My review is like that of others already written! The Marriott was once a great hotel and resort but service has gone down and prices have gone up, considerably!

CONTEXT: This time, I was on a business trip to attend a conference and decided to take my family because it was my wedding anniversary, I have family living just past Tampa and I thought it would be great to take my kids to the local Orlando Attractions especially since they are too young to appreciate Disney just yet.

PROS - It has great amenities that have been maintained like :
- a 24 hr gym
- 5-7 pools (indoor and outdoor)
- kids play room w/ planned activities
- golf and golf classes
- SPA and spa services
- laundering and safe deposit
- 3 onsite restuarants and a food court + Starbucks and Bar Area
- gift shops
- Beautiful grounds and room services
- Enterprise Car Rental on site
- Parking garage and resort shuttle

CONS - They are overcharging or forcing payment for any service or slight service no matter how small.

-Food Overpriced & Not Family Friendly- Although there is a kids playroom and pools, the food vendors & restuarants are NOT family friendly. For my 1 and 3 year olds who do not eat much b/c they are kids I ordered off the appetizers menu and paid $16. Other overpriced charges: self parking $13/daily, room service for bowl of oatmeal /$15 + tip, movies ordered on TV $15. Ultimately, I took my family out and away from the hotel for food and activities.

-Poor Service - An elevator was out in the South Tower where I was located. Called the info desk to ask when would both elevators be on again so that I could go to my room on the 7th floor. The response was hostile and unhelpful. I waited to see if the 2nd elevator not being serviced was still operational---- no haps. I had to walk up and down the stairs. To their defense the elevators were repaired by dinner time. Likewise, my key cards were not working correctly to provide easy access to the parking garage. I had to return to the registration desk several times to correct the same problem.

-Unaccommodating and Coercive Tactics- Even though I had informed the hotel that I would be bringing my family on this business trip, I still needed to order family things. I had to request extra linens, a refrigerator, a crib, and remove the candy stored in the cabinet so that my 3 yr old would not get to it. Every day after my kids left I returned the candy b/c they charge based on what is missing. They provide easy access so that they can create a bill or charge to you.

-Convention/Conference Focused & Impersonal - The facility is huge. It has 4 towers - north, south, east and west in addition to amenity facilities as listed above. To generate revenue they cater to large events. Therefore, there are plenty of people in the lobby which creates a very active, chaotic, noisy and impersonal environment.

-Bellhop/Porters Required - I was refused a baggage cart unless I would take the services of a bellman with it, therefore requiring the a generous tip to be paid. Literally, there were same number or available baggage carts as there were porters. The extra baggage carts were tied up by a bike chain in front of the Enterprise Car Rental in the south tower.

I stayed at this hotel for 3 nights over the Columbus Day weekend with my husband and 2 year -old son. The hotel was perfect for us since we were looking for a warm escape from the Northeast cold weather and pretty much relaxation and fun was what we wanted.
The hotel is very beautiful, great location next to Downtown Disney and Intl. Drive. Aamzing lobby and spectacular glass elevators that my son loved. Gorgeous free-form pool that was never crowded. A good-size baby pool that my son did not get out of for three days. Another side pool with a volleyball net. Several hot tubs - everything in beautiful resort surroundings. Our room was big and nicely decorated, flat-screen TV, nice bathroom, great balcony with view of the pool (not all rooms have balconies). Everything was well maintained and clean, staff was nice. Brough a sleeper bed for my son as well as a fridge so we could keep his milk and juice at night. Perfect for a family getaway, with lots to do for the kids - you could rent or use for free lots of floats, noodles and other kids stuff, towels were plenty at all times. There is a nice water slide but kids have to be 42" to go on it.
Downsizes were not many but worth mentioning - parking garage is a good 15 minute walk from the lobby (through the hotel, the convention center and a bridge) and to charge $12 for that is crazy. Valet parking is $20 - considering you can't walk to anything all all guests have cars, this is way too expensive. This is a large convention hotel and two of the days we were there they had a huge convention which resulted in all the space in the lobby being taken up by lots of people at all times - it was difficult to walk through or get something from Starbucks which was always crowded. Internet is $15/day in the room in almost $1/minute in the business center. On a positive note, they have free computers to print your boarding passes in the lobby. Pool restaurant is super expensive - first day we paid over $80 for three sandwiches and three soft drinks. After that we just drive to nearby restaurants for dinner - at least there were lots of options. When we requested a fridge for the room, it took them 4 hours top bring it and they did so at 11 pm when we were already asleep...but at least they brough it so not sure if this was a glitch or not.
Overall, I had a great time and would definitely go back, especially if I can get a good rate.

Great visit. I would recommend to anyone taking the family to visit or just going to relax. Check it out! clean and friendly atmosphere.

What a great experience. This place has it all. The convention facilities are great, all enclosed within the hotel. The pool was wonderful, waterfalls, slides and lots of water. We truly enjoyed it all! It was exceptionaly clean and very elegant.