This hotel was beautiful and the service was top notch. Just to illustrate, my husband and I came back from a walk and we looked quite hot and sweaty, and the great doorman handed us two ice cold bottles of water as we walked in...no charge. The service goes above and beyond expectation.
The things that surprised me given the nightly charge of $400...the "fitness center" was anything but state of the art. You had to go outside past the pool area to get there...just a few older machines and no room for any weight exercises, and the ac was not working so they left the door open and ceiling fan on. I was especially surprised by this given that they have a lot of corporate meetings and I would think a beautiful fitness center would be a priority. The fitness center you see in the photo is in the spa and you need to pay $30 per day to use that one (and only if you are having a treatment). Also the room was "OK" and the bathroom did not have any ventilation. Expected a little more luxury at that price. Pool chairs are plentiful during the week but go snag your's early on Fri, Sat and Sun.

My husband and I just returned from a week's stay at the Marriott and were both disappointed. The resort is just OK, I wouldn't rank it a 4-star hotel. We were surprised by the $25/day charge for beach bungalows...
The restaurants were just OK, and way overpriced for the quality of food/service. No activities at the resort... Resort staff was rather unfriendly. We spent around $3000 on this vacation - could've gotten a fancier one for that kind of money.

Stayed for 4 nights for a convention. Booked an Oceanview room and was first given a room with a brick wall well over 5 Ft high (I am 5'4" and couldn't see over it). After much discussion with front desk and finally manager affirming that this was NOT a OV room, I was moved to one with a corner OV.

The room was very nice, in the 3-4 star catagory; the service was efficient throughout my stay. The few steps to the beach and the nearness of the extensive pool made getting away between conference sessions very easy. Lots of loungers, plentiful large towels amid the waterfalls. The take-out cafeteria style restaurant at the pool was convenient with good choices but the drinks were quite pricey ($11.00 for a Pina Colada); it was not open in the late afternoon. The spa got raves from many friends who partook of the services. The grounds were manicured and well kept, spotless.

Rive, the hotel restaurant, was very good, with extremely attentive service, a varied menu and fine dining.

It appeared that there were lots of families with children and nannies (it was the week of a hurricane as well) but the pool is fashioned into 3 areas, while not distinct from each other, does afford quite a bit of distance from the kiddie area.

Just returned from a great 4 days stay at Marriott Harbor Beach. I have never really taken a beach/resort vacation before, so I don't have a point of reference based on past experience. However, I thought this place was really nice.

The room and the bathroom were comfortable, clean, and in good repair. Lots of fresh towels each day. The staff was always polite and many staff members were friendly.

For me, the landscaping on the beach side of the hotel makes this place special. During a long beach walk, I observed that many of the large Fort Lauderale hotels look pretty institutional. I think the landscaping (the palm trees, the shingle roofed cabanas, and the wooden walkways leading to the beach) makes the Marriott feel more like real getaway place and less like a motel. Eating breakfast outdoors on the plaza facing the ocean was a joy. The food in the various eating venues was pretty good.

The beach is kept clean, and there are both umbrellas and blue cabinettes for rent. This end of the beach is near the city's transportation hub. You will see lots of ships pulling out of the harbor, and *hear* lots of airplanes taking off and landing.

Note, this is a *very* kid friendly place. On the weekend, the children pretty much ruled the swimming pool. There were fewer families and more adults during the week days. I only gave the resort 4 stars because I felt a little overwhelmed by the number of kids running around.

I agree with many other reviewers that you sort of get nickled-and dimed to death by paying for the extras here; however, Fort Lauderdale is an expensive place. The drinks, snacks and meals at the hotel aren't that much more costly than many restaurants in the area.

You don't really need a car to get around -- a taxi ride to Los Olas Blvd. costs about $7. You can walk it from the hotel -- but its a really LONG walk - around 45 minutes. Once you reach the causway, the view of
the waterways are very pretty.