Beach locations
 

I'm trying to find a Marriott property that actually sits on the beach located in the Southeast.

Everything I find says beach nearby. Any thoughts.

So frustrated, I'm thinking about switching to the Starwood program.

Numerous Marriotts are on the beach or directly across a street from the beach, especially if you include timeshare properties. Non-timeshare properties include:

• Key Largo (Florida Keys)
• Marco Island (Near Naples on the west coast of Florida)
• South Beach (Miami area)
• Hilton Head. My favorite of those listed, it was converted from a Westin last year and has been extensively renovated.

Including timeshares, which can be rented on a nightly basis, adds a number of additional properties, including three on Hilton Head, all directly on the beach, and one in Miami Beach, across the street from a beach.

A couple of questions:

Can you use Reward points for the timeshares on the beach?

Is the converted Westin in Hilton Head across the street from the beach?

Thanks for your help.

I've got about 11 nights of travel in the next three weeks and am trying to convince myself to stay with Marriott.

It's the converted Hyatt in Hilton Head

You may also try Harbor Beach in Ft. Lauderdale, Baypoint in Panama City or Eden Roc in Miami.

For timeshares, I think Beachplace Towers and Ocean Pointe are on the beach.

The Ritz in Naples is another option.

Baypoint in Panama City is not on the beach. They do have a shuttle out to the island across the bay from them. Or you can drive a couple miles down the road to the state park, which has a nice beach.

Ponte Vedra has a nice Marriott, while not beach front, has a free shuttle to the private beach club they have access to. They even let you sign to your room at the beach club which has pool, bar, restaurant, etc.

Sorry about Baypoint, I was just going by the hotel description "1,100 acre full-service resort with private beach".

Yes, you can use reward points for timeshares, though they require more points than hotel rooms. You can go to the Marriott sites, click on Rewards, then find the points required for the length of stay you want at a specific timeshare. It's worth noting that although they require more points, they also offer a lot more space and amenities than a hotel room.

I am planning to burn some points at the Marco Island hotel in November/Thanksgiving. Has anybody experiences at this property (location, rooms to ask for, close-by restaurants, city etc.) ?

I understand. The description and reality aren't that close. Baypoint is okay. They do have a boat shuttle over to Shell Island where you can hang out. But don't pay a lot to stay there, it's not that wonderful. Panama City, despite its spring break rep, is still the "Redneck Riviera".

I LOVE that hotel...older (built in 71) but in great shape...right on the beach, close to everything (Marco isn't that big and it's within 20 mins of Naples), very relaxing resort

Make sure you get a pool/ocean view (a few rooms overlook the island/parking lot, but most do not)

Went there on spring break with the kids, using my 713 free week. Very crowded for the first 5 days, but the kids loved having an endless supply of friends at the pool. The ocean is warm, and it's great being able to rent a sailboat or Jet-ski and launch right from the beach. I saw a few dolphins one morning. At night, you can play mini-golf. Highly recommended.

The room had a free safe and a mini-refrigerator, and the grocery store is about a mile away. The kids can buy a hot dog and fries for only $4 at the pool. So you need not spend a lot on incidentals if you don't want to.

It's not quite the Hilton Waikoloa Village, but it's a great place to take the kids. Just remember to use sunscreen!

Baypoint used to have a great beach, accessed via a boardwalk. They even had a gift shop/bar about 2/3 of the walk out (spouse still has the t-shirt). Did this blow away in the last hurricane?

Re: Marco Island restaurants

Best restaurant we found on the island was Snook Inn, on the water at the north end of Marco. Great local atmosphere, great seafood.

After a week we started to get bored with the on-premises food, and we picked up takeout food from places nearby -- that worked pretty well.

I agree with other comments that the Marriott Marco is a good hotel. It's a flagship property for Marriott in the area, run to a very high standard of service, and is a favorite among Marriott's managers for vacations.