River in Sight

Delta Hotels Virginia Beach Bayfront Suites

New property opening in December and I couldn't find an existing thread. I've been checking periodically and noticed today rates are finally loaded. Will be a Category 5 and the rates seem reasonable; for example, next Memorial Day weekend in the high $200s compared to much higher on the oceanfront.

My wife, son, and I were at First Landing State Park two weeks ago and walked down to this hotel to check it out - it looked like they were doing the final touches. It looks like all rooms should have balconies, and nearly all rooms should have bay views (maybe some of the lowest levels won't have clear views). Personally, I'm really excited for this hotel - the waves are much calmer on the Bay, thus better for young kids; the water warmer; and away from all the crowds of the oceanfront. One drawback I do see is the beach is relatively narrow by this hotel, but if you walk up towards First Landing there is much more room. This is a reflag of something, not sure what it was before. Will be very interested to hear any reviews after it opens.

dcstudent

It was the old Virginia Beach Resort Hotel and was quite tired...article on the sale:

https://www.hotelmanagement.net/tran...for-19-million

dcstudent

Article in the local newspaper with details about the Delta:

https://www.pilotonline.com/business...4be-story.html

Sounds pretty awesome, renting kayaks and paddleboards + maybe jetskiis. Restaurant concept sounds interesting as well.

River in Sight

Checked in last night for the long weekend. Normally, we stay at the Hyatt House or Sheraton (both on the oceanfront) but wanted to give this a shot. We booked before opening at an average of about $250/nt. for the first three nights, then a category 1-5 chit for Sunday night. Rates went up significantly in the meantime and Sunday was shifted to Peak. Luckily we also secured this arrangement for Labor Day pre-opening.

Check-In
We booked and received a Q/Q partial bay view with balcony. No upgrades were discussed although upgraded rooms were showing as available in the app. I didn’t want to bother questioning as we arrived late and our son needed to go to bed.

Breakfast
I had never stayed at a Delta before but was pretty sure I was entitled to breakfast. I asked at check-in and was told I was not. I asked why Titaniums didn’t get breakfast and the response was “because we don’t give anyone free breakfast.” Although I have lifetime titanium I mostly avoid Marriott nowadays and the rules are so confusing I wasn’t sure if I was right or wrong, so I dropped it. The agent then told me I would have access to the “Pantry” on the 8th floor which is like a very, very basic club lounge with no seats and no hot food; I guess this is the breakfast accommodation.

Room
Very nice and much nicer than the rooms typical for the oceanfront. The room is in tip-top shape, it even has “new car smell”. Pictures below. It’s an Embassy Suites style suite with a small living room at the entry, then a bathroom, then the bedroom. The bed was really comfortable, the room quiet, and I slept great. Excellent cleanliness. The view is primarily of a parking lot; unlike the Oceanfront properties that are typically looking directly at the water, we have no shot of hearing the waves from our room here.

Pantry
Very basic snacks and, at breakfast, cereal, bagels, and English muffins; no hot food. The pantry is unstaffed and has no where to sit. It does have M&M cookies which my son seems to believe are enough on their own to justify a return visit

Public Areas
There are nice seating areas on the second floor along with a bar/Starbucks. The restaurant seems very popular and has lots of nice outdoor space. The pool is small, doesn’t seem to be heated but does have lots of kids this weekend. The elevators are slow and they could probably use more of them.

Setting
I think this hotel comes down to whether or not you like the setting. Having a 5 year old, I love this beach because the waves are short and I feel perfectly comfortable with him in the water… it’s not like the oceanfront where the waves can get rough. Normally we stay at the oceanfront and drive up to First Landing State Park so this hotel is very convenient for us. I do somewhat miss the boardwalk.

Late Checkout
I asked for late checkout the morning of departure and was told the best they could do was 1PM. I pushed back with 4PM and was told they didn’t have to honor that because the hotel was sold out. I had checked prior to making my request and the hotel is nowhere near sold out tonight so I don’t buy that. Also, the person in front of me asked for late checkout and with no mention of status, 1230 was provided. So it seems titanium is good for another half hour. Score a point for the Hyatt House VAB which generally proactively offers me 4PM at checkin.

In closing
I think it’s great to have a new option on the bay beach. Very nice hard product compared to where we typically stay on the oceanfront. No particular Titanium recognition. I often think to myself after the trip from NoVa: I could have flown to Miami in about the same amount of time and stayed at a nicer hotel with a nicer beach; why didn’t I? And I thought that when I arrived last night, too, but if you want to come to Virginia Beach and stay on the bay I think it’s a good option. Just don’t get your hopes up for any elite benefits.



View from Balcony (water in the distance)

Living Room

Bedroom


“pantry”

“Pantry”

River in Sight

Just wrapping up another long weekend stay here. I tried to upgrade to the 2BR suites using SNAs, but that was denied. The suites were still for sale when I received the denial.

I did get a more nicely positioned room this time; same layout as before but on the opposite side, on a higher floor, and almost all the way forward toward the beach, so I have a much nicer view vs the parking lot I was looking at last time. I was able to check in at around 9am Friday which I didn’t expect and certainly appreciated.

The “Pantry” is of even less value than my last stay. The coffee machine was broken Saturday and most of Sunday. There’s cereal, but no milk. Most of the time there were no plates to put the food on. The bagels are gone and most of the remaining breakfast items are junk. I went to the food lion across the street and got breakfast food there, supplemented by Lynnhaven Coffee up the street (whose coffee I do really like).

late checkout was granted without any trouble. There was a wedding every night this weekend but I barely heard any noise from any of them and they weren’t bothersome at all.



View from balcony

Sunset over Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (from balcony)

River in Sight

Just completed my third stay here within the past 1.5 years. I needed two nights of the Labor Day weekend; cash prices were high and there were no points options, so I hesitated - then the Wednesday before arrival rooms finally became available on points, so I used two credit card chits plus a modest amount of additional points (2k additional points the first night, and 5k the second) to secure the room. This was a great value compared to the Oceanfront, and I assume next year points prices will be much higher.

I arrived around 930AM and to my surprise, was warmly welcomed and told my room was ready. I was on the top floor and fairly far forward so had the best view of my three stays; as with all my stays, the room was very clean and quiet. Late checkout was proactively offered. I think the caliber of the front desk staff has greatly improved since my first visit, they were all very kind and welcoming on this stay.

The “Pantry” is still of limited value to me - almost entirely pre-packaged junk with really nothing of substance. I find it useful for coffee, but the machine was broken this morning. It’s nothing to get excited about. Speaking of food, we had a great meal at Hot Tuna directly across the street - they have great happy hour deals from 4-6PM daily. We also ate breakfast once at the hotel, Avocado Toast that was just OK.

I didn’t have a car but parking has increased from $10/nt to $20/nt.. I was charged anyway despite telling them 2x that I did not have a car and having the charge removed at checkout, someone seemed to add it right back on after I left, which also happened on my first two stays.


View from top-floor room


Pricing for beach services (didn’t use any; providing for reference)

Out of my Element

Nice reviews. We enjoyed Hot Tuna when we stayed at the Cavalier back in October. Any reason you prefer this part of the beach? It was our first time in the area and don’t know any difference.

River in Sight

Two reasons:
1. The waves are much calmer so it's better for young kids - maybe not quite as much fun but I can let my son go way out in the water here without having to worry about him - oceanfront would be more fun for older kids
2. The beach is just much quieter / easy to find a spot right at the water. We went to the Oceanfront beach Sunday afternoon and it was absolutely jammed, whereas this beach remained pretty calm and you could easily find a spot right at the water

Out of my Element

Makes a lot of sense. In October, the main beach was far from packed and no one was swimming!

mtjang97

Thanks for the series! Will be visiting this weekend. As platinum how is the upgrade situation there? Wanted to know what to expect and what's the price for breakfast at the restaurant(appearantly not offered complimentary to elites). A shame to see more properties started to cut out elite benefits in more creative ways you can't think of
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Tanic

This property does not appear to be a resort or have a lounge, so per bonvOY terms should offer "daily continental breakfast in restaurant for member + 1" to Plats.

Apparently "The Pantry" is this hotel's "lounge". They found the bonvOY loophole.

Horace

At Delta Hotels resorts, breakfast in the restaurant for Member + 1 is a Welcome Gift choice for Platinum Elite and above.

At Delta Hotels hotels, breakfast for Platinum Elite and above is a function of Guaranteed Lounge Access, just as at four other Marriott legacy full-service brands. But unlike the other brands, there's a weak "approved alternative."

According to the Loyalty Program Terms & Conditions, "At Delta Hotels properties without a Signature Club Lounge, as the approved alternative, the Member will receive access to the Elite Pantry."

That doesn't mean you'll never find a Signature Lounge, or a well-stocked Elite Pantry, or a continental (or better) breakfast in the hotel restaurant if there's neither a lounge nor a pantry.

But there's the risk of an unstaffed, poorly stocked pantry.

mtjang97

That's exactly what OP mentioned at Delta VB. A poorly stocked pantry with nothing but donuts, to satisfy the loophole where a full service breakfast in the restaurant is readily available if you ignore your benefit and just pay up. Couldn't think of any reason why Marriott keeps such terms except giving the hotel the excuses to take advantage of elites without any consequences.

River in Sight

I'd say the best you could hope for is a better view. All of the base rooms are suites (Embassy Suites style) and I don't think they upgrade to the handful of larger suites that they have.

You can find the breakfast menu here: Tin Cup Menu - however, note that when I was there in Sept all the menu prices were $2-4 higher than what is pictured here. The food was just OK.

You could consider Lynnhaven Coffee which is around a 7-10 minute walk down the street. Menu - normally we go here once or twice per trip for breakfast sandwiches. It's next to a church and gets overrun when church lets out, so you might want to go early.

Aside from the mixed nuts, basically nothing in the pantry is to my liking so I do not find it useful. As I mentioned in my reviews, on both of my last two stays the coffee machine (the only thing I was really interested in) was out of service for an entire day. Maybe it will be better outside of the peak summer season.

mtjang97

That seems fair. We are two couples traveling and we originally booked the 2B suite but changed to two base suites after discovering one of the bedroom in the 2B suites doesn't have privacy(door), which is definitely a confusing design(considering the purpose of 2B suites).

Will be updating the experience after travel but not expecting any surprises(on the up side at least) with all the extensive documentations you have for the past 3 stays. Thanks!