Marriott's Crystal Shores

Everything went very well except for the pillows. They are the worst pillows I have ever seen in a hotel. I travel a lot and honestly I cannot understand why do you have this type of pillows? They are too long, too difficult to adjust to your head and extremely uncocomforable.

Convenient access to beach, shopping, and restaurants.

Nice resort with plenty to do. However, not having reliable air conditioning in late July is unacceptable. Now calling maintenance for the third time to check units. As a platinum elite member I have higher expectations. Truly my first bad experience at a Marriott timeshare. I won’t be back

Before I start my rant, the property is great, rooms are very nice, great location, and a beautiful beach. However, the Marriott has managed to change processes around to fit their desired outcomes. Let’s start with check in, what a mess. It was a busy Friday afternoon and there were long lines of people checking in and only 2 people working the check in counter. After waiting in a long line we find out our room is not ready, nothing new after being MVC members for decades. After we were checked in we were shuffled to the concierge desks to pick up our parking pass. There were 3 concierges who were shooting the breeze while the line at check in was long. Who in the Marriott came up with this stupid suggestion, wait in line twice for something that can, and is usually accomplished at the first check in, distributing a parking pass? Well folks, here is the scoop. This is where they wrangle you into attending a presentation. So, after a long day of travel, you are tired, hot, and hungry and now need to listen to a concierge drone on about the Privileges Card and make every attempt to entice you into attending a sales presentation. We said no right out of gate and shut the concierge down. Although we eventually got to our room at 3:45, so before check in, we had to wait in line a second time to get room cards, another stupid process. In the past year we have been to Barony Beach, St. Thomas, and now Crystal Shores. Can someone in the Marriott food chain explain what the heck is going on with check in? This is all crazy stuff. Marriott is over the top and putting its loyal customers through hell to check in to a resort that was booked a year before for lots of destination points. It is not easy to get the reservations anymore even though we are Chairman’s Club. Because of the silliness we experienced this week we are evaluating the value of membership in MVC. So, for anyone reading this, start saying no to the sales presentations, we can start a new movement.

We are at the resort now and are MVC members for 26 years. We are also Chairman’s Club and Lifetime Platinum. The property is beautiful and rooms are well appointed. Pools are great and landscaping is meticulously cared for. Overall, great accommodations except for living room furniture, functional but uncomfortable. In contrast to the great accommodations, the services and some staff need improvement. The check in process is inefficient, cumbersome, and frustrating now that the Marriott added a second step to check in. To obtain a parking pass you are directed to the concierges areas, a tacky makeshift office in the lobby, where the concierge gives you the parking pass and for owners, a Privileges Card. This is also the new tact used by Marriott to entice you into a sales presentation. We have NEVER had to see a concierge for a parking pass. We turned down the Privileges Card as we already had reservations at restaurants, which stunned the concierge, and prevented him from asking about a sales presentation. We took the parking pass and left. Since our room was not ready, which is par for the course, we went to the pool and hung out for 2+ hours. When we went to the lobby following the call that our room was ready we had to stand in line at check in for a second time to obtain room cards. At this point the check in line was very long and there is no recourse except to wait in line a second time. When we finally got to the counter we needed to present our ID and credit card a second time even though we checked in.
While we were waiting in line to check in the first time, we met 2 different families who were behind us. They were checked in immediately (at 1:30 pm), obtained room cards, and headed to their rooms. We found out later when we saw them in the lower parking lot lobby near the elevators neither family had any affiliation with MVC and paid cash for the rooms. Both families obtained rooms in the Egret Building; one was 4th floor ocean view and the other was 15th floor pool view. We waited 2+ hours for our room, 5th floor of Egret Building, pool view. By the time we got to our room the other 2 families were in the pool having a great time.
So, what is the moral of this post? 1) Being an MVC member, Chairman’s Club and Lifetime Platinum means little to the Marriott when checking in at a resort and obtaining the room you booked a year earlier. And, this is not the first time we had difficulties checking into a Marriott resort that we booked 12 months prior. 2) Marriott continues to come up with ways to make their processes more difficult and steer people to their sales presentations. When you are told to see the concierge about a parking pass, get the pass, the Privilege Card if you want it and leave. 3) The MVC is a vacation club which means I am on vacation and do not want to spend time with a member of the Marriott staff after a long day of travel. I think it is rude and inconsiderate of the Marriott to extend the check in process to their advantage.
Some tips for the Marriott. Attend to your current MVC members, you need to treat us better than you do, we are loyal customers who spend lots of money on maintenance fees and can’t even check into a room prior to cash customers. Streamline your check in process, waiting in line multiple times for a parking pass and to obtain rooms cards is ridiculous and a big waste of MY vacation time. Remember, the vacation is about me, it’s not about the Marriott.

We have tried this property multiple times. And I will give kudos that in the beginning the staff were kind and the property was very inviting but as we have came back multiple times to try this property again in between buying condos in Marco we have not been impressed.

From the start of your trip, there is nobody designated at the entrance to greet you or help. Bring your bags up to the room. Then once you finally find the baggage cart and bring all of your things, possibly taking multiple trips to the welcome center you were greeted with unpleasant and under trained staff. Who are very rude and not inviting to guests who pay a premium price to stay at this resort. While getting to your room, you will most likely encounter issues with broken elevators and have to take the stairs.

Most rooms in this property are very modern nice and kept clean, but others especially pool facing rooms are very much getting outdated.

If you came to this resort to relax, I wouldn’t expect that to happen at any time during your stay there’s constantly loud microphones, kids screaming, and anything, but relaxation. The slight chance that you might get relaxation would be at the uppermost pool, which many other guests have agreed with me that it feels like bathwater. Which is not pleasant during the July heat of Florida.

Now, covering the dining side they’re only two restaurants on this property one which is stilts, which has very kind team members like Howard and Tina who we have known from the start of this property. And I will say the food has gotten much better from what it used to be, but it is most definitely frozen food. And then there’s the pizza restaurant which has a host of unkind team members in the restaurant and the pizzas do take a long time to make. I think for the size of this property and how much guests pay to stay here it should feature a breakfast restaurant of some sort or somewhere to get coffee in the morning.

The clientele that comes here is also not the best. It is either very loud couples or families with screaming kids

Also the on site marketing team will constantly call your personal mobile phone or room phone to get you to join their expensive and not worth it vacation club and attend a presentation.

Don’t stay here if you are a family or someone who simply doesn’t like to relax.

We stayed at Marriott's Crystal Shores for 7 nights in June as a family, and overall had a fantastic stay. Although there were a couple of issues at the beginning, they were outweighed by everything the resort has to offer, and we'd happily return.
Our first room unfortunately had an unbearable smell, and the bathrooms were essentially unusable because of it. Check-in also wasn't completely smooth, with a few minor cleaning issues, but once we changed rooms everything improved significantly. The replacement room was clean, although the beds could have been made a little more neatly. The beds themselves were very comfortable, and the partial ocean-view balcony was a highlight. Waking up to the view each morning was wonderful.
The pools were excellent, but the real star of the resort is the beach. The Gulf water was warm, crystal clear, and absolutely beautiful. The white sand was incredibly soft, although it does have a little shingle mixed in. There were plenty of loungers available throughout the day, although if you want a front-row spot by the beach you'll probably need to arrive a little earlier.
The atmosphere throughout the resort was relaxed, friendly, and perfect for a family holiday. While no individual staff member stood out in particular, the concierge team were always very helpful and pleasant.
We had drinks at Stilts Bar & Grill, which were enjoyable without being anything exceptional. Pizza Cucina didn't look particularly appetising to us, so we chose to eat elsewhere. We'd highly recommend Marco Prime, Oyster Society, and DaVinci for nearby restaurants. That said, if you're looking for the widest choice of dining, we found nearby Naples even better.
The location is excellent. It's lively enough to have a great holiday atmosphere without being overly noisy. You can easily walk to restaurants and shops, although we'd still recommend renting a car if you want to explore the surrounding area.
Overall, this resort is absolutely worth using Marriott Vacation Club points for, although availability can be difficult because it's understandably very popular. Despite the disappointing start with our first room, we had a wonderful holiday and would love to return. If you're looking for a beachfront resort with an incredible beach, a great atmosphere, and an excellent location, Marriott's Crystal Shores is a fantastic choice.

Beautiful hotel right on the beach, All three pools were well kept. Would highly recommend for anyone (solo, couples, families). Rooms were great size and comfortable. Food and drinks on-site were great and allowed for a relaxing vacation.

Stayed 5 nights at this awesome resort -- right on the beach.
Amazing Beach.
Amazing pool.
Great staff and tons of activities.

Rooms were excellent.
Suite was good - but good luck with the microwave.
Bed were comfortable, and AC was great.
Kitchens were fully stocked.

Even though it's further down the island --- this place is still centrally located.

Only downside was the that staff didn't enforce the rules --
- Adults only in upper pool
- No Dogs @ pool side (and they weren't service dogs)
- Supervised kids under 12
- etc...

Parking: Free gated garage - fills up fast.
Elevators: Very slow
Staff: Friendly and helpful (we needed lemons late one night for a meal - and the staff at Stilts gave us 5 slices -- it was exactly what we needed, and very customer friendly).
Drinks: Tom Brady was awesome Grat dude with a huge heart.
Pools: Clean, clear and cool
Beach: Awesome

Would recommend: Highly
Would re-patronize: Hoping to soon.

This review is hard for me to write as I have been an owner of a 3-bedroom Marriott Deeded Week for over 68 years in the Marriot Vacation Club. I have made various purchases for flexibility options within the system over the years and have taken several presentations " to educate yourself about how to maximize your options within the Vacation Club". First let me say that Crystal Shores and Marco Island are a lovely stretch of Beach with blue water, great shelling and an easy by car location if you fly into Regional SW Airport. Our 2-bedroom unit in the Egret building had a mix of partial ocean view, pool view and was high enough to be quiet and to enjoy breakfast on the balcony off the living room. The kitchen, 2-bedroom unit, AC, internet, and other amenities were what I would expect from this resort. The adult and children's pools gave both family and adult quiet options. The indoor parking garage was fine and there were plenty of elevators to move without delay within your building. The property and landscaping are very well maintained. It is easy to visit and even walk to other connecting beaches on Marco Island, day trip to Sanibel Island, and even to Naples State Park beaches with a car. We enjoyed learning about the" Marco Cat" at the Historical museum which is worth a visit. April was a great time to visit after a harsh NE winter. My complaint and what left a really bad feel about this visit was the way I was treated by the Sales Department. Be Aware that the "check-in desk "(no problems) will make you go to another " welcome desk" to pick up your Parking Pass). That's where the problem started. A Mr. RJ told us about the " activities we could purchase through him with other vendors- ok", then you will be asked to " attend an owner presentation for 2 hours in the Sales Dept but you need to leave your credit card with him and if you don't show up, we will bill you? $200 but we will give you a credit of $250 as I recall, " we are not hard sale at this resort, we just what to make sure you are making the most of your week. " The credit card part was a shock to me as never has anyone in the MVC System ever requested this outside of the Check in Desk. Most of the time they offer you some points for your time and to be fair to them they can see your history- and I have purchased add Ons to the system. Frankly, I am there for the vacation part, but my time is worth something, but I like to learn about new properties domestically and abroad. I refused the credit card part but took a 9:00 AM time spot to hear about " new things within the Vacation Club".
I arrived on time, I am a married owner, but I own the week- purchased many years back prior to marriage. After two people in the sales dept came and went and I listened to the " updates", Almost 1.5 hours later someone a Mr. MA , abruptly ends the " presentation" and tells me, "We aren't selling anyway at Crystal Shores and ' You can't buy anything from us because your husband isn't here" . I told him it was clear to the " welcome desk- sales folks" that it was just me and family and it has always been just me and my family". I am the Owner. Clearly, after over 1 hour of sitting there he could see that it was just me and not me and my husband. I have never encountered this type of treatment, deception, and unprofessionalism at any other Vacation Club properties in Florida and or elsewhere. The property and location are very nice, but I won't be trading weeks, points and or anything else to return to that location. I have yet to receive a response and or call from the Director of Marketing at Crystal shores about this experience even though I was told " I will pass that on- he is out for the day". That was over 2 months ago.
A word to the wise enjoy your week, pick up your parking pass and bypass any sales pitch, updates, or whatever they are calling it when you are there.

I’m currently still at the Marriott Crystal Shores, but as I sit by the pool watching my three children enjoy every single second of this vacation I thought it’d be the perfect time to write a review. I very rarely write reviews. But this property is deserving of a solid wonderful review in every way. First and foremost it is the cleanest resort I think we’ve been to in a long time. At any point in the day, you can find their workers constantly cleaning every part of the building and property. All of the workers are incredibly friendly. And not even fake friendly. The hotel itself is so perfect for families with young children. But I also feel like it’s important to note that the resort does a really good job of separating the kids from the adults who just want to be there to relax, who may not have children. The resort is very accommodating. And there are so many activities for kids throughout the day. We did karaoke one night with our kids, and even though the crowd was small the worker that was doing the karaoke really got everyone into it. Which then drew in more people. It ended up being so fun. The beds are super comfortable. There are more than enough pool chairs, which I think is really important. Overall, it was just a wonderful vacation and we don’t want to leave. Usually by the fourth or fifth day I’m ready to go home, this vacation is different. None of us want to leave. We will absolutely be back to this resort. Also, the beach is right out in front and they have a beautiful boardwalk. They do a really good job of keeping outsiders off of the property. They enforced the wristbands pretty strictly, but we also had some friends meet us here for the day and we were able to go to the front desk to get a wristband for them. (our room did accommodate up to eight people so that might be why.) Again, I highly highly recommend this resort. If I knew who to contact, I would be calling the person in charge to absolutely rave about the employees here.

Oh, and the water slide is SO FUN & SO PERFECT for our kids. Even the adults loved it. We spent 90% of our time on it!!!

Our 2-bedroom villa with an ocean view (& 2 balconies) in the Osprey Tower was perfect for our family of 5. It was very clean & spacious and exceeded our expectations. The staff was super-friendly and service was fantastic! Only wish it had a dining option overlooking the water, but there are other options nearby.

I’ve been a Marriott owner for 25 years and have been cast aside, spoken to very condescending and preferences given an afterthought. The rooms are great.

Staff are great!!
Management are always mingling and willing to assist in any way
Karl ,Director of Operations was always available and friendly
Happy hr drinks are made well esp the pina collada with rum
Topper
Very clean, with attentive staff
Serenity pool should be longer in duration as there are plenty of options for children and this area, when quiet is wonderful
Definitely a wonderful experience
Thank you Marriott for an unforgetable experience

Our family’s favorite MVC resort! Safe area, great for all ages. Often hard to get a lounge chair around the pool for a family

We were fortunate to be assigned a gulf front villa - albeit on the lowest floor and just above the 8 gas grills. But we loved the large balcony.

However, on Thursday, which is checkout day for some people, the cleaning crew on the floor above us was so loud - constantly shouting to each other as if there was an ongoing disagreement - for at least 2 hours - that I had to move inside because I couldn’t concentrate reading. The night before we also heard every movement of people and roller bags and furniture from the unit above ours….and when we went inside to enjoy the night air, the visitors in that villa were playing loud music and were singing to it on their balcony. So, again, we moved inside for some quiet. The dining table chairs and the kitchen island stools should have felt pads on their legs to mute these very loud sounds from above. Sound insulation in the units is not ideal.

Noise was an issue even in the posted “quiet” upper pool. People playing music and boisterous voices. But there’s nobody there to police that or to complain to. I moved three times to find a quieter spot until I finally gave up. But when I returned to our villa, the afternoon pool activities in the lower pool brought loud music and very loud PA announcements from whoever was leading the activity. Those activities are daily.

In short, this is not a quiet property.

At check-in, after 12 hours of traveling, we were pressured to agree to attending a sales presentation. We were tired, hungry and mind-weary and, for the first time in years, just gave up the fight and agreed because the guy checking us in promised it would not be a sales pitch, but rather, an educational session for all of our questions. Our better judgement settled in the next morning and we cancelled. It is really obnoxious how they have you check in at one desk, but then, to get your parking pass, you have to go to another desk to give them the chance to wear you down until you accept the sales presentation.

Summary: Good location, nice beach, good restaurants within walking distance. But noisy. And - as always - beware the sales pitch.

Crystal Shores is now one of our favorite Marriott Vacation Club locations. It is in a fantastic location — right on the beach and within walking distance to lots of great restaurants, with a 7-Eleven right across the street for last minute items. We were in an ocean front villa that was immaculate and well maintained. The view from the lanai was phenomenal! Generally, we don’t splurge on ocean front views with MVC, but this one was definitely worth it.

The front office is very responsive to texts. Housekeeping requests were filled within minutes! We were ‘wowed” by the exceptional service.

Management plans well — there was a city water system upgrade scheduled during our stay. We were made aware of the projected 8 hour outage sbout 2 weeks prior to check in. About 4 gallons of bottled water was delivered to our villa the evening prior along with a bucket to use to pull water from the bath tub to flush the toilet. Repeated text and hard copy reminders were sent with instructions and updates, including a boil water notice after completion of the upgrade, and a text announcing lifting of the boil water notice. We are really impressed with the fantastic communication!

The fitness center and pools are great.

We had an outstanding experience and are hoping to return in a few years.

Location on the beach. Room very comfortable.