Oct 28,2008

Trip Advisor Member, New Hampshire

My wife & I were pleasantly surprised with our recent stay at BeachPlace Towers. Prior to leaving we were concerned because of some of the negative reviews we had read. The resort had recently been renovated and the rooms were in excellent condition. Check in was not a problem and the front desk personnel were helpful & pleasant. Had absolutely no problems with the elevators; never waited more than 3 minutes for an elevator. Location to the beach, restaurants & water taxi was excellent. Only negative was that the resort sat on top of a parking garage & mall.

My husband and I having stayed at many Marriotts agreed to a time share pitch in exchange for 4 nites at this property at $60 per night. The rooms are nice and ours had a nice view. That is the best thing I can say other than it is very close to the public beach and if being in the heart of town is important to you , this is a convenient location where you can stay without a car. That's the good news, now here is the bad. The hotel is on top of an old mall with a Hooters and a few other things. To check in you have to drive up a ramp 5 levels to park, then take the elevator to the lobby. Guest elevators are also freight elevators and the average waiting time to go in either direction is 10-15 minutes and more on Sunday when many check out. It is not unusual to be in the elevator with a huge rolling tub. The average amount of time spent in the elevators on any day is at least 35 minutes. The first night while we were out at dinner it rained. Upon our return we had to drive the rental car though 8" of flooded rain water to get into the parking lot. Different areas remained flooded and the only staff response is that Marriott does not own the lot and they cant do anything about it. Service at this hotel is poor. The room was not made up until very late in the day. After day 1 no shampoo, never supplied bathroom cups. If you are an adult and you are used to a decent but not necessarily deluxe way of travel such as what Marriott usually offers, I would not recommend this property to you. I would not do this again if I had the choice.

Just returned from a quick "girl's" weekend and while the room we had was beautiful and the view was great....the wait for the elevator was BEYOND ridiculous!

If you're not in a rush to get anywhere (including checking out) then this will be just fine, but since it's really not a hotel that the stairs make any sense (we were on the 12th floor) be prepared to add an additional 15 minutes getting to or from your room, the lobby, etc.....

Just got back from Fort Lauderdale, stayed at Marriott Beach Place July 26 - August 2008.
My family of 5 traveled with older children ages 20, 18 and 14.
First, as mentioned... the location is great. Steps off the beach, situated along a strip where there is a ton of action. Nightlife, restaurants and people watching. Every evening we went out and sat on the beach wall and watched the cruisers.
I'm a Marriott owner at a different location so I know what to expect.
Yes, the place NEEDS, and IS being renovated. Everyone has commented on the elevator problem. it is a problem.
But the biggest problem Beach Place has is access to it. It makes me wonder how anybody actually signed off on it during construction or how it came to be. Anyway, depending on the floor, the only way to access any part of the hotel is through the elevator that is either in the parking garage or back in what feels like a dark, isolated place. It is terrible. However, once you get used to it, you get used to it.
The pool and pool area is small and not great. We visited the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort just to the south, and were reminded what a real resort pool area looks like.
We ended up staying at Beach Place because I was trading late and it was a location I could get into. Not to be too negative, but that may be the only situation that would bring me back. I mean it was great in a last minute pinch, but with time to plan I would try many other locations first. I'm sure even Marriott would admit this may be its weakest "Vacation Club" location.
One final word of advice to Marriott. I think Marriott needs to rent/lease/buy some of the open/shuttered retail space on the ground floor off the main street to create an entrance to the property. There is NO entrance. It's bizarre. I fear though that since the property is primarily a timeshare property, the desire to make BIG changes is less than it would be at a resort property more driven by daily fee guests. I also wonder what if any effect Marriott's purchase of the BEAUTIFUL and right next door St. Regis Condo-Hotel will have when it opens with Marriott's Ritz Carlton brand.