Never before, never again
My husband and I stayed at the Grand Dunes for 7 nights, July 13 thru July 20, cost over $2200. We normally stay further south but decided to treat ourselves this trip. We come to MB about 1-2 times a month on business and have stayed in other Marriott facilities before so we felt this would really be special. We had a 'view' of the roof and all of the 'lovely', loud air conditioning units. Oh, and I don't want to leave out the smoke and steam rising from the kitchen. We could not open the door to the non-balcony for the noise. There was no storage at all in the bathroom. There was no comfortable place to sit in the bedroom, the chair felt like it was upholstered with steel wool. Even though we were reminded to conserve energy and water by hanging our towels for reuse, there was no place to hang them except for the robe hook on the bathroom door. We hung them there and were still given clean towels every day. There was no coffee the 2nd day we were there. The TV selections were terrible unless you like to watch sports 24 hours a day. The food in the restaurant, Oceans at 82nd was overpriced and pitiful. I would suggest more detail on flavor and less on the presentation. I do not consider julienned bell peppers and shredded carrot a side dish. The bed was very comfortable. Overall I'd have to say you get a zero on this one. We would not stay there again and if asked by family or friends, would not recommend it to them either. So, to quote your adverstisements; Never before and NEVER again.