Any great Marriott properties out there?

Well, for the second time in 6 months I’ve had the eye of a cat 4+ hurricane pass directly over the hotel I was scheduled to stay at… Irma this time, and Cyclone Debbie wrecked my hotel in April. A minor inconvenience in the scheme of things, but nevertheless I need to find a new spot.

I’ve got a random multi-night stay certificate I can use at any category of Marriott property (not Ritz, unfortunately). It’s not my normal routine, but for this trip I’m looking for something reasonably close to the U.S., warm in the late-fall/winter, and relaxing. I don’t, however, know Marriott well, so any recommendations would be great. Current thoughts are either the new JW in Cabo, or in Grand Cayman (where I’ve been many, many times, but not at the Marriott and not in 15+ years), but could certainly be convinced otherwise. Thanks!!

Maybe- Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Resort | JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa

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http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/ptyjw-jw-marriott-panama-golf-and-beach-resort/

George

I think Marriott tops out at Very Good. There is one on Kauai that’s nice.

My impression as well, there’s just not much in their portfolio I’m excited about, but I don’t really have any experience with any of the resort properties. I’m looking into seeing if I can pay or use points to upgrade the cert to a Ritz but initial searching around isn’t promising.

Hawaii is in the cards but a bit farther than I’d like coming from the Midwest. The Costa Rica property that George linked to looks like it might be a solid option, and I’ve never been there.

Can you use it with the Starwood group too? They merged a short while ago.

We stayed at the Marriott in Grand Cayman a few years ago and the beach was very small and crowded. Can you use it at a Starwood property?

Unfortunately I can’t use it with Starwood despite the merger.

I’d suggest the JW Marriott London, which is a very nicr hotel. Just not warm or close.

I don’t think the beach at the JW Marriott Guanacaste is all that great but otherwise it’s supposed to be nice. I think the JW Marriott Frenchmans reef might have been hit by Irna (it’s in USVI).

Flyertalk will have threads on all the choices you come up with.

The Marriott Frenchman’s reef is not that great. I would skip it.

George

Leaning towards this place if it escapes the hurricanes.

Not entirely sure when you are going but I would wait to book until Maria does what she does.

Also Bahamas are really not that warm in the winter.

George

There’s a Marriott resort on Coronado that I’ve heard is pleasant - not sure if warm enough and there’s the big Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix/Scottsdale … I was there last February for work, and it was warm. Like others, not my first choice for resort but for points and limited travel from ORD, I’d book it.

Finally made some decisions on this. Part of what was giving me concern is that the certificate I have expires in January, and I just can’t find any Marriotts that are reasonably close, warm in December, and that I feel like spending a whole week at. Marriott was nice enough to extend the expiration on the certificate though, so rather than force it I’m just going to pay for somewhere to stay in December, and I’ll use the certificate next year at a time when I don’t have the same restrictions and can look at some other properties that might be interesting.