Marriott Port-Au-Prince Haiti [Master Thread]
 

Just noticed new property opened (formerly opens March 1st with grand opening event in June).

Former President Bill Clinton & current Haiti President there for opening yesterday. "The journey to build the Marriott Port-au-Prince began four years ago when Marriott International reached out to the Clinton Foundation to propose a new hotel to help Haiti rebuild its tourism industry after the devastating 2010 earthquake. The company found an eager partner in Digicel Group, which has invested US$45 million to build the 175-room hotel."

More details re: hiring Haitian disadvantaged & training them in hotel hospitality, as well as sourcing food, goods, etc, from local small businesses can be found in the press release.

http://news.marriott.com/2015/02/dig...iti-hotel.html

Category 5; no exec lounge. Full brekkie in the restaurant.

There is a Grand Opening special on the hotel website:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...-prince-hotel/

Grand Opening Special Hotel Offer
Book your stay at the new Marriott Port-Au-Prince Hotel and explore this amazing and undiscovered destination with our special Grand Opening Offer of $149 nightly starting March 1st. Use promo code: D3Q

Yeah, their lobby comes up as the "main image" lately when I log into the Marriott site. I was ... surprised ... when I saw its location.

Link to article today in Miami Herald with real photo:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nati...mericas/haiti/

Very much looking forward to staying later this spring!

Direct link to article:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nati...e11107349.html

Please do a trip report after your stay later this spring. We'd appreciate it.

Cheers.

Since no one else has reported on this property, here's my report on a recent two-night stay. The website accurately depicts the rooms and public areas. The hotel is located in the middle of slums, but that is true of most of Port au Prince. Security is good, as hotel is surrounded by a fence, with multiple police officers guarding the gates. Rooms are on floors 2 through 11. A high-rise building (Digicel) sits within 30 feet of one end of hotel blocking the view of some rooms. Best rooms are the even-numbered rooms. Saw no tourists, only business travelers, NGOs, and humanitarian workers going to the boonies. Although I requested a high floor, I ended up on 4th floor overlooking the hotel AC units. Staff was friendly and helpful.

There is one executive king room at the end of each of the lower floors, with std. rooms in between. Exec's have about 30 percent more space than std. rooms. Suites on upper floors. Rooms have showers only, with a barn door to bathrooms. Rooms are clean and well-maintained. Around 30 channels on an LG flat screen, including ABC, NBC, CNN, two ESPNs, two HBOs, BBC, and Bloomberg. AC keeps room cool, as outdoor temps are in the high 90s. My room had a small fridge, with two free bottles of water.

Using expensive, pre-arranged hotel transportation to and from the airport is recommended, given how chaotic PAP is. The charge is $30 per person each way for the 6-mile trip. Traffic and roads are terrible.

Breakfast is buffet only at $25 per person, no matter how little or much you eat. I'm a gold and was not offered (nor did I expect) a comp breakfast, but I don't think FD knows what a gold or plat is. Best bet is to book a two for breakfast rate for an extra $20. Restaurant was packed each night, as you can't walk anywhere else to eat. Entrees range from around $10 to $25. The Marriott burger is $14. Don't order the fish. Soft drinks are $3; beer is $6; and wine is around $9 per glass. Water served in restaurant is purified. There is a small deli in lobby that serves light food at a much cheaper price.

Hotel has a large pool, with outdoor seating. The lobby and lobby lounge appear to be overrun with locals after 5 p.m. Did not use the fitness center.

Free Wi-Fi. To print boarding passes, you must check in on-line, then email your confirmation to the concierge, who will print boarding passes in the hotel office. Two public computers in the lobby but no printers.

Incidentally, PAP is one of the most chaotic, dysfunctional airports I have flown out of in the western hemisphere.

Thanks for the trip report! Much appreciated.

BTW - Gold/Plats receive free cont'l breakfast as part of their bennies. If the breakfast in the restaurant is only buffet, then that's what I would expect to receive - gratis.

Cheers.

I am posting this from the PAP Marriott. It's my second day here. I'm leaving on Sunday, 2 days from now.

This is really a wonderful hotel, all things considered, and I have enjoyed my stay tremendously. Previous posts are all correct. The Clinton Foundation worked to find a partner, Digicel, to build a brand-new 11-story building in earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince. The hotel is surrounded by slums, but the whole city is a slum by first-world standards. I wandered around outside the guarded gates and found nothing but friendly people, a supermarket and even a decent restaurant! I never felt like I was in any danger.

The hotel staff, drawn from the most underprivileged ranks, is truly top-notch. Everybody looks great and behaves perfectly professionally. I experienced a tiny glitch related to my Platinum arrival gift, but the GM made everything right. He lives in the hotel, by the way, and came to PAP directly from a dozen or so years at the Paris Champs Élysées.

The building is brand-new and built as well as you would expect anywhere else in the world. The building is filled -- absolutely filled to overflowing -- with 1600 works of art by local artists, some of whom are truly talented. I walked around the building just looking at all the really cool art.

I can't say enough good things about this hotel and about Haiti itself. This country has had way more than its share of bad luck, but people keep keeping on, without falling into violence or despair. I urge people to visit and see for yourselves. And you should definitely stay at the Marriott, which is without doubt the finest hotel in the country.

Bruce

Thanks for the second trip report. Much appreciated.

Two questions:

* Did your rate include brekkie or how did they handle the free brekkie due to no exec lounge? Please post & I'll update the exec lounge sticky.

* What was the decent restaurant nearby so that others will know if they want to eat offsite?

Cheers.

When I checked in, they told me that I would get free, full breakfast because they have no lounge. The breakfast in the restaurant is fine.

Here's a link to the place I found yesterday:

http://www.pagespro.ht/en/company/8381-le-shannah

An easy walk, and delicious food at reasonable prices.

Bruce

Thanks - I'll update the exec lounge sticky.

Cheers.

Marriott Port-Au-Prince Haiti
 

Don't tell me this hotel is more than a category 4.

Category 5, so Cat 1-5 certs can be used :)

Cheers.

For those rum drinkers in the crowd, a specialty drink at the Marriott :)

Marriott Port-au-Prince’s Passion Fruit Punch

Ingredients

2 ounces Barbancourt 5 Star Réserve Spéciale

1 ounce Barbancourt Pango Rhum

2 ounces passion fruit juice

1 ounce orange juice

1 ounce pineapple juice

1 ounce cherry juice

Method

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake vigorously with crushed ice. Pour into a tumbler, garnish and enjoy.

Haiti is going to get an Autograph Collection property in 2017.

"Autograph Collection Hotels will add The Habitation Jouissant – a boutique hotel located in Cap Haitien, Haiti – in the fourth quarter of 2017. The property, located in Haiti’s second largest city and situated on the country’s northern coast, will be Autograph Collection’s third hotel in the Caribbean and will proudly serve as Marriott International’s second property in Haiti."

Cheers. Sharon

It would really be nice if Marriott would pick up Habitation Le Clerc in Port au Prince. Now, that was a fine deluxe hotel in the day and not downtown in the slum. It was not on the beach but was a huge property, an oasis really, as you did not see outside the hotel grounds due to all the foliage. Mr. Karen2 and I honeymooned there but, from what I read, you can never go back. Haiti saddens us as it has so much potential.