Marriott's BeachPlace Towers

We stayed here from 12/2/11 to 12/9/11 and could not have been happier with our choice. We rented from an owner, Andy Miller, who I found on Redweek.com. Andy could not have been more helpful by answering all of my questions and making the transaction a smooth one. The room we had which we requested was on the 18th floor with the most beautiful intercostal view of multi-million dollar mansions and watching the yatchs go by.

The location directly across the street from the beach was very convenient as well as being able to walk to many restaurants, shops and bars. The room we had was a one bedroom with a full kitchen which was large and efficient. We would return here again without question and will rent again from Andy Miller.

Beautiful Beachfront location on the strip. Two choices for accomodations, Ocean View or Intercostal View. At night the intercostal view is lite up beautifuly and able to watch boats going by. Ocean View is nice during the day but nothing much to look at when it gets dark. Lots to do within walking distance of the Marriott. Great night life, restaurants and a beautiful beach right in front of you. Have been an owner their for 13 years and never had any regrets. In fact, just returned from a week stay in April 2011.

Premier location on main boulevard across street from beach. Boutique shopping, including drug/grocery store, located at base of this wonderful high-rise resort. Restaurants also on site.

We rented a week from a private owner. We were supposed to be there for an entire week, but only got to stay two days due to a family emergency. Unfortunately I saw all I needed to see of the area to determine I would not go back.

Regarding BeachPlace itself, the villas weren't bad. The units felt smaller and not as functional as our timeshare in Grande Ocean in HHI. I know from reading on other forums that people love having the lock off option. When we arrived a night early all that was available was the one bedroom villa portion. We were able to access the lockoff portion on our regular check in day. Personally I prefer having one two bedroom villa, rather than a one bedroom villa with what is essentially a hotel room attached. But I get why the lockoff option is something that others like. I thought it made the two bedroom villa space seem too small and choppy. I was also not a big fan of the w/d in the kitchen (if one person was doing laundry, a second person could not open the refrigerator). But still, having a w/d is better than not. The soft goods seemed fine, the furniture in our unit was nice. The appliances are in definite need of upgrading, esp the dishwasher. The stove and fridge were decent. Housekeeping is a bit lax, the bathrooms definitely need a good scrubbing. Also the kitchen items are very bare, four plates/salad bowls and one spatula? Bring paper plates/bowls. You will need them.

As far as the grounds, there wasn't really any place to sit down and relax. Too much concrete and absolutely no grounds. It was basically a highrise hotel in a downtown area. The pictures make it look like a paradise. It wasn't, atleast not to me. The marketplace had a bar, but it was not staffed during the Sat-Monday we were there. The marketplace closed at 8pm, which I thought was rather early. We decided to check in a day early, and ended up having to eat pb&j the night we arrived because the marketplace closed so early, and with it being a saturday night we didn't feel comfortable venturing out with two little kids looking for food.

The beach was very short, picture a busy road, sidewalk, a few steps of grainy, dirty sand, then waves. The beach itself was littered with cigarette butt and trash.

Which brings me to the general area. Not a family friendly place. We came in on a strip that was full of bars, restaurants, etc. Saturday night and the place was hopping. It looked beautiful. But in the light of day when we went out for a morning walk what we found was tattoo parlors, seedy bars, storefronts with lots of trashy stuff in the windows, etc. I'm sure there are some beautiful areas, but mostly we saw pawn shops, gun shops, tattoo parlors, many businesses had bars on their windows, and many others were just boarded up. I didn't see many vacationers with children, and I understand why. I haven't been to Ft Lauderdale since I was 6, and after what I saw in just two days, I don't plan to go back. I think it is more for 20 to 30 somethings with no kids. I suppose if I was still in that lifestyle I could have found fun there. But as a family with small kids, it wasn't our cup of tea at all.

Excellent location; beautiful rooms. My family with teens loved it!