Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay

[mdwstcruiser]

We have booked the Marriott Biscayne Bay for a one night pre-cruise stay on 3/10/06 for a friends and family rate of $129.00. It seems that the hotels are all really high this time of year because of spring break. Was wondering if this is a good rate for this time of year. My father-in-law can also get an associate rate which is cheaper but this hotel is not offering it yet. If it does become available they can switch over our rates. We also have until 6:00pm day of arrival to cancel without penalty. Would appreciate any feedback for you experienced cruisers if this is a pretty fair rate. Thanks

 

Carol

[KruznKel]

We have booked the Marriott Biscayne Bay for a one night pre-cruise stay on 3/10/06 for a friends and family rate of $129.00. It seems that the hotels are all really high this time of year because of spring break. Was wondering if this is a good rate for this time of year. My father-in-law can also get an associate rate which is cheaper but this hotel is not offering it yet. If it does become available they can switch over our rates. We also have until 6:00pm day of arrival to cancel without penalty. Would appreciate any feedback for you experienced cruisers if this is a pretty fair rate. Thanks

 

Carol

We have booked HI Port of Miami 03/02/06-03/05/06 for 104 and 112 respectively for those 3 days.. and again for 03/12/06-03/13/06 for the same.. depends what type of hotel you are looking for..

[CanuckCruizer]

MidwestCruiser,

 

We stayed there for 2 nights post cruise on our honeymoon in April of this year. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL!! It is NOT a 5 star resort - I would give it a 2-3 at tops. We had a coupon and I think we ended up paying $209/night which was WAY too much!!! We had many problems there and the staff are the worst ever! The maids came in twice a day (what for - I don't know - as they never cleaned our room - dirty glasses, ashtrays, dirty towels etc. were left untouched). We had no towels to shower with the day we were leaving. We called them at 5 am looking for towels - we waited over an hour to get clean towels. They don't help you with tours of Miami - they have one brochure that they will not give out! The pool and pool area are EXTREMELY small and apparently are completely closed on two days of the week!! We were at the pool and it was well before 4pm and the pool was crowded and the bartender decided to close the bar (this bar supposedly serves food, soft drinks and booze) so a lot of people were very inconvenienced by this. The restaurant (buffet) for breakfast was not bad (we got it for free with our stay) except the egg/waffle/pancake maker woman was a lazy you-know-what and didn't want to make us pancakes and it was like pulling teeth to get her to make us some eggs. She made waffles (one batch I think) and lets them sit there so they actually become like weapons they are so hard!! The bellman never come when called to collect luggage - had to call several times. We arranged for them to order a taxi to the airport - well, they gave it to someone else and we were running quite late by the time we managed to secure one. The room was okay - nothing to write home about. We couldn't stop laughing at the "balcony" - you could fit about a millimetre of your toes on the balcony - it was a "faux" balcony with a railing but you couldn't stand on it. We were on the highest floor (can't remember the number) and had a fantastic view but that was the best thing of our entire stay!! These are just a few of the highlights - it was probably the worst "so-called" resort hotel I have EVER stayed at and I have travelled extensively.

 

Now, we stayed at the Hilton Miami Airport pre-cruise and IT WAS BY FAR THE BEST HOTEL I HAVE EVER STAYED AT!!! We paid $184/night for a deluxe romance package booked directly with the hotel, but when we arrived the rate had dropped to $164!! They ended up giving us a suite (we were getting married in St. Thomas while on the Navigator) and the manager we met was from St. Croix & his wife was from St. Thomas - so we lucked out that way! We were given two bottles of the finest red wine and a big dessert platter in our suite for free!! Besides all that, they have the BEST restaurant in the WORLD and I am not kidding!! We went on to the Navigator and then the Coral Princess afterward and the Hilton's Restaurant (I think it was called "The Cove") spoiled us - we could not find food that compared to that meal on either of the two ships. We are quite gourmet diners and fussy - the meal was PERFECT!! The service at this hotel is outstanding and it has a lovely lobby and beautiful pool area. It is on a lagoon with beautiful views. You can watch the planes landing (very close by) but we never really noticed the noise at all. We didn't stray from the hotel as the airport area is not the safest. But if you are staying the night before the cruise - it is perfect.

 

Hope this info helps!!

 

CanuckCruizer

[bbiggar]

We have stayed at the Marriot Biscayne Bay twice and had good experiences both times. Also we have a nice balcony room with a view of the whole port of Miami to see all the cruise ships.

[Bequia]

We've stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay Marriott several times as well and have never experienced any of the problems described by Canuck. The property was immaculate, the staff kind and attentive. The bayview rooms are really nice.

 

Canuck, did you speak with the MOD? (sorry, manager on duty) It's been my experience with any Marriott I've stayed at that if I've had a problem they would bend over backwards to fix it. Once, at the Philadelphia Airport Marriott, they could not fix-it (a rowdy wedding party) so Marriott comped my stay and apologized profusely.

mdwstcruiser, the $129 associate rate is pretty good. Cruisers have been posting rates received under $100 via Priceline. This is a great property, fear not. ;)

[mimikens]

I have stayed at the Marriott BB also. It was one of the best hotels I've ever stayed in, and I always stay in Marriotts, Sheratons, Hyatts, etc. I love the view.

 

CC, how unfortunate you had a bad experience. I hope you filed a complaint.

[jkg227]

How does the Miami Marriott Biscayne compare to the JW Marriott?

 

I just booked two nights at the JW Marriott prior to our 12/24 cruise on the Navigator. I got a rate of $169 per night which I thought was high due to the Christmas holiday.

 

Where is the JW Marriott in relation to the Bayside Marketplace? Is it a safe walk????

[mimikens]

I think the JW brand is supposed to be better. The JW is 1 mile from Bayside, whereas the MBB is .8 miles. The MBB is harder to get to because you have a major intersection to walkover. I can't say that either one is safe to walk to at night. You are in Miami. I would venture to say that JW may be a safer walk because it is in a touristy area. They used to have a monorail system that would scoot you through downtown. Don't know if it's still operational. You may want to look at the Miami-Dade Transit Authority.

[CanuckCruizer]

We tried to talk to the Manager on several occasions and she was conveniently in meetings every time. We left messages for her and we relayed our concerns to a senior member of the front desk staff who assured us that she would get the manager to contact us. She never did. I am glad that others had good experiences, but unfortunately we did not. Our cab driver on the way to the airport told us that the management had changed at least 4 times in the last six months (we were there in April 2005) and that could be why everything was so disorganized etc. I am not saying it was a "skidrow" hotel - but the service, amenities, rooms and food were certainly not even close to a 4 or 5 star. As I said in my earlier post, we also stayed at the Hilton Miami Airport and also Hyatt Pier 66 in between the two cruises and both of these hotels BLEW the Marriott Miami Biscayne Bay away!! My husband corrected me and we actually paid $239 US per night and that was with $100 coupon, so it was quite expensive for what you received! If you do choose to stay there, I wish you good luck.

[TrentS]

How does the Miami Marriott Biscayne compare to the JW Marriott?

 

I just booked two nights at the JW Marriott prior to our 12/24 cruise on the Navigator. I got a rate of $169 per night which I thought was high due to the Christmas holiday.

 

Where is the JW Marriott in relation to the Bayside Marketplace? Is it a safe walk????

The JW Marriott is a much nicer, more upscale hotel than the Biscayne Bay Marriott.

 

JW Marriott is on Brickell Avenue south of Bayside, about a 5 minute cab ride. It's in a much nicer neighborhood than the Biscayne Bay Marriott, but it's a bit far to walk.

 

The Biscayne Bay Marriott is a few blocks north of Bayside but it's not in a very safe neighborhood and it would not be wise to walk to Bayside as you have to cross a large construction site as well as a freeway underpass that seems to be home to a large homeless population.

 

The Metro Mover still exists, but again, at night I wouldn't recommend that unless you're in a large group. Taxis are your best/safest bet.

[Willbcruisin]

Have you stayed @ either property? I know you are a local there. I am booked @ Biscayne Bay but now considering JW? Thanks....Always following your advice!!

[TrentS]

Have you stayed @ either property? I know you are a local there. I am booked @ Biscayne Bay but now considering JW? Thanks....Always following your advice!!

Yes I have personally stayed at both in the past, and have been in both recently while visiting friends/family.

 

There's nothing wrong with the Biscayne Bay Marriott, the previous poster's bad experience is IMO a fluke, but the JW Marriott is a newer more upscale property. You won't go wrong with either one, and the views of the Port of Miami and channel from the Biscayne Bay Marriott's SE rooms are nothing less than spectacular, but personally I prefer the JW Marriott.

[Willbcruisin]

Yes I have personally stayed at both in the past, and have been in both recently while visiting friends/family.

 

There's nothing wrong with the Biscayne Bay Marriott, the previous poster's bad experience is IMO a fluke, but the JW Marriott is a newer more upscale property. You won't go wrong with either one, and the views of the Port of Miami and channel from the Biscayne Bay Marriott's SE rooms are nothing less than spectacular, but personally I prefer the JW Marriott.

 

I appreciate your advise... I'm keeping our reservation at Biscayne Bay. I have requested a SE view with small balcony. I recently stayed at a Marriott in Boston and everything was great. Rooms are not that big but were very clean.

I have spoken with Biscayne Bay staff on a few different occasions so far and they were very helpful.

 

Thanks again!

[mdwstcruiser]

Thanks for all the info on the Marriott Biscayne Bay. I think we will keep our reservation but keep looking around in case a better deals arises.

 

Carol

[Tommy's Mommy]

Just returned from Navigator of the Seas. Had the best time. Stayed at the Intercontinental. A little pricey but we stayed on the Concierge level. Had a great view of the ships. It is an easy walk to Bayside and enjoyed that for entertainment, food, and any last minute shopping. It appears to be a safe area and people are always walking around. Never felt alone. Again would recommend the Intercontinental Chopin Plaza not the airport one. It is very convenient for boarding the ship. Sorry CannuckCruiser had a bad experience.