Any opinions on Marriott Biscayne Bay??

[florida cruiser girl]

Wondering if any of you have stayed here and what your impressions were?? Thanks in advance for any help!

[Bequia]

I went to a wedding reception there not too long ago. It's a very nice property with some wonderful views overlooking the bay. Typical Marriott quality, I enjoyed my stay. Try their eggs benedict for breakfast second to none. ;)

[Cruising89143]

This is my hotel of choice when staying near the port in Miami. Great views of the port from the bayside rooms. I have no complaints about this property at all. I have some photos of the views of the port in my Navigator photos in the link below.

[megr1125]

Unless they had a remodel or renewal I thought it was in just so-so shape.

 

We were there during hurricane wilma. Yes there was a little damage to the property-some broken glass, downed trees etc. I think I have pics in my link below...lool at the navigator album.

 

We got a room overlooking the port. The balcony was dirty, the room was banged up and this was before wilma. we were there a day before, the day she hit/overnight then left the next day as we were evacuated.

 

I am sure things were fixed. The view is great...but it was just a standard marriott..not bad, not over the top. The area around it is OK. There are some food places in a little shopping center.

 

I will say this however; even in the worst of circumstances, i.e. no power (minimal at best), hurricane, damage, only a couple toilets working, etc not a single staff member complained (at least in front of guests.) The evacuation was well organized...but prior to that point, they escorted us down the elevator to a lower level when the staff decided it was best to get the guests together,and fed us a kinda-hot breakfast, a nice cold sandwich lunch and a hot (burgers, hot dogs and pasta) dinner for FREE (and that was also given for free to residents of the condo next door...) I have to commend their staff.

 

I did write a letter to marriott saying that the people here made the best of the worst. They bussed us to Orlando through the devastation all over south FLA and picked up the tab for our rooms at Orlando World Center which was a nightmare. That is another story....THEIR staff needs soe training.

 

Sorry that was so long....I will probably wind up staying there next year using points because other rooms are so bloody expensive. Give it a try, most like it. I am pickier than most about marriotts as I worked for them a number of years ago so I know the rules and standards. While the place needed an overall renovation, I have been in worse, and I have been in better. The place works, but due to the volume of people in and out all the time, it gets a little more beaten up, kind of like an airport property.

 

Again, no real complaints, on a scale of 1-10 I would say about 7.5-8.

[CanuckCruizer]

We stayed there last April for our honeymoon - post cruise. I am of a different opinion from the others. It was the worst hotel stay we have ever stayed at and it wasn't cheap as well. (I believe we paid $239/nite)

 

First of all - they have what they call "step out" balconies - basically they are faux balconies - you open the sliding door and you can look out and maybe fit one toe out, but that is it. We were told that they were "normal" balconies when we booked. The service was the worst we have ever experienced. The maids came twice in a 3 day stay and when they did come - they didn't clean up, just moved things around a bit. They didn't replenish towels, left dirty glasses and ashtrays etc. We were constantly phoning to get new towels etc. On the last morning, we were catching an early flight and were standing there at 4:45 am waiting to shower as we had no towels. It only took 5 phone calls and 45 minutes later until we could shower! The pool is quite small and the service was non-existent. There were quite a few people there and all of a sudden, the bartender decided he was closing the bar at 3:30 in the afternoon! That meant no food, no drinks, nothing. It was quite unbelievable. The front desk staff were so unfriendly it was almost scary. We repeatedly asked to speak with the manager and were told that she was unavailable every time. The servers in the restaurant were very rude and we thought the food was just so-so. We had breakfast included in our package, but had to fight to get it as they said we didn't. The cabdriver told us when we left that it had changed management three or four times in the last 6 months or so, which perhaps contributed to all the problems. There is nothing within walking distance (at least when we were there as there was major construction surrounding the hotel) as it is quite industrial around there. You have to take a cab to go to Bayside, for example. The only thing I would agree with is that it does have a nice view. We would definitely never go back.

 

We stayed pre-wedding/cruise at the Hilton Miami Airport which was like night and day compared to the Marriott. It is a lovely hotel, with nice pool, great views, excellent service and the best meal we have ever had in their Cove restaurant. Nice huge rooms and monster-size balconies. You can go to Coconut Grove from there for quite a reasonable cabfare and they have shuttles to two big shopping malls and a free shuttle from the airport. If you get an executive room, you get cocktails and appies every night and free continental breakfast as well. It is about half the price of the Marriott and I would recommend it highly. As a matter of fact, we are going to stay there again next year.

 

That is just my two cents worth...:)

 

Canuck

[CanuckCruizer]

I have to correct myself - I said that it was quite "industrial" around the Marriott - what I should have said that it was in the middle of business district (DH just corrected me -lol)

[Cruising89143]

The Marriott does have regular balcony rooms. They overlook the pool and some overlook the port and the big white condo that is next door. I have had both type rooms.

 

They just finished building the new Carnival Performing Arts Center across the street and it was in a major construction zone.

[lmondrop]

I have to correct myself - I said that it was quite "industrial" around the Marriott - what I should have said that it was in the middle of business district (DH just corrected me -lol)

 

The Marriot is actually located just North of downtown Miami.

[CanuckCruizer]

lmondrop - well, it may not be considered right "downtown" but when we walked around we were in the middle of many office buildings.

[lmondrop]

lmondrop - well, it may not be considered right "downtown" but when we walked around we were in the middle of many office buildings.

 

Actually, the buildings that are located around the Marriot are all condo buildings right on the Bay and some hotels and then there is the Miami Herald Building - which was the big yellow building...I'm sure you couldn't miss it.

[CanuckCruizer]

lmondrop - my point was - there's nothing there...no retail shops, no touristy things - without getting in a cab - this was in April 2005 - maybe all the construction we saw and had to walk around built something that is now there. Just wanted the op to know that there was nothing within walking distance that we found.

[florida cruiser girl]

Thanks to all for the info and pictures. Seems there are always positives and negatives, that's what makes a tough decision. We will have a car, as we live here in the Tampa area and will be driving, so getting around isn't an issue. I had heard that the performing arts center is there and it can be quite congested. I am more concerned about the room, the service, the hotel itself than the surroundings. Again, thanks a bunch and if anyone has any great suggestions in the area (don't need taxis, etc) I'd love to hear them.

[Cruising89143]

Thanks to all for the info and pictures. Seems there are always positives and negatives, that's what makes a tough decision. We will have a car, as we live here in the Tampa area and will be driving, so getting around isn't an issue. I had heard that the performing arts center is there and it can be quite congested. I am more concerned about the room, the service, the hotel itself than the surroundings. Again, thanks a bunch and if anyone has any great suggestions in the area (don't need taxis, etc) I'd love to hear them.

 

There are other hotels in the area. Doubletree is next door but the hotel is part hotel and major part condos. The hotel rooms are not that high up and the view is not as good as the Marriott. The Intercontinental is a nice place and is close to Bayside Marketplace. There are also some hotels downtown such as the J.W. Marriott and a few others. The Holiday Inn is directly across the street from Bayside but IMHO this place is not nice at all and I would only stay here as a last resort.

[florida cruiser girl]

Thanks again and I will take this into account. It is good to know the ones not to book with as well as the nice ones. I am wanting something affordable and nice as I said before and not a "last resort" type place, as we will just go to Ft. Lauderdale or someplace else, as we are driving over...plus besides being a pre cruise stay it is our wedding day. I may take a look at the Intercontinental again, it's had good and some bad...??? I tried the Conrad and the Mandarin Oriental and they were both booked.