Review Marriott Ocean Pointe Resort Singer Island Florida
Marriott’s Ocean Pointe Resort is an oceanfront timeshare property located 30 minutes by rental car from West Palm Beach Airport in Florida. Over the years Marriott’s “Vacation Club” (MVC) properties have added an increasing number of amenities. As in Ocean Pointe such things as on premise children’s club and associated activities plus snack bars and restaurant facilities, once non existent with MVC timeshares, have been added, even as on premise marketplace shops have been scaled back. While increasing Ocean Pointe user enjoyment, owner maintenance costs have also increased. In reviewing this property it should be noted that although rooms at Ocean Pointe can be rented via the Marriott hotel reservation site, as a timeshare property the full array of expected hotel services might not be available to guests.**
Housed in multiple 8 story buildings, Ocean Pointe is definitely a family place featuring such child friendly activities as shuffleboard, bocce ball, a waterspray play area and even a fun mini golf course. Access to the ocean beach is limited to two via gates between tall beach plum hedge. Owing to the hedge, the ocean is not visible on the ground level, while sitting at the bar or pool, for example. We did not visit the beach due to the cool temperatures and wind but lounge chairs and umbrellas are available be rented from a non resort related concession on a daily or weekly basis.
Though no pool is designated as “adults only” the one in front of the Cobia building skews to an older crowd as does a large co-located hot tub area. Exercise equipment is more than adequate with elliptical, treadmills, some universal and other exercise machines. The residential neighborhoods adjacent to the property offer ample safe roadways for both jogger and amblers alike.
Located more or less in the center of the main complex is “On the Rocks” the all purpose snack bar, restaurant and cocktail bar offering bar seating and table service. The food is adequately diverse, quick and reasonable good if you chose not to cook in the full service kitchen in most units (unless you are staying in a lock off hotel room style room.) One more remotely located building (owing to a condo building unwilling to sell to Marriott that sits between buildings), the Kingfish, has its own pool, fitness center, pool, hot tub and bar. We did not make it over during this visit but it’s remoteness suggests a more quiet vacation experience.
Like many of Marriott’s Vacation Club resorts in expensive real estate markets, parking is always at a premium. Unlike typical resort and hotel properties, there is usually (though not always) no fee for owners parking** or the reviled “resort fees”** to inflate vacation costs. Guests are typically allotted a single space but family groups often take more thereby squeezing out legitimate guests to overflow parking areas, especially if you return “home” late in the evening as we did.
In a curious move for Florida the units have no screen doors on balcony sliders leaving the guest to chose between the lulling sounds of breaking waves or airborne pests. Our visit during the “March winds” saw powerful onshore steady 20mph winds grounding any mosquitoes so we can’t say if pests are a problem at other times. On our balcony with 3 protected sides, the air was surprisingly still leaving us wondering how hot it might be in the summer. Visitors wishing to golf in the area during their stay should make note of the windy season when scheduling you trip as even further inland the strong breezes made play more challenging and less enjoyable.
The view from our 6th floor room #5608 was an impressive combination of the resort below and the ocean complete with huge breaking waves and palm tree fronds blowing like flags. Particularly enjoyed the corner window in the living room giving an unimpeded view in two directions. Rooms located closer to the main road, or on lower floors, likely have a sidelong ocean”side” view less impressive than ours. Room location/view often cannot be guaranteed in high season, we just got lucky for our brief two night stay.
Some units have been newly updated but our room was in need of a soft furnishings changeover which most Marriott Vacation Clubs do every 5 years or so on a rotating basis. The decor was a curious mix of Jetsons and kaleidescope mid-century design. On the positive side, this is probably the first MVC visit in many years where the convertible sofa was actually comfortable enough to sit on (a real sore point with us) and enjoy, perhaps due to many years in service. The usually incredibly comfortable Marriott king sized bed was compromised by years of use exhibiting a distinct indent from many guests.
Upon arriving our initial impression was how crowded the resort seemed. Beginning with the check in line and continuing when trying to find an empty desirable poolside lounge chair. This is a very popular resort so it is usually filled to capacity during peak season with visitors frequently bringing guests as well. If you enjoy vacationing with children and multi-generational family units Marriott Ocean Pointe is a nice quality amenity rich resort on a lovely beach. Guests in the more remote building, which we did not visit, may be having a lest fast paced experience than those in the main complex. If you prefer a smaller, more laid back MVC property, contact us for our favorite choice. If we publish it here, it won’t stay that way long ;). Be advised, our map app directed us to the remote Kingfish building in error. The check in area is located in the “welcome Center” a low rise building with a circular driveway nestled between two tall buildings on the north end of the property.
** We are MVC owners so we do not pay for parking, wireless or any resort fees. We also do NOT get daily maid service. Renters may wish to confirm how these features are handled as guests.
Review Marriott Ocean Pointe Resort Singer Island Florida
Visited: March 24-26, 2017
More Information: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pbips-marriotts-ocean-pointe/
