast buffet for all of us and either 1000pts or a free bottle of wine with diner. Didn't eat on site so counldn't comment on the food other than the breakfast buffet which was good.
As previously posted the location is far from the action but we didn't care and drove in each day. No problem parking downtown.

Pool is small but wasn't overly crowded but the resort was not crowded.

Not much else to say other than we had a great time. BTW, no problem in key west with our 14 yr old. We were a little worried about it being too wild at night...

Just got back from a weekend at the Beachside Marriott Resort. Was trying to do a nice but inexpensive weekend so booked the basic King room. The king rooms here are sort of a separate bedroom which can be part of a larger suite. In my case, I didn't have access to the "suite" portion...just the master bedroom which falls short of meeting what I would consider basic Marriott standards for a king room.

The furnishing are nice but it lacks a fridge or mini-bar, there are no ice machines available so you have to call room service for ice when you want it. Understood this is due to this "resort" HomeOwners Assoication that did not want ice machines on the property. That would be fine if the service was quick and responsive...but I made multiple calls and waited for over 1 hour to get ice...finally I walked down to the lobby with my ice bucket, spoke to the manager, and waited there in the lobby until they gave me ice.

Back to the room...it is very small and has no view at all. Less than 500 sq. ft. The AC and bed are positioned so that it blows right on you which it kicks on...very loud and uncomfortable. Also becuase there is a door into the foyer that you share with others...you can hear other people coming in and out of their rooms at all hours of the night.

This stay made me really question if I want to overnight at one of these "so-called" resorts. If you are there a week and have the full suite with a kitchen and perhaps ice maker...then no problems...but these resorts and their configurations DO NOT make good hotels. They lack the level of services, the room amenities are not there...and yet they charge a 4 star room price.

The location is the furthest point from the action you can be and still be on Key West. The drink prices by the pool were extremely high ($14.00 each for many of their drinks).

So if you are just there for a few nights...go with a hotel not a resort. If you get the full suite great...but stay away from the King Rooms at this place.

:cool:

any new updates regarding the property? Wondering if they still waive the parking fee for gold? thnx

crazypalooza,

my family of 4 stayed at Key West Marriott Beachside Hotel for 5 nights beginning Aug 4. My wife is a platinum member and we used her points to book a 2 Bedroom Presidential Suite (http://www.beachsidekeywest.com/accommodations/accommodations-2bed-suite.php). We were in Room #623.

Yes, they waived the $17.50/day parking fee. Parking was simple. It was in a garage underneath the hotel. When we were there, we did not have any problems finding parking spaces conveniently located near the elevators.

The suite was terrific. Obviously we had plenty of space for 4 people. The suite was in very good shape and well appointed. We made heavy use of the well applianced kitchen (Subzero fridge/freezer, electric cooktop + oven, microwave, toaster, coffee maker) as we prepared and ate many of our meals there including fish that we caught on our fishing trip. Kitchen was well stocked with pans, plates, glasses, coffee cups, silverware, paper towel, even detergent for the Kitchen Aid dishwasher.

The suite had two bathrooms which made things convenient for the 4 of us. Showers were strong and we never ran out of hot water (our unit had its own hot water tank). We did not try out the jetted hot tub.

There was a washing machine and dryer in the closet which we made use of.

There were 3 flatscreen TVs--one in the master bedroom, one in the other bedroom and one in the living room. They came in handy for us to watch the Summer Olympics in the evening. Cable TV signal was OK but there were little if any digital channels to see to get the full high definition effect.

The suite had a nice balcony complete with a ceiling fan. We did not have a good view from the balcony--saw other balconies from the wing across the courtyard, but that was not big deal for us.

Climate control in the suite was excellent. We had no problems in keeping the rooms cool. There were ceiling fans mounted in the living room and each bedroom.

Service was excellent. Front desk personnel were terrific. Check-in was quick, efficient and came with a glass of wine. The Platinum arrival gift was some kind of large plate of cheese & crackers along with drinks for the 4 of us if I remember correctly. A couple of days later, we went down to the small gift shop to purchase toothpaste; when we went to pay for it, the Front Desk substituted a complimentary tube of toothpaste instead which was a nice touch. The housekeeping staff did a great job and were generally unobtrusive. Any dishes that we did not have washed was put into the dishwasher and washed for us.

We did have a difficult time getting our checkout extended past their standard time of 11 am. I suppose I can understand this as the suites take a long time to properly clean. In the end we were given only an extra 30 minutes. As soon as we vacated, the housekeeping staff immediately went in.

At check-in, we were given coupons for free continental buffet breakfast everyday in the "Tavern N Town" main dining room (danishes, croissants, fruit, cereal, bagels, toast, etc). There was an extra charge if we wanted the full buffet breakfast--which we were charged for sometimes, and other times not. The main dining room is expensive so we pretty much limited our visits there to the free breakfasts. We did have dinner there one evening. In general the dining room food and service were very good.

Internet connection was free for us. We had no problems with speed or with the connection itself.

The only complaint that I had was the shuttle buses were too small for the crowds of guests that wanted to go to Duval Street (and back to the hotel) during peak demand times which occurred mainly in the evening. Marriott ran up to two shuttle buses that had seating capacity for approximately 25 people each and there were times that they could not take everyone. The shuttle ride is about 20 minutes long depending on traffic. The property is definitely not within walking distance of Duval Street.

We used the hotel primarily as a base camp as we went out each day to SCUBA dive, snorkel, fish, and we also went to Dry Tortugas National Park. Therefore I cannot give you any first hand observations concerning the pool, cabanas, grounds, bar,

As you can tell, we thought highly of this location and would not hesitate to stay there again. If you have any questions, let me know.

We also stayed in a two bedroom suite at Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort for 5 nights before we arrived at Key Largo. This is another nice property (although not quite as luxurious as Key West).....

We used the hotel primarily as a base camp as we went out each day to SCUBA dive, snorkel, fish, and we also went to Dry Tortugas National Park.

Suggestions on the scuba operators there?

My wife prefers reef over wreck diving. Having said that there were more reef diving locations near Key Largo and not as many at Key West (which has some very nice wreck dives).

When we were at Key West, we ended up doing only one dive because of weather--and that was at famed Looe Key--30 miles east of Key West. We went with Strike Zone Charters at Big Pine Key. Of the dive operators that we used, they were the worst because the captain and crew were very unfriendly. The water was pretty choppy and the visibility was not great which was disappointing because the reefs at Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary are supposed to be fantastic. My wife wants to go back to do Looe Key some day and when we do it, we intend to book our dive with Looe Key Dive Center.

When we were at Key Largo, we had a fantastic time with Rainbow Reef and the dive concessionaire at John Pennenkamp State Park. I highly recommend them both.

When we return to Key West, my wife also wants us to dive Marquesas Keys--the only known atoll in North America. This cluster of islands is located 25 miles west of Key West and supposedly has spectacular, unspoiled diving.

to update: still free breakfasts for plat/gld at "tavern n town" on weekdays and free parking for plat/gld as well. no upgrade here so the rooms were very small but accommodation was just fine for our needs. i agree about shuttle buses being overcrowded and not being able to take everyone.


Forgot to add, with a little (translation: a lot) of pressure, I got them to give me a 3PM late checkout.

to update: still free breakfasts for plat/gld at "tavern n town" on weekdays and free parking for plat/gld as well. no upgrade here so the rooms were very small but accommodation was just fine for our needs. i agree about shuttle buses being overcrowded and not being able to take everyone.

Do you know if they provide brekkie on weekends? Let me know & I'll update the sticky.

Cheers.

My wife prefers reef over wreck diving. Having said that there were more reef diving locations near Key Largo and not as many at Key West (which has some very nice wreck dives).

When we were at Key West, we ended up doing only one dive because of weather--and that was at famed Looe Key--30 miles east of Key West. We went with Strike Zone Charters at Big Pine Key. Of the dive operators that we used, they were the worst because the captain and crew were very unfriendly. The water was pretty choppy and the visibility was not great which was disappointing because the reefs at Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary are supposed to be fantastic. My wife wants to go back to do Looe Key some day and when we do it, we intend to book our dive with Looe Key Dive Center.

When we were at Key Largo, we had a fantastic time with Rainbow Reef and the dive concessionaire at John Pennenkamp State Park. I highly recommend them both.

When we return to Key West, my wife also wants us to dive Marquesas Keys--the only known atoll in North America. This cluster of islands is located 25 miles west of Key West and supposedly has spectacular, unspoiled diving.

I recently did some dives with the former Subtropic shop now called Seaduction. It's right off RT1 at Garrison Bight. Wrecks and reefs in KW are a pretty good transit on the dive boat and it gets rough sometimes.

I was based there a total of 6 years with the Navy and lived on Trumbo Pt both times so Subtropic was very convenient. I probably logged 75 dives with them. But like you I found the Upper Keys diving a little more reliable. The weather and sea state was less of a factor.

Did a quite a few trips with the Looe Key Dive Center back then and in Sep when I was back there. Highly recommended - short run to the reef.

Back to topic, I did a walkthrough at the Beachside (didn't stay there - we were camped out with friends on Cudjoe). Looks pretty good. As to those shuttles they are a nice perk. But if you have a car, it's usually not a problem parking downtown. I would just head down Caroline or Eaton and park a few blocks off Duvall and walk the rest of the way.

Also did an interesting drive-by on the old Casa Marina Marriott (now a Waldorf property). Nice location not far from the NAS KW Annex (Truman) on the S side of the island and a classic resort. Had a few drinks - too bad this is no longer in the Marriott fold, but the Beachside is a nice alternative. Cheers.

Back to topic, I did a walkthrough at the Beachside (didn't stay there - we were camped out with friends on Cudjoe). Looks pretty good. As to those shuttles they are a nice perk. But if you have a car, it's usually not a problem parking downtown. I would just head down Caroline or Eaton and park a few blocks off Duvall and walk the rest of the way.



whats nice about the shuttle is 1- you can drink all you want,you arent driving back to the hotel and 2- you dont have to worry about over staying at the meter and getting a tkt , or for a private lot having pay alot to park or drive till you find 1 with space(yes my 1st time down there most lots close to Front & Duvall were Full.

Ive stayed here and highly suggest not booking the Standard room which has no view except for the walkways as when lying in bed you will think you are sleeping in the middle of that walkway with everyone simply walking a round your bed, or book it and since its a 3 day before CX policy if you see no suites left to purchase T-3 CX and book elsewhere

Do you know if they provide brekkie on weekends? Let me know & I'll update the sticky.

Cheers.

Sadly, nothing on weekends. also be advised that if you go to the omelet bar at the buffet they will charge you. strictly the cold part of the buffet is free during the week.

whats nice about the shuttle is 1- you can drink all you want,you arent driving back to the hotel and 2- you dont have to worry about over staying at the meter and getting a tkt , or for a private lot having pay alot to park or drive till you find 1 with space(yes my 1st time down there most lots close to Front & Duvall were Full.

Since you can easily get a citation in KW for operating a bicycle under the influence, that is a plus for using the shuttle if a protracted period at the Hog's Breath is part of the evening. When I was doing that I walked from Trumbo Pt. When I later had a place on Cudjoe I drove, watched what I drank and either parked on the base or could usually find side street spots.