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St.Kitts Marriott Resort experience....


baileybrad
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We had arranged with Marriott prior to our arrival about space. We received an invoice with our names on it that we presented to the front desk. I wanted to have that just in case there was some question about there not being room for us. Our ship was in port on Friday, 7/28. Our port time was 7AM to 4PM. Of coursed, you have to take a 1/2 hour off of each end for the time to leave the ship and the time that you have to be back on the ship. We did not want to arrive at the hotel too early. So we left the ship around 8:00AM. In hindsight, I kind of wished we had left earlier. We caught a cab at the dock for the 5 of us -- very nice van with great air-conditioning. Driver was very nice. Provided some information about the island on our short drive over to the hotel. Fare was $15.

 

We went up to the front desk and in short order had paid and received our wristbands. It was $140 for the 5 of us. Youngest son was no charge. We were told that our bands entitled us to 10% off various things -- pizza shop, etc. Weh were given instructions on the Wi-Fi access. We found a couple of huts in the front on the beach at the far end of the beach. We were near a resort walk up spot that came out near one of the quiet pools and a bathroom.

 

Before booking, we expected to spend more time at the pools. Based on what we had read, we thought that the water would be too rough. That was not the case for us. The rocks placed as a breaker slowed what waves that were there. We found the water to be amazing. A clear light green color with the sun reflecting off of the volcanic sand. The sand in the water was like powder. There was some seaweed on the beach but nothing more that what you might see at any other beach. The views from the water out towards the mountains in the distance were beautiful. We forced ourselves to leave at 2:15PM because the boys wanted to do some shopping......wish our ship had been in port at least another hour. Catching a taxi was a breeze. Kids loving having Wi-Fi. It worked great at the beach. My youngest son and I went up to the quiet pool for short time to lounge around in it. It was huge and there were only 2 other folks in the pool. We wound up only buying 5 soft drinks (charge card only) in the time we were there. We just ate when we got back to the ship. We did bring our own towels from the ship. Two different folks stopped by and asked if we were interested in massages. But other than that we had no interactions with anyone.

 

It was a great day.

Edited by baileybrad
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The beach faces the Atlantic and can be very rough and is always covered in SEAWEED. I will never go there again, far better to go to South Friars on the Caribbean side which is calmer and seldom troubled by seaweed.

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The beach faces the Atlantic and can be very rough and is always covered in SEAWEED. I will never go there again, far better to go to South Friars on the Caribbean side which is calmer and seldom troubled by seaweed.
We have been to multiple sides of the island. We did not have rough seas at the beach. There was some seaweed. The water was clearer here than it was when we were at South Friars last December. The entrance at South Friars' was much more steep. Locals multiple times were trying to sell us stuff or have us take a picture with their monkey. The covered beach structures were much better at the Marriott than the cramped chair / umbrella set-up at Carambolas' (sp). There was the constant buzzing of jet skis the day we were over there. Quite and peaceful at the Marriott beach. Enjoyed having the pools to take a dip. Great bathroom facilities at the Marriott. Cost for the Marriott was more but the chairs were much more comfortable. Kids loved having strong Wi-Fi after not having it for 4 whole days (since St.Thomas, they had to rough it on the ship and in Curacao and Aruba and 2 sea days).

 

I am providing feedback on our visit just like you are on yours. Maybe there is rough waves action at particular times on the Atlantic side (winter time, fronts in the area). We had a perfect day with clear beautiful light green water to enjoy. There was some seaweed on the beach but no different than Daytona Beach in the spring (actually much less). Different strokes for different folks. We have now done South Friars', Cockleshell, and North Frigate @ the Marriott on St.Kitts.......our experience this past week was far superior to the other 2.

 

The most beautiful beaches / water in general terms that we experienced on our most recent cruise was in order: Curacao - visited multiple spots on an 8 hour tour (water shoes are a must), St.Thomas and Aruba close but while the water in Aruba was bluer, prefer the greenery that abounds in St.Thomas with the contrast to the blue water and the many beach choices when you include other islands, makes it better, and St.Kitts (although while we were nervous on people reporting how the water was so rough where we were going, our experience was amazing, just prefer the bluer water over the volcanic light green water).

 

There were several families at the resort with younger kids who were all playing in the water with no ill effects.

Edited by baileybrad
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We have been to multiple sides of the island. We did not have rough seas at the beach. There was some seaweed. The water was clearer here than it was when we were at South Friars last December. The entrance at South Friars' was much more steep. Locals multiple times were trying to sell us stuff or have us take a picture with their monkey. The covered beach structures were much better at the Marriott than the cramped chair / umbrella set-up at Carambolas' (sp). There was the constant buzzing of jet skis the day we were over there. Quite and peaceful at the Marriott beach. Enjoyed having the pools to take a dip. Great bathroom facilities at the Marriott. Cost for the Marriott was more but the chairs were much more comfortable. Kids loved having strong Wi-Fi after not having it for 4 whole days (since St.Thomas, they had to rough it on the ship and in Curacao and Aruba and 2 sea days).

 

I am providing feedback on our visit just like you are on yours. Maybe there is rough waves action at particular times on the Atlantic side (winter time, fronts in the area). We had a perfect day with clear beautiful light green water to enjoy. There was some seaweed on the beach but no different than Daytona Beach in the spring (actually much less). Different strokes for different folks. We have now done South Friars', Cockleshell, and North Frigate @ the Marriott on St.Kitts.......our experience this past week was far superior to the other 2.

 

The most beautiful beaches / water in general terms that we experienced on our most recent cruise was in order: Curacao - visited multiple spots on an 8 hour tour (water shoes are a must), St.Thomas and Aruba close but while the water in Aruba was bluer, prefer the greenery that abounds in St.Thomas with the contrast to the blue water and the many beach choices when you include other islands, makes it better, and St.Kitts (although while we were nervous on people reporting how the water was so rough where we were going, our experience was amazing, just prefer the bluer water over the volcanic light green water).

 

There were several families at the resort with younger kids who were all playing in the water with no ill effects.

I absolutely agree with your review. We rented a room there back in 2015 because it was cheaper to do that with 6 of us. Beach was fine (november) actually were snorkeling in there. Pool was a nice bonus. Quiet also. We got the pizza which wasn't bad. There is a convenience store close to the resort that we got drinks from and snacks. I've also visited other beaches on st kitt and liked them but when you just want a beach day with a pool this place was perfect. Of course being able to take a real shower was nice. ;)

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

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Great info! Did you contact the hotel directly to make a reservation? Can that be done on-line? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
I contacted the hotel by email and they contacted me back the same way. I think that since we were there in the summer that it is not quite as busy but just wanted to make sure that we did not get turned away.. They sent me a Marriott document with our information (date, pricing) on it. When we got there I showed it to the very polite, friendly, and efficient young woman working the front desk and she took our credit card for charging our day. We received wrist bands and a map. We did take our own towels from the ship. I had read in the past that folks had gotten towels out at the pool. It was not an issue for us to bring the towels. If I can answer any more questions, please let me know.
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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
We have been to multiple sides of the island. We did not have rough seas at the beach. There was some seaweed. The water was clearer here than it was when we were at South Friars last December. The entrance at South Friars' was much more steep. Locals multiple times were trying to sell us stuff or have us take a picture with their monkey. The covered beach structures were much better at the Marriott than the cramped chair / umbrella set-up at Carambolas' (sp). There was the constant buzzing of jet skis the day we were over there. Quite and peaceful at the Marriott beach. Enjoyed having the pools to take a dip. Great bathroom facilities at the Marriott. Cost for the Marriott was more but the chairs were much more comfortable. Kids loved having strong Wi-Fi after not having it for 4 whole days (since St.Thomas, they had to rough it on the ship and in Curacao and Aruba and 2 sea days).

 

I am providing feedback on our visit just like you are on yours. Maybe there is rough waves action at particular times on the Atlantic side (winter time, fronts in the area). We had a perfect day with clear beautiful light green water to enjoy. There was some seaweed on the beach but no different than Daytona Beach in the spring (actually much less). Different strokes for different folks. We have now done South Friars', Cockleshell, and North Frigate @ the Marriott on St.Kitts.......our experience this past week was far superior to the other 2.

 

The most beautiful beaches / water in general terms that we experienced on our most recent cruise was in order: Curacao - visited multiple spots on an 8 hour tour (water shoes are a must), St.Thomas and Aruba close but while the water in Aruba was bluer, prefer the greenery that abounds in St.Thomas with the contrast to the blue water and the many beach choices when you include other islands, makes it better, and St.Kitts (although while we were nervous on people reporting how the water was so rough where we were going, our experience was amazing, just prefer the bluer water over the volcanic light green water).

 

There were several families at the resort with younger kids who were all playing in the water with no ill effects.

 

 

Was this a day pass and what did it cost per. Also, booked vis Marriott or thru 3rd party.

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  • 2 months later...

I did the Marriott day pass in early December 2017. The wave activity was too much for me to really enjoy my time in the ocean. I had to be vigilant to prevent being smacked by the constant, high waves, and to prevent drifting far down the beach, away from my cabana. There was seaweed, but not so much that it mattered. In the future, I would definitely opt for a beach on the Caribbean side of the island, where I could swim, float, and snorkle in calm water. Just my 2 cents.

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Enjoyed the day pass, nice beach, beautiful water. But singles beware. I went for a 3 minute swim and when I came back, my watch was missing from my backpack.

 

My fault? Absolutely.

 

Although I used a security cable to tie my backpack to the beach chair and I used padlocks to close most zippered compartments, I was stupid enough to place my 13 year old, $80 watch in an unlocked compartment. I was also numb enough to wear it while in taxi and checking in for day pass. The watch was the only thing I was wearing that made me look 'rich'. I wish I was.

 

By the time I noticed my watch was missing, I had to get back to the ship. Filing a complaint or calling authorities was not an option unless I wanted to miss the ship.

 

This happened in 2016.

 

My next port of call was St. Martin, where I purchased a mostly identical watch for almost three times the cost.

 

Buyer beware and be smarter than I was. :o

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  • 3 months later...

Is it better/cheaper to buy day passes directly from the Marriott? or via resortforaday.com? Looks like I can get passes for $59pp thru resort for a day, but is there a difference in what you get with reserving directly thru Mariott?

 

thank you!

Lisa

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  • 2 weeks later...

We just returned on 4/22 from a Conquest cruise. We had booked the day pass at the Marriott for $35/person. The ride from the Port to the hotel took 15 minutes. We went to the registration desk to get our wrist bands and made our way to the beach which was deserted and we found out why...SEAWEED, tons of it being scooped up by a bulldozer and dumped into a huge truck for removal. It smelled so bad and the beach closer to the water was covered in a 6" high pile of seaweed that ran the entire length of the beach. So, we packed up all our stuff and made our way to the pool near the swim-up bar and stayed there for the rest of the day.

 

The pool is beautiful and the Marriott employees very friendly. There is a nice kiddie area in the pool and flotation devices to use. The restrooms are close by and were clean. The restaurants and bars opened at 11:00 a.m. We walked over to get some pizza for lunch...it was expensive and terrible. The other beachfront restaurant offered burgers and fries, etc.

 

The casino is small but nice. The grounds are beautiful, staff friendly. It was a nice way to spend our time on St. Kitts but we were disappointed that we could not swim in the ocean because of the seaweed..

 

Taxis are readily available to return you to the ship.

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