I just wanted to share with you all the wonderful experience my family and I had at this hotel this past weekend. I can't really write about most of the things that made it spectacular, as they don't sound that impressive in print. In short, it's clear the hotel has a sharp management team that has managed to hire, train, and retain an entire staff of enthusiastic, motivated employees.

We didn't meet a single associate, from the valet parking attendants to the bell staff, the front desk to the security folks, the restaurant hostess to the waitress, the room service attendant to the concierge lounge staff, the housekeeper to the cocktail waitress who wasn't friendly, professional, and downright pleasant to interact with.

I stayed for three nights at a package rate that included parking and aquarium passes. We used an EEO certificate for one night free. We got two aquarium passes per night, even for the free night, rather than the standard two for the first night I've come to expect. We also got the free parking for the free night. And it was valet parking, no questions asked.

I used the EEO certificate for buy-one-meal-get-one-free the first night in the restaurant, again no questions asked. The concierge lounge is open all weekend, and although crowded it did provide nice service, food, and beverages at all times.

We were upgraded to the top floor, club-level room with a view of the harbor (called a "Harbour Club" room by the hotel). The director of VIP services (a position I've never even seen at other hotels) was in constant contact with starting about a week out, detailing my choices for room upgrades and going over the pros and cons of each.

Turndown service each evening included chocolates on the pillows of both beds in our room, rather than a single box of chocolates on the first night like I've come to expect.

We had two problems over the weekend. One was the poor soundproofing in the room, which allowed noise from the hallway and the seemingly constant drone of sirens from the street outside to disturb our serenity. The other was a LONG wait for a bottle of wine in the hotel lounge, when we found out that bottles over $80 are kept in locked storage and only one manager in the hotel has the key. I identified both issues on my comment card, but these were really minor considering the rest of the stay.

In short, the hotel exceeded my expectations over and over and over. I felt like I was at a RC, with all the pampering. It really was nice to have a hotel NOT nickel-and-dime when it came to coupons and promotions, which overall led to me spending much more freely. As a simple example, even though the lounge was open all weekend, we ordered $100 of room service breakfast one morning. Even then, when the food took longer than the promised 25 minutes, room service called me back and voluntarily knocked 20% off the bill due to the inconvenience!

I wish that managers at all Marriott locations nationwide would stay at this location to experience exactly how things should be done. I felt like my business was valued, and will definitely frequent this particular location again with my business in the future!