Harbor Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, Fort Lauderdale

After reading reviews, I had to admit I was a little worried but it was completely unfounded! The staff was WONDERFUL - I would run into the cleaning person at 2 am and they would instantly stop what they were doing, smile, and ask me if I needed anything. The manager there has done an amazing job in hiring and running that hotel - I travel a lot and I have never had such a positive, everyone jumps to help experience like here. It was fantastic. The beach was wonderful, the food was terrific, and the room was spotless. The city view was beautiful and I was truely spoiled the entire time I was there. Check in and check out was flawless. My teenager had a blast with the water sports and we had a very small walk to the marina for a wide array of tours. The snorkling one was a blast! Some of the prices were high but not any higher than any resort. We were quite happy and content pretty much staying at the resort the entire time. We were honored to see baby sea turtles hatch out 2 nights in a row. It was the highlight of our visit!! Can't wait to come back!!!

Here are the facts: Pool great (equipped with accessible pool lift)..no issues with getting chairs or towels. Beach beautiful (beach wheelchair available)...chairs free and cabanas too after 230...absolutely no issues at all. Restaurants...pricey?...well not if you consider the hotel and location. Maybe these other revewers don't travel much but hotel restaurants are not bargain priced. However, the bar prices were out of line. Staff could not have been more considerate and helpful. Location...fantastic for beach purposes but not for walking distance to shops/restaurants. We did walk to a "local bar" though and were completely safe. We took short cab rides to get to other restaurants in the area. Our room was nice, had an in room safe so for those reading the jewelry reviewer...a $35,000 ring could have been put in the safe! No refirgerator however, we had medication that needed to be refrigerated so they told us it was no problem to take items out of minibar frig and use tht. All in all, we totally enjoyed the stay and would recommend the hotel.

This hotel bills itself as a resort. It looked and sounded relaxing. Not at all. The lobby was noisy due to all the conference activity. There was a tent on the beach the first night for a corporate party that took up 1/2 their advertised private beach. I didn't realize that private beach meant even guest were excluded. It is secluded so that you have no choice but to pay high prices for food if it is rainy and you don't have a car. I left the next morning. Oh, and don't call Marriott customer care because they dont care. They were of no help.

It has to be the best spot in the city to go, its about the only hotel with full beach servise, We have been going for years, there has been alot of changes and most of them bad. nickel and dime you for everything, and the new sea level looks like a cheep McDonnalds, the pool and beach are amazing, the only good thing they kept was this beach gut (casey) OUT-STANDING employee and over all person... well done there

The maid stole my wifes $35,000 wedding ring that she left in room while we went to pool. The hotel never even helped and immediately built a wall and had no interest in trying to recover our ring. We NEVER even got called by a hotel manager. This hotel sucks and it is sickening. There was only 15 minutes time frame from when she left it and the maid had entered our room and took it. All she does is deny she ever seen it and they are letting it go at that. The area that this place is located is also not very good. You walk outside the hotel and you risk being mugged. Also the food will cost you an arm and leg. If you have a family of 4 every meal will be around $300. Stay Away

This review will mirror much of what others have said this place really is beautiful, inside and out. Our room, the lobby, the pool, the beach area, all are kept clean and inviting. No complaints, only kudos there. One more thing before I switch to gripe mode, the landscaping and the near-continuous hip alt jazz music deliver a much appreciated tropical, relaxing atmosphere. Now, the bad news: as noted, this place has brought the fine art of picking your pockets clean to a science. There's precious few complementary amenities, and though we had several decent meals at the resort eateries, not one of them were within what I would call a reasonable price range. One dinner for the three of us hit us with a $90+ bill, though I'd rate the quality/quantity of the food to be worth more like $40. Then, if you want to save any uneaten food from these pricey meals, you can't, because there's no refrigerators in the rooms. As others have noted, the place is quite isolated. If you want a reprieve from the high price of meals, you have to walk 3-5 miles round-trip in topical heat/humidity to restaurants that themselves aren't exactly cheap. If you're looking to save money on a place like say, Denny's or Chilli's etc., I saw no sign of such places within walking range. So, annoying and (sometimes) ridiculous as I found some of these issues, I can say in hindsight I'm glad I booked and took the trip. Can I say I'll be back anytime soon? I think the answer to this is really the true gauge of any place you go -- and I really don't think I will go back. Not soon, anyway.

Great location and wonderful beach and pool. This should have been a better experience. We stayed here post-Cruise for our anniversery and could not figure out why this was not a better experience. Got great service at the front desk including an early check in (probably due to not being very full) and the concierge was very helpful in getting us a great dinner suggestion for our anniversery dinner. Big warning hear *** this place is isolated and you will have to walk a ways to find anythinig other then their bars and restrauants***. The Water Taxi stop is a 15 minute walk, but a cab ride anywhere is $15-$20 dollars. Last day we took the hotel car to the airport and that was an excellent service. I have stayed an a half dozen other places in Ft. Lauderdale coming and going on crusies, thought this would be better and would probably do others before coming back. Cost just does not measure up to product.

As a Marriott Platinum Member, I have stayed at a lot of hotels/resorts. Harbor beach is Beautiful. Rooms are nice and the Beach is pristine. The prices are totally rediculous. Cost to park your car at the resort is the same as what you paid for the rental car....so go ahead and double that expense. $16 for a hamburger????? $9.00 for a kids hamburger? Want a TOTAL RIPOFF. I would recommend getting in a cab and eating anywhere but at the resort. Way too expensive. Great...resonablly priced restaurant down the street...I think it was called Bahia. Go there....don't waste your money on the food at Harbor Beach. Also, make sure to bring your own alcohol....unless you want to pay $6.00 for beers. and $11.00 for mixed drinks. I took my own ice chest to the pool. The ice chest natzi (Fat, female security lady with a badge) told me I couldn't bring my ice chest into the pool area. Once I turned around and found another way into the pool (with my ice chest), I found myself in a TOTAL mob scene. This resorts lets people who are "members" use the pool....even if they are not staying at the resort. Since we were there over Memorial Day weekend, it was totally packed....no place to sit. I am surprised they do not charge you for the pool towels....but they do have a scam to charge you for those. They have a "Towel Card" you have to turn back in. If not....$25.00 per card. This policy promotes people snaggin your towel so keep your eye on it or the resort will once again get rich at your expense. Once again...Beautiful place.....rediculous prices.......Have fun if you plan on going here......

Me and my husband went for 3 days and the service was horrible. Location is beautiful and resort is very clean. Staff is rude not helpful!!!!! Prices are sky high for breakfast $50 dollars and dinner $60 AMAZING high prices. Room service was rude........................For the amount you have to pay for the stay you could at least have better customer service.

I go to Harbor Beach annually and this year (2009) it seems poorly managed. All restaurants were severely understaffed. The people are good, don't get me wrong, but they are placed in an unfair situation. It is unfortunate because it is such a pretty resort and looks even better this year but kitchens and wait-staff could not keep up with the volume of people.