donotblink

I was looking for a master thread for the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort and couldn't find one, though there appears to be some previous discussion comparing and contrasting the various properties in Vail here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...eek-hotel.html

For context, I've spent about four weeks at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort across two separate stays in December 2020 and January 2021 as well as about a week last ski season in 2019.

The hotel has a decent location and is near the Eagle Bahn at Lionshead, it's about a 4-5 minute walk and the $50 per night resort fee covers a ski valet that is available right next to the Eagle Bahn gondola. At check in the hotel is providing guests with smores kits that can be used at the fire pits they have out by the pool and hot tub.

Elite breakfast used to be a grand buffet, but post covid includes coffee, a choice of juice, a soda (sparking bubbly water with flavoring is currently an option) or gatorade your choice of either one of four breakfast sandwiches (bacon, egg and American Cheese on a bagel, sausage egg and american cheese on a croissant and both vegetarian and nonvegetarian breakfast burritos with salsa) or a breakfast box with greek yogurt, granola, a muffin and either an Apple or an Orange. Each elite breakfast credit is good for two people.

I received upgrades for both of my stays this season from the base room category to a deluxe room with a fireplace, however the 2nd room I got this season was very cramped. The desks in the rooms are high and narrow, and they are very hard to work from. As I was working remotely and needed something more suitable, I texted the front desk via the app and asked if they could provide me with a folding table and chair, which they did without any issues, however there was only space for this setup for the room I had in December.

All of the rooms that I have ever been offered at the hotel offer extremely limited in room storage for ski attire and whatever else you might be planning on wearing for apres ski. Each room only offered three drawers and a small closet. As all of my stays were longer than a week, all of my clothing left the room feeling cluttered. The hotel also does not offer on-site self service laundry, which is uncommon for ski hotels, including chain hotels. Both the Lodge at Vail (a RockResorts property) and the HighLine at Vail (a DoubleTree by Hilton) have self service laundry for guests (probably other hotels too, but I don't have first hand experience).

The menus for the bar and room service seemed to be extremely limited, which I found disappointing working from the hotel on weekdays. I ended up going over to safeway to get prepared foods and stored them in the mini fridge that the hotel does offer in each room. Room service ends at 11PM and there is no food or beverage service offered overnight.

The last weekend of my most recent stay was booked as a separate stay and I had applied Suite Night Awards to that, as I had a friend joining me. A suite was still available 24 hours before, but when I nicely asked if the front desk could clear it, they said that central reservations has to do it and they have no control over it (which I don't think is accurate). They did end up keeping me in the same upgraded non-suite room.

Apparently reservations are required for the hot tub, but no one told me about that in advanced. I went to use it on my 2nd to last day with my friend. We used it for about 20 minutes, then some guy came with a list, I assumed that he was just checking to see if we were actually hotel guests, but he kicked us out for not having made a reservation and was pretty rude about it, asking my last name and saying "sir, you aren't authorized to be here, you need to leave" (which I did without questioning him), he also kicked one other couple out of the hot tub, leaving it empty.

The toiletries at the hotel are Molton Brown and in common use containers. Ghirardelli chocolates were left in guest rooms on Christmas Eve.

The hotel offers an "Adventure Locker" as part of the $50 per night resort fee. I didn't use it for myself for most of the stay, but my friend who came to visit me didn't have his own ski stuff. They were able to lend him a snowsuit (basically an adult onesie for skiing), which was great. The stuff was pretty high quality Helly Hansen stuff too and they were washing the stuff between uses.

Valet parking at the hotel is $60 per night which fees steep paired with the $50 per night resort fee when on points.

The hotels spa has a hairstylist and I did just get a haircut for the first time that I was able to earn Marriott points for, my haircut was $60 plus tip.

The hotel has free car service to take guests around Vail which is pretty cool, especially considering the Vail shuttle no longer stops in front of the hotel because of COVID.

Overall, I would say I had a decent stay and would stay again, but I think the lack of self service laundry is inexcusable.

Intl359Widget

Thank you for sharing your experiences at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort. I've been wondering about that property since I've stayed at several in the area (Sheraton Steamboat, Sheraton Mountain Vista Villas Avon, Westin Riverfront Mountain Villas Avon, and Fairfield Inn Steamboat Springs. The Vail Marriott Mountain Resort seems to be decently located in Vail Village but I was somewhat skittish on booking there with the excessive resort fee and limited amenities at that price point.

Personally, I prefer to ski at Beaver Creek and am looking forward to staying at the Ritz Carlton in Bachelor Gulch in March.

aaupgrade

Vail update for any of you who are interested. Vail Marriott Mountain Resort is now The Hythe, a Luxury Collection Resort.

I saw all the construction this past summer but had no idea that they were going to become a Luxury Collection. There had been talk for a couple decades about upgrading and becoming a JW. This is a nice change as the Marriott Mountain Resort was long overdue for a face lift and this appears to be much more than that. I'm sure prices will reflect the upgrades too.

Here's an article from today's Vail Daily: The Vail Marriott Mountain Resort is now The Hythe after a $40 million renovation

Here's a link to the hotel's web site.

It appears they've renovated all the guest rooms and lats summer they were in the process of demolishing the outdoor areas , including the pool and hot tub, yet the pics on their web site don't look any different from the old pool and hot tub. Perhaps they haven't gotten around to new pics yet, or they aren't quite finished with those upgrades. Interior common areas are nice, but again no pics of the new restaurants, so curious to see what they look like and their offerings. I'll check it out after I arrive back in Vail next week and report back when I do. I haven't been inside that property in a few years.

On a separate note the Marriott Residence Inn has been under construction for almost a year now since they broke ground fall of 2020, but didn't do any substantive construction until this year. My guess, and it's just a guess, is that it will be ready for 2022/2023 ski season.

aaupgrade

It is now The Hythe, a Luxury Collection Resort. More info in this thread: Vail Marriott Mountain Resort is now The Hythe, a Luxury Collection Resort

goldenbear

Doesn't sound like the RI was ever going to be ready before the 2022-23 season. Who knows what effects covid, work, and material shortages are having on construction timelines.

https://www.vaildaily.com/news/vail-...-smaller-form/

The site has been in planing since Roost Lodge closed in 2007, I believe. I'd forgotten something was still going up there.

We'll see how mid-range the price ends up. The RI in Breck is never a good deal IMO.

rucksack

I think the guest rooms were renovated during the summer of 2020 when travel was almost entirely shut down from COVID. When I stayed last season, the rooms certainly looked brand new (and matched the current photos on the website).

aaupgrade

Correct. Progress report: They've started framing half of the structure and finishing up the foundation for the other half.

aaupgrade

Update on Hythe. I walked by the property a few times in the past days and the outdoor pool and hot tub retained the same foot print. They did retile and resurface the outdoor pool and hot tub and put up more of a privacy fence as shown on the left in the attached photo. They also replaced the concrete pool deck with 6"x12" pavers, which can also be seen in the attached photo. They added outdoor fire pits as has been done throughout Vail and Lionshead; after all it is the 2021 trend du jour. The indoor pool and accompanying stainless steel indoor hot tub are no more, at least in their previous location as it is the fitness center now. The lower outdoor hot tub has been totally redone and is a much nicer tub and half raised instead of being fully in ground like the previous iteration, and there is now room for chairs and chaise lounges.

uscjeff

I stopped in on a walk today - they did a nice job on the lobby. New bar where check in used to be and vice versa on the old bar. Have been to a number conventions back in the day at the Avalanche Pub so will miss it but looks like a change for the better. The lobby has a trendy feel to it something most of Vail lacks IMO - either the hotels feel old school or stuffy. This should be a nice addition.

And as others have said the Residence Inn still looks far off but will be welcomed. I have also been getting targeted ads to invest in what looks like a hybrid Springhill Suties/TownPlace suites being built in Avon - great to see the Bonvoy options expanding in the valley!

xy31

I stayed there for 5 nights right before X-Mas 21 in a junior suite (points with cash upgrade). The staffing was a complete mess like pretty much everywhere at that time, so I don't fault them for that (cleaning of rooms and premises was pretty good though). I am only gold status which counts for absolutely zero these days (no discenable benefit beyond my 500 bonus points). Staffing aside, the spa is nice (according to my wife) and you can use they steam room/sauna until you leave on the day of your appointment. Never got to try their restaurant or in room dining bc wait times were just a bit too outragous, but they looked good.

Valet and resort fee are still $60 and $50 per night. The lobby is quite nice with a glass encased gas fire pit right off the entrance. There are only two elevators in the main lobby. They are usually up to the task since they are pretty quick, but when it gets busy it can result in a little bit of a wait. Both, bedroom and living room were quite spacious, 1 large fireplace, and we had 2 bathrooms as well. Although storage possibilities are a little limited. You get one standard closet in each room and a drawer chest in the bedroom. With all our ski clothing it was testing the limits. The main bathroom had a separate shower and tub and the robes they provided were very nice. They also provide a small humidifier, which was welcome since humidity felt like 0% with the mountain air plus the heating.

The hotel provided a nice festive atmosphere even during these covid times and had bunch of holiday activities for kids and families. The smores every day from 3-5 seemed to be a hit with most guests (including us). The pool size was pretty good and at the deep end I think something like 8 or 9 feet deep. Temp was ok. As long as you kept swimming you didn't feel cold, but without moving you'd get a bit too cold after a few minutes, so had to warm up in the hot tup (which was nice and hot). Walk to gondola was ok. Pretty crowded this time of year as was expected. Still enjoyed it though.

If I can find another point stay I might stay again (alhtough seems to be very limited quantities of those available), but the $ prices they charge seem a bit expensive for what you get.

rucksack

This was my reaction exactly. Solid hotel, not a lot to pick on. But not a very good value versus other hotels in Vail, in my opinion. (Disclaimer: I stayed last year when it was still flagged as a Marriott, but the guest rooms had already been renovated.)

allbrosca

I just stayed there for three nights and I don't know why this would qualify as a "Luxury Collection" hotel. Not too much luxurious about it. Room was not made up by 5 pm on any day we were there and we were out all afternoon,. We had to phone when we were going out for dinner to ask them to make up the room. Mrs. Allbrosca was not happy that the supplied toiletries did not include any form of hand or body lotion. Servers in restaurant seemed disinterested in serving us and more interested in the conversations they were having with each other and the restaurant ran out of eggs and make scrambled eggs and omelets with what must have been eggs in a carton that turned out pretty awful. When I asked for late checkout as an elite member I was denied and told it was subject to availability (not sure if this qualifies as a resort or convention facility - could not find it listed as one). When I pressed them on it, they said well just this once we will make an exception, Not impressed!

GoSh4rks

I'm all for bashing a hotel for not honoring the 4pm guarantee, but "resort" is in the hotel's name...

allbrosca

True. But could not find it in Marriott's listing of resorts and convention centers which is not very user friendly. Why can't they publish a list that we can reference? Otherwise, operators can say and do anything and it cheapens the brand when you can't tell what stated benefits you are entitled to, especially with the way this benefit is manipulated. And I don't know if putting resort in the name does include it in the list of excluded resort and convention center hotels. When I called them out on it they gave it to me right away.

Intl359Widget

While I didn't stay there during my Skiing trips in the area, I did have to use the hotel for a business meeting with associates staying there. I was not impressed with the lackluster service and my colleagues had a lot of complaints about the whole stay so I'm staying away from there and would rather stay at the Ritz or Westin by Beaver Creek.