JW Marriott Marquis Miami

My recent stay at the Marriott Marquis Miami was a disappointing experience, and I feel compelled to share my thoughts. While the location is fabulous and certainly enhanced my visit, the hotel itself left much to be desired. Unfortunately, the Marriott Marquis in Miami feels dated and is nowhere near the level of its counterpart in Dubai. For the price I paid, I expected a higher quality experience, but it felt more like a machine that churns out guests without any personal attention. I selected this hotel due to the Marriott Marquis product line given extensive stays at their property in Dubai. A mistake! The hotel appeared worn and in need of some TLC, which was surprising given the Marriott brand's reputation. The most frustrating aspect of my stay was the resort fee. I genuinely don't understand how such a practice is acceptable in the US—it felt like a rip-off and was not adequately explained by the staff during check-in. In conclusion, while the location is a strong point, the hotel itself did not meet my expectations of the Marriott Marquis product line and price point.

This hotel is a joke. The management repeatedly said guest comfort is their priority and repeatedly showed it’s just the opposite. When booking online, we requested our room not be sprayed with scented “air freshener” and that it not have feather bedding. Both requests are already part of our Marriott Bonvoy profile. We called about this on the morning of our arrival and the hotel confirmed our requests. (We also, of course, expected the room and bathroom would be clean.) When we walked into our room, it reeked of scented spray. When we tried to shower, we found the shower was full of soap scum – so much, that it was clear it came from many previous showers, not just one. It took almost a half hour before someone came up to clean the shower. The three women who came up spent more time asking us how to clean the shower than cleaning it. After we finished our delayed showers and tried to go to bed, we found the two beds were full of feathers – pillows, comforters and mattress toppers. The front desk assured us non-feather bedding would be brought within 15 minutes. When we called again after a half hour of waiting, the front desk then said it was difficult for the hotel because they kept different pieces of bedding in different parts of the hotel. It took over an hour before a large, angry, resentful man showed up to change the bedding. This was a long production, during which the man dropped a pillow on the floor and then put it on the bed for use. When I told him I didn’t want that pillow on the bed, he threw it on the dresser and left it there. Just as we finally got to sleep after all these delays, the room phone rang loudly and woke us up. It was someone from the hotel calling us (rather than housekeeping) to find out if the bedding change had finally been made. The next morning, we told the manager on duty what happened and asked what the hotel was going to do about it. The manager told us we should stay another night so they could have the chance to do better and seemed angry when we said another night there was not in our plans. The manager then offered a small deduction from the bill and some Marriott points. We told this manager the small deduction showed our experience was only slightly below the Marriott’s usual level of hospitality and the points were useless, since we weren’t sure we ever wanted to stay in a Marriott again. Rather than an opportunity to prove Marriott’s hospitality, this manager treated the situation like a used car negotiation, taking another twenty minutes of our time to go back and forth between us and some mysterious “other manager” in another room. Apparently, this other manager didn’t think these problems were unusual enough or the need for courtesy to us was great enough for her to stop wasting our time and come out and talk to us directly. After twenty minutes of this cluelessness, the front desk manager said the hotel wouldn’t charge us right then but later, at the hotel’s discretion, would put whatever charge the hotel wanted on our credit card. We said, “Enough Marriott!”, paid our bill in full and asked the valet to get our car. Valet parking had been required and the valet had told us it would take almost a half hour to have our car brought, which it did. After we left, a different hotel manager sent us an email demanding we sign and submit a notarized statement relieving Marriott of all liability before they would act to resolve the situation they had caused. We told her we weren’t going to waste time looking for a notary and that if Marriott spent more time thinking about hospitality and less about liability we wouldn’t be having this conversation. After that, she sent yet another email. We haven’t bother to read it but decided to help other travelers with our review of this cluelessly managed hotel instead. Is the JW Marriott Marquis Miami the worst managed Marriott in the chain or an example of what the Marriott chain is like today? We don’t know, so we will not chance staying at a Marriott again. (If you do decide to stay here, be aware that walking anywhere around this hotel will result in you encountering multiple homeless people lying on the sidewalk and the strong odors of their urine and feces.)

We had an incredible stay! A special shoutout to the amazing front desk staff who helped us check out—she was so friendly and accommodating, truly going above and beyond (I’m sorry I forgot her name, but she made our experience even better)! Also, a huge thanks to the wonderful people working at the pool. The lady was so amazing and made our time there so enjoyable, and the Indian guy we met was brilliant as well—his energy and helpfulness really stood out. The hotel staff made our friend’s birthday extra special. They upgraded our room, gave us a late 2pm checkout, and even surprised us with champagne, chocolates, and a lovely handwritten note—such a thoughtful touch! The room was spotless, comfortable, and had an amazing view that we couldn’t get enough of. We had an unforgettable time, and the hotel definitely exceeded our expectations. We’ll absolutely be back for another stay! Highly recommend this place for anyone looking for a memorable getaway!

Wonderful Marriott in the heart of Brickell, a five minute walk to restaurants in Brickell city Center for shopping. Lovely staff who is very accommodating. Tiny coffee shop on the second floor, which produces surprisingly great food and coffee. Spacious and comfy bedrooms. Be careful not to get caught having to cross the drawbridge upon leaving the hotel. If you’re on a tight schedule, can take up to 20 minutes and they don’t warn you. Amazing hotel!