We were there roughly a year ago, for a 3-night award stay, also as Silvers. It didn't start off very well. We arrived very early in the am (off of Air Mike's red-eye from CNS), and we were told that they had no rooms available. Peace, so we asked to use the pool facility while we waited. THE LADY AT RECEPTION REFUSED TO LET US USE THE POOL!! We were too stunned and tired to make a scene when we saw her giving room keys to new customers who checked in after us (probably not on an award), but, after waiting about two hours in the lobby, we asked to see the manager, who apologized for the clueless employee we had to deal with, and proceeded to give us a room. Alas, the Marriott Guam has a good side and a bad side (literally). Our room was on the bad side, facing a Japanese resort which had outside music playing very loudly from 10 am until the wee hours. I don't remember if it's the odd-numbers side or vice versa, but it's the side that would face the Hilton, if it were next to it (it's about a 10 min. walk to the Hilton). So we dragged ourselves back to the reception desk and begged for a quiet NS room. They relented and gave us a decent NS room with a whiff of ocean view on the quiet side. From then on, we had no problem, so I assume we must have just got unlucky at check in.

There is a narrow beach in front of the hotel, not much to speak of, but the snorkeling right around there can be interesting even though at low tide it's a bit too shallow. Be careful, though, because the tidal currents are quite strong in the bay.

I found Guam a bit depressing in general. To be fair, I didn't leave Tumon Bay/Tamuning, so my impression is certainly incomplete, but I got an impression of shabby overdevelopment combined with general poverty. It reminded me a bit of the more impoverished areas of Honolulu... I've visited other islands in Micronesia, and I've stayed in places that were on the backpacker side of the spectrum, so I don't need luxury to have a good vacation. But while I'd love to go back to every Pacific island I've visited (more than once), I think I'll skip Guam next time I pass through.