More about Key West Marriott Beachside Hotel
Loved every minute!
by TripAdvisor Member travelbugzj_b
My husband and I were headed to Key West, and my mother wanted to join us for 6 nights. Not knowing anyone who had been before, I quickly went to work researching places on line that had 2 bedrooms (I did not want to be stuck for 6 nights in any old hotel room with my husband and mom. with side by side beds, one bathroom and one television!)
I found Beachside Resort Key West on line, the pictures looked amazing but the price was atronomical. I called the hotel directly and was quoted a much better rate, so I booked their 2 bedroom suite.
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Having done a fair bit of traveling, a lot of times the pictures online are are not actually what you get. Not to mention I had read some amazing reviews and some terrible reveiws. (After our stay I'm certain the terrible reviews are mistaking the Beachside Resort & Conference Center with the Beachside Holiday Inn across the street.)
My husband and I drove to Key West from Ft. Lauderdale.
Beachside is right at the entrance to Key West, which we missed and ended up in the heart of the city. No worries, it was only a 15 minute drive back, and we got to check out a bit of this island city.
Our check in was quick and easy. Staff was more then friendly and accomodating. We found our room no problem, and even had semi-underground parking. We were already very impressed. But when we first walked in to our room we were like 2 little kids on christmas morning. It was beautiful! Even better then the pictures had shown.
The front door opened to a small entrance with 2 doors. Room A straight ahead and Room B to the left. Room B would be my mothers room. It was like her own little hotel room - with her own flat screen tv and bathroom. Room A was the main suite, with a half bathroom, washer and dryer, kitchen, dining nook, living room, flat screen tv and our bedroom with a king size bed, attached bathroom with 2 sinks, a jacuzzi tub and huge shower, not to mention our very own flat screen tv. Our balcony had a great view of the pool. I couldn't wait for my mom to see this place. It was our little home away from home. The kitchen was fully stocked with cutlery, plates, cups, cooking utensils, pots/pans etc. So we could cook our own meals...if we wanted to! They do have a restaurant, which is pretty fancy. I'm guessing it is a soon to be 5 star (the hotel is still new, was opened in Oct/Nov. 2007)
The downsides? (if you can even call them that!)
1. Location....We didn't mind the location......but Beachside is in the quiet part of Key West. Probably a 15 minute drive from Duvall street, which is where all the action is. If you like to party and stumble back to your hotel room by foot, Beachside is not the place for you! The hotel has a complimentary shuttle that will take you to Duvall street every hour on the hour and pick you up at 20 minutes after the hour every hour. I would not recommend driving, parking is not easy to find, and is not cheap either. We usually took the shuttle to Duval and then took a cab home. It was nice to escape the busy-ness and all the people at the end of the night.
2. The Beach?.....well, its not really a "beach" Its some beautiful white sand placed atop a 4 or 5 foot retaining wall...If you don't walk to the edge, and you sat in the hammocks or beach loungers, it is a beautiful view of the ocean. However...the water over the edge of the wall is not something you would want to jump into! We stuck by the pool in the comfy loungers soaking up the rays and jumping into the pool when it was time to cool off. You could sit at the edge of the pool and look out over the ocean.
3. The poolside bar......My hubby ordered us these yummy blended drinks from the bar. It was like a milkshake and so very refreshing! We went back for seconds and charged both to our rooms. When we got the bill....it was $12.00 PER Drink!!!!! So that was a 50 dollar tab on 4 drinks! I don't recommend buying drinks from the bar! LoL. Bring your own drinks and snacks to the pool with you. However, if you don't mind spending the money, they really WERE fabulous drinks! Too bad I can't remember what they're called.
4. The second bedroom....It is its own hotel room. And they do rent them out as a single room. I read one review that the person had no cups or ice. I thought this must be the Holiday Inn across the street.....then I realized, he must have been staying in Room B. I could imagine that would not be fun. There really was nothing else in that room. Had my mother not had access to the suite, she would have had nothing. No fridge, no microwave, no cups, no ice.
All in all, our stay was amazing and we most definitely will be returning...provided we can continue to get the same rate we paid in June. If not, this place is not in our budget!
Top Notch Room & Pool, Otherwise You Are On Your Own
by TripAdvisor Member ncthistle
Our suite was wonderful. Marble floors, full stainless steel kitchen, comfortable bed, 2 bathrooms, wonderful oceanview balcony. We could not have asked for anything else. BUT, know this before you go....Towel replinishing is non-existent. You have to ask for each and every wash cloth you use. This may seem like a small problem, but it got very old asking every day on a week long stay. Also, there is no housekeeping service after 5pm. One day, our room was not cleaned at all, and although we were promised that it would be cleaned while we were gone to dinner, it was not. And, we did not receive any apologies when we complained. There is only one restaurant & a tiki bar at the pool for meals. The restaurant's food is delicious, but pricey. The tiki bar is affordable for food, but pricey for drinks. Room service is only available for breakfast. There is no shuttle service to or from the airport. The only shuttle service available is to/from Duval St. We were unimpressed with the staff, excluding Serge, the shuttle driver. He was wonderful, if you go, tip him well! We were extremely disappointed with the night desk clerk that refused to apologize for the housekeeping snaffoo, and the concierge. He was short, unwilling to assist more than just on the basic level The property is on the northern end of the island, just before the Stock Island bridge, a $17.50 cab ride to/from Duval. Also, be aware, if you ask the hotel staff to get a taxi for you, they will hand you a business card for a local taxi service. I have never been to any upscale hotel/resort that did not have doorman to take care of acquiring taxis. The shuttle stops at 10:20pm, so rent a scooter if you do not want to be limited by the shuttle hours. Car parking is $10 a day at the hotel, and $10 a day in downtown lots. The beach is lovely, but the water is filled with algae. You will love the view, but not want to swim. The pool, however, is wonderful. In conclusion, while we were completely pleased with the suite, we were not at all happy with the staff. I have never received such poor service, except for Serge, the shuttle driver, while spening so much money. They simply acted as if they did not care if you stayed there or not. This property should not bill itself as a resort, as it does not have adequate amenities/service to do so. It would be better served to advertise as a limited amenity hotel.
Excellent Stay
by TripAdvisor Member thequads
We stayed for the July 4th 2008 weekend and must say it was excellent. The rooms are extremely well done, the suite had 1 bedroom with sleeper sofa and 1.5 bathrooms. The main bathroom had a tub with two sinks and then a separate room with a shower and toilet. The half bath was by the kitchen. Rate was around $250/ night + taxes in the $30 range. Parking was $20 a day and not advertised at time of booking. The only thing I did not like was that it did not have any premium channels (HBO) only basic cable. Other than that everything was great. Staff was very attentive. Pool was very nice. On site restaurant was OK, not great. Room service was OK as well, not great.
Where's the ice?
by TripAdvisor Member prlock
Where is the ice? No ice bucket or cups. Do they think their guests in a standard king room never get thirsty? I called the front desk and asked for ice. They asked if I just needed ice, or if I needed a bucket also. I had to ask for ice in an ice bucket and also for cups. I had to ask for this everyday, because when the room was cleaned they removed the ice bucket and cups. This meant room service and a tip, everytime.
Also, in the standard king room I was in, there was a suite beside of it. You could actually here almost everything said when the people in the suite were in the kitchen-living area. It seemed to echo in the entry area to the 2 rooms.
High end? Yes! Common conveniences? No! Vending machines? No! Ice machines? No!
Advertising an almost non existant beach. I could not recommend this hotel for tourists!
No Beach, Beautiful Units
by TripAdvisor Member NTirish79
To begin the actual condos for this resort are absolutely beautiful, boasting marble floors throughout, granite counter tops, and brand new appliances. The room we stayed in had a great view of the pool and ocean, and the balcony was great to hang out on at night.
The pool is not very large and didn't have a swim up bar but everything was very new and kept up with on a regular basis. Now here was what disappointed me the most: the "beach" was basically sand thrown down at the edge of the water, and at the "shore" there was a retaining wall with about a 4 foot drop into pretty disgusting water.
The staff was very friendly and helpful and we had a great time, but having to drive 30 minutes north to Bahia Honda state park for a beach bummed me out. Great family atmosphere but doubt I would ever go back.
Best Resort In Key West
by TripAdvisor Member nriettie
After deciding to visit Key West for the first time ever we got MANY recommendations to various 'popular' properties to stay at! Knowing we have really select tastes, we decided to take a chance and not pre-book, but go and preview the hotels before booking/checking in!
We visited almost every major/popular hotel in Key West! Everyone had told us that The Beachside Resort is excellent, but a little outside the downtown/main district, which might be a deterrent...
Well, we love to party as much as the next guy - but staying in the midst of congestion and craziness has never been our thing! In other words, if you plan to vacation in Miami, stay in Bal Harbour (at The Regent, of course) and drive the quick ride back and forth to the hip SoBe area as much as you like!
The Beachside Resort was the SAME idea!!! Luxury, service, amenities - you name it!!! They were awesome!!! We had a phenomenal one bedroom suite with full kitchen, living room, dining, half bath and the master suite was huge with a jacuzzi tub and private lav.
The oversized balcony also offered a spiral staircase (depending on your floor, it either goes from the pool level to your balcony, or in our case, from the balcony to the roof level where you can tan in privacy, etc!)
The food was excellent, the value was excellent and the service - once again - SUPERB! The best Key West has to offer!!!!
We could have entertained en-suite if we chose to! And the ride to downtown Key West was minutes away! Hands down - if you're heading to Key West - go to The Beachside Resort - you won't regret it!!!
Welcoming, Romantic, Beautiful, Great Place to Stay in Key West
by TripAdvisor Member BeachLover1979
This resort is true to the pictures you see on the web-site, even better. My husband and I visited Key West for the first time. We did not know where to stay. After some research I found the Beachside resort. Since my first contact with the hotel reservation I had a great experience, she was very friendly and customer service focused without being fake. During the week before checking in the concierge contacted us at home to see if we had any special needs or wants upon cheking in. Once we reached the resort the front desk manager was very freindly and gracious. He gave us a few rooms to choose from, he even let us check them out before we decided. The rooms were beautifully decorated. We stayed in the 1 bedroom, poolside - 326A we had some ocean view.
We had a full kitchen, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops; we had 1 1/2 bathrooms, the master bathroom had a jacuzzi tub, 2 sinks, seperate shower and toilet all done in marble, the bedroom was decorated beautifully (great linens) living room and the dining room (bedroom and livingroom had flat screen TVs and DVD/CD players). JUST LOOK AT the pictures on their website (they don't do it justice). The pool area was great with private cabanas. The resort it located right at the entrance of Key West, it is a few miles from all the hustle and bustle of Duval St, if you have a car it is not far to reach all the attractions. Parking fees are charged when you drive towards Duval ST or Front St., however the hotel does offer a courtesy shuttle that drops you off downtown and picks you up. The beach at he resort is not the nicest but Key West is not the place to go if you are looking for soft sand beaches. The ocean water in Key West is beautiful and crystal clear however the beach itself is rocky and full of coral (water shoes are the way to go, yes they are dorky but they work). We highly recommend The Beachside Resort. ENJOY KEY WEST it is beautiful!
Really Nice Place!
by TripAdvisor Member travelking78
We stayed here for a long weekend with a trip out to the Dry Tortugas. There were nice bathrobes and the soap had a nice hint of key limes. The bed was very comfortable, we felt very pampered the entrie stay. Free shaded parking nice pool with cabanas. You are right at the entrance to Key West so it is best to take the shuttle into town to avoid parking fees. Had breakfast at the hotel (not free) and were pleased with the food. Only problem we saw was the room service were not prompt picking up the used dishes from those rooms that had ordered room service. Overall we would highly reccommend this hotel to anyone visiting Key West.
Sheer Luxury
by TripAdvisor Member Prit101
Absoloutely gorgeous resort - We stayed here for 4 nights. Couldn't fault it in any way, if anything some of the photo's on the website don't do it justice.
The staff were extremely helpful, especially the concierge. My hubby had 2 dives cancelled as the company's boat broke and the concierge organised a dive for him the same day within an hour. Apartment spacious, lush & always clean due to daily maid service. They have an hourly shuttle service from the resort into town and then from town to the resort. Taxi cost us approx $18 (for 5 of us) - We didn't want to leave. My son did a mock "cribs" if you want to see a tour of the apartment, just copy & paste:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhTWf7zbcV4
We got a fab rate too - less than $400 per night for a 3 bedroom apartment directly through the hotels website.
Would DEFINITELY go back!!!!
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