Marriott's Frenchman's Cove

I tend to write reviews only if I believe it to be exceptionally good or exceptionally disappointing. This review is a bit different. The Marriott Frenchman’s Cove had some parts that were outstanding and others where we continued to be frustrated. First the good, amazingly beautiful property in a prime location. The pool and beach are outstanding. The second part of the resort that we enjoyed were the people working there. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating. When we had some issues that I will mention soon, they took good care of us and made up for some of the problems. For that reason I went with 4 stars instead of 3. To the problems. First the food. Disappointing is an under statement. The resort is a bit isolated so the food options are already very limited. So to have the one restaurant available to you be so bad, really brings down the overall experience. For us the first issue led to the second. Since the food was so poor, we ended up going to the Westin next door for most meals. The Westin is a beautiful redone property with a lot of great food options. Even their marketplace had better pricing. The issue we had, the Marriott shuttle set up was terrible. They advertise shuttles every hour, which just doesn’t make logical sense. The Westin, another Marriott property is less than a 5 min drive away. A shuttle is the only way back or forth. So we would take a shuttle on the hour and be stuck there till the next hour to get back. The Westin runs their own shuttles but not to the Marriott unless they aren’t busy with their own guests. A couple other more minor issues. We found a lot of contradictions from different staff members, as previously stated they were all very nice. But the details just weren’t there. We also had some challenges with the “tour” from the vacation club. We understood that this sales pitch and free offer is part of the vacation club experience. However we had a major issue, albeit resolved in the end, with how ours was scheduled and what was allowed and not. In the end. We enjoyed this property and this destination a lot. A recommendation from our experience. Rent a car. Don’t rely on taxis or the shuttle and don’t waste your time eating on property. Otherwise, it is a great spot.

I loved this resort! Check in was a breeze with a smiling face. Even with the construction and pool being closed we had a wonderful experience. We were on the 2nd floor ocean view room very comfortable and clean villa. We never heard any noise. The night kayaking with Lewis was a blast. I highly recommend this resort!

We arrived at 11 am (knowing the room would not be ready) and were checked in quickly. Soon, we were assigned a 2-bedroom unit in the St. John building, looking out to the roof of the lower building, with no ocean view. We brought up the issue within minutes after we entered the assigned unit. MVC offered to change rooms during our stay if rooms with a view were available and we pay an additional $120 cleaning fee. They said once you set foot in a room and then change rooms, the room needs to be cleaned. This means one would have to first pay MVC a $120 cleaning fee before complaining about an MVC-assigned unit, which may necessitate a change of rooms. However, how can anyone know if there are issues with a room without setting foot in a room? We also inquired about the assignment of rooms again during our stay. We were informed it was because we had not made a specific request in the “comment” section, wherever that is, for an ocean view when making the reservation. We have been MVC owners since 1994, and it has been our experience that MVC would give the best room available at check-in. Now, it seems that MVC has changed. When you book “Ocean Front” and do not ask for a high floor or room with a view, you get a lower floor room with no view by default. This change is particularly disappointing for any beach MVC property - who would ever prefer a no-view unit at a beach property? It would be interesting to see the rationale for this business practice. Sadly, we will not assume good service or goodwill anymore. That said, the rooms here were spacious, clean, and well-maintained. We did not see roaches as complained in other reviews. The 3-elevator trip to the pool was less of an issue for us. We ate three times at the eatery by the pool, and the food was decent. While the service was slow, the servers were friendly. We did not use the balconies (though oceanfront) since they offered no ocean views.