JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort

My husband and I are now island residents and have been coming to the JW for many years….Long before it was a JW. We had been walking the pristine beach in front of the resort when we decided to enjoy the wonderful breakfast at Maia! We walked in and were waited on promptly to then only see the smiling face of Dolly! There she was, open arms, great big smile….And her fabulous giggle with a great big…..Hello! Good Morning! What a great morning catching up with her. Very proud moment to hear that she was recognized for her outstanding efforts by the Marriott family. It’s great to hear employers who engage in their employees efforts day to day. Employers who still take enormous strides to recognize outstanding employees! Good job JW…..You picked the right candidate. Dolly has always been a great reason for our vacations there! You continue to be our choice for hotel stays. Read less

The facility itself, including the pools and beach, are quite nice. The food and service at the two restaurants we visited was excellent. And our room was clean and comfortable. But our stay was filled with oh-so-many service failures: 1. As a Platinum member, we are eligible for a complimentary room upgrade. But no room upgrade offered at check-in. When I asked for one, however, an upgraded room was found. Then followed a hard sell to pay for a costly upgrade, accompanied by confusing information about what the upgrade options would be. (First we were offered a move to the adults-only section, but then we were told that such a move would be impossible.) We ended up accepting a complimentary upgrade (still in the main section of the hotel), but upon arriving at the room we discovered that it was a connecting room -- a room type that, upon making the reservation, I had specifically asked to avoid. And, as we feared, night-time noise from the adjoining room could be heard. 2. On the beach, at approximately 4:30 p.m., there was no beach service. We lugged some stacked chairs ourselves but could not find an umbrella. A beach worker who we flagged down simply told us that the beach service had been shut down for the day. Yes, at 4:30 p.m. and with a sunset at 7:30 p.m. And, the use of beach chairs and an umbrella are the main features included with the $45+ "resort fee." 3. At 11:00 p.m., I requested that an extra blanket be brought to the room. At 11:30 p.m., nothing had arrived. I then went to the front desk and was told that a blanket would be brought soon. But no blanket EVER arrived! And our party had waited awake, for a lengthy time, for the blanket, because we did not want to go to sleep and then be awakened by the arrival of the blanket. Related, our only two calls to the hotel's "at your service" line were not answered for several minutes. That's why I decided to go physically to the front desk, late at night, to follow up on the blanket. 4. Our request for a late checkout -- until 4:00 p.m., the check-out time usually offered to Platinum members -- was granted until only noon. It's a bit hard to believe that our specific room -- and no alternate room -- was needed by an incoming guest. And, as noted, the hotel did not seem even close to full. We were offered the ability to shower at a hotel bathroom/shower near one of the pools, but the bathrooms/showers there were appeared dirty and unkempt. 5. At check-out, our bill listed charges from a restaurant that we never visited. The charge was removed at my request, but no apology (or explanation) was offered. Also, at check-out we were not asked whether our stay was okay. Notably, during our stay I did report some of my concerns -- regarding the beach service and blanket issue -- to a (cordial) front-desk agent. She explained only that the beach service is outsourced -- and, as to the blanket, she unsurprisingly could offer no explanation. No compensation was offered, either. So, overall, this is a nice resort with many amenities, but during our stay the service was sorely lacking (apart from service at the restaurants). Rarely is a hotel stay perfect, but one should both expect and receive better service than this at a JW-level Marriott. We made the best of our stay, but we left feeling disappointed by the many service failures. Read less