Location.
This spa property is situated near a Panama City Beach beach, close to Nicklaus Course at Bay Point Resort and St. Andrews State Park.
Features.
Bay Point Marriott Resort has a golf course, a private beach, an outdoor pool, an indoor pool, and a spa tub. The onsite spa at this 3.5-star property offers massage and treatment rooms and beauty services. Business amenities include a business center, wireless Internet access, meeting rooms for small groups, and audio-visual equipment. Bay Point Marriott Resort has a restaurant, a bar/lounge, and a poolside bar. Room service is available during limited hours. Event facilities consist of a ballroom, exhibit space, conference rooms, and banquet facilities. This is a smoke-free property (fines may apply for violations).
Guestrooms.
Amenities featured in guestrooms include air conditioning, coffee/tea makers, and clock radios. In addition, amenities available on request include a turndown service, hypo-allergenic bedding, and wake-up calls. Guestrooms have cable television with premium TV channels and pay movies. Business-friendly amenities include multi-line phones, desks, and voice mail. Balconies are featured in all guestrooms. All guestrooms provide refrigerators. Bathrooms feature shower/tub combinations, hair dryers, and complimentary toiletries. Guestroom services include housekeeping. All guestrooms at Bay Point Marriott Resort are non-smoking.
Guest Reviews: Bay Point Marriott Resort
Provided by TripAdvisor
- Traveler Reviews brought to you by
- Bay Point Marriott Golf Resort and Spa
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4200 Marriott Drive | Panama City Beach, FL 32407
- TripAdvisor Traveler Rating:
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Based on 88 traveler reviews
- Most Recent Traveler Reviews:
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“Enjoyable stay - would stay again”
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Jul 27, 2010
ladyhart, Baton Rouge, LA
- We got a fantastic rate here because of Marriott's "Look No Further" rate promise. I found a lower price elsewhere and they matched it, plus gave us an additional 25%...
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- We got a fantastic rate here because of Marriott's "Look No Further" rate promise. I found a lower price elsewhere and they matched it, plus gave us an additional 25% off. The property was great for the rate. If I had booked it at the regular rate of $209/night I may not have been as pleased.
The rooms are very basic and there are no heavy curtains - just light sheers in the middle - so the sun came through first thing every morning and woke us up early. As other reviewers mentioned, this is not a location on the beach. It is about a 15 minute drive, but it is nice to be away from the busy area and crowds sometimes.
The pools at the property are great! There are three and one located behind the timeshare hotel next to the main hotel can be accessed with your room key. This was the best one and there was a hot tub there as well.
Lime's was nice and had good food and music.
The best feature is the shuttle to Shell Island - do take advantage of this offer for guests because it would cost a family of four around $50 for another shuttle service to take you out there. We almost didn't get to go because of some predicted bad weather in the mornings the boat wasn't running for two days of our stay. Thankfully we were able to go on the day of our check-out and the front desk was kind enough to give us late check-out so we could enjoy the island for a little while. It was beautiful and we saw dolphins and a big sea turtle on the way back in. « less
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“So not worth it...”
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Jul 6, 2010
Kryzti, Tallahassee, Florida
- Following in traditional Panama City fashion, this hotel proved to be very disappointing! I have high expectations for Marriott properties and have heard rave reviews about this hotel in particular....
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- Following in traditional Panama City fashion, this hotel proved to be very disappointing! I have high expectations for Marriott properties and have heard rave reviews about this hotel in particular. As a result, I was willing to sacrifice the $189/night rate offered for this stay during the 4th of July weekend. However, despite the "recent" renovations, this hotel reflects its age and really needs another facelift. Plumbing was a nightmare in my room...both the tub and sinks would not drain properly. It is so gross to have standing water in the tub while you're showering!
For the room rate, I expected so much more. I have stayed at 5-star properties for a lesser amount and have received ultimate luxury. I feel that the rate was extremely excessive. I will NOT be visiting this hotel again unless it is drastically improved. « less
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“Not up to Marriott Resort Standards”
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Jun 21, 2010
fntaylor, Birmingham, Alabama
- Don't be Fooled by the Name. Yes they have a nice Lobby and a decent Restaurant, but the rooms are very dated. We even stayed in one of the Golf...
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- Don't be Fooled by the Name. Yes they have a nice Lobby and a decent Restaurant, but the rooms are very dated. We even stayed in one of the Golf Villas which had recently been remodeled. The carpet was stained and gave me the creeps. Very odd layout as well. Bathroom/shower dated too.
All in all a sub par establishment for carying the name "Marriott Resort" « less
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“isolated location and verdant bay impressionism”
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Jun 17, 2010
jackel55, Pittsburgh PA
- My wife and I vacationed at the Marriott Bay Point Resort May 22 – 29, 2010.
The resort is exceptional. We had a corner room that overlooked the bay in...
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- My wife and I vacationed at the Marriott Bay Point Resort May 22 – 29, 2010.
The resort is exceptional. We had a corner room that overlooked the bay in the Magnolia Building. I booked the trip back in February for an excellent price that included a continental breakfast (for $4 more you could add the hot dishes on the buffet). During our stay, judging from the parking lot, the resort was only about 20% full. No doubt the town and resort was hurt by the news of the BP oil spill.
The room was comfortable. We had no problem with the AC as it cooled the room quickly. Housekeeping was efficient. However, one day they forgot to lock the room. We had a four-foot high frig and a safe and a small balcony.
If your idea of a beach vacation is rolling out of your hotel room past the pools and to the beach, this resort is not for you. There is a small beach on the bay, past Limes Restaurant. It is not swimmable since the bay is too shallow there. It was a swell spot to open a book and watch the boats move through the bay with no one else to disturb your peace or your slumber. Kids will have an interesting time wading and dipping for hermit crabs and other critters. In fact, the whole bay in front of the hotel is kid critter heaven.
The real gem is the Shell Island beach. The hotel has a free boat shuttle that runs from 10 am until 4 pm at about two hour intervals. This is a true Robinson Crusoe experience. The one day it was only the two of us and a family of three with miles of beach to ourselves. Only charter boats can dock on that part of Shell Island so the crowd is limited. Even on the densest day there were only about 50 people on this strand of beach. Every year we take a beach vacation and by far this was the cleanest we ever sunk our toes into. You even had to look hard for cigarette butts. I still cannot understand the pigs who use a beach as an ash tray.
There are no facilities, no bathrooms or amenities on Shell Island since it is part of the state park. Be sure to bring everything you need for an idyllic ocean experience. The water temperature was about 80 degrees. Captain Jeff and First Mate Andrew have drinks and snacks on board. They will rent you umbrellas. Other posts mentioned that coolers are not permitted on the boat but that was not the case during our week. We saw some dolphins one day. Despite the name I cannot say we found any keepers on Shell Island.
We did abort our stay early one day because of biting flies so be sure to bring insect repellent.
If you think the Marriott is pricey be aware that the other shuttles of Shell Island charge about $25 per person and your beach time is limited since they only make one trip.
The resort is not in an ideal location if you do not have a car. It is about three miles from the Panama Beach strand and the nearest restaurants. However, the isolation is a benefit. The hotel has plenty of activities for kids including a dive in movie night. They had ice balls one day and charged $2 a piece (it would probably be good customer relations to offer them for free). There are four pools outside and one inside. The location is languid with a lot of wading birds adding to the bay front impressionism.
We only ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant and Miss Jeannette welcomed us each morning like our Mom. She was a professional at genuine southern hospitality. The rest of the staff was courteous and the concierge very helpful. You have to wonder about some of the guests sometime – like the one we spotted who opened up the juice container in the lobby and stuck his hand in to give his kid an orange slice – YUCK.
Be prepared for some walking at this resort. It is about 200 yards via a boardwalk to the shuttle boat; although the staff is always obliging with golf carts. It is about 200 yards from the dock to the beach side of Shell Island.
We try to sample a lot of local cuisine while traveling. However, we ended up at Captain Anderson’s three times because the seafood was outstanding. It was the most expensive meal and the most satisfying. It would stretch the budget for a family of four. Firefly had an excellent early bird prix fix special and they really piled on the food. We had a good seafood dinner at J. Michael’s and a great meal at the Saltwater Grill.
The best budget meal we had was the barbecue at Cardenas Seafood Market and Deli. After sniffing out the smoke one day, we ordered takeout and then ate at Limes Restaurant overlooking the bay – it was only open on weekends during our stay so on Wednesday we selected the table with the best view. There is a Winn Dixie and Publix on the corner as you turn back to the resort.
Panama City Beach is a long strand of sugar sand. It did not appear to be crowded. Again, we were there before high season and the oil threat kept a lot of tourists away. The strip surprised us with some vacant lots, boarded buildings and tacky shops (tackier then the usual front beach road variety like Condom Nation). I do not know whether the foreclosure crisis hit them hard or the run down appearance is just the way PCB is. For some reason there was plenty of construction on the main drag – poor planning by the road department at the beginning of high season. Of course, road departments in Pennsylvania also lack such foresight.
The resort is definitely on our re-visit list. « less
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“Very disappointing”
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May 28, 2010
UFROCKS, Florida
- I stayed at the Bay Point Marriott on business, as a conference that I attended was held there. I was very disappointed with the hotel, especially after reading some good...
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- I stayed at the Bay Point Marriott on business, as a conference that I attended was held there. I was very disappointed with the hotel, especially after reading some good reviews on this site.
First, the hotel is extremely tired and is in desperate need of a makeover. The furnishings and decor of the rooms have to be at least 10 years old. I was surprised that a Marriott would appear this way, especially for the price I paid for the room. In addition, our sleep was very uncomfortable due to the inability of the air conditioner to keep us cool. We set the thermostat to 62 and still woke up numerous times throughout the night drenched in sweat (at home, we sleep with our thermostat set to 74, so we do not require it to be "freezing cold"). The air conditioner just could not keep the room cool.
This was the first hotel that I had stayed at in years that did not have an LCD television. The LCD TV really isn't that big of a deal to me, as I did not have much time to watch TV, but this supports how outdated the rooms are at this hotel and how they desperately need an upgrade.
We did get to walk the boardwalk/pier outside of the hotel, which provided great views and a very pretty walk. However, we were a little alarmed at seeing a very large skeleton right on the shore of the bay beside the boardwalk. The large animal (dog or larger judging by the spine) had to have been there for some time and the hotel staff has not removed it.
The staff was friendly at check-in, but failed to grant our request for a late checkout from 11am until noon. I was a little surprised by this, as I have never stayed at a hotel that had denied this request. We were given the reason that the hotel was fully booked, which I find somewhat hard to believe considering it was a Wednesday and when my conference ended at around 7pm, the parking lot of the hotel remained empty.
The hotel did off free wi-fi and parking, which was very nice, especially since i was traveling on business.
Finally, the location of the hotel is a little out of the way from everything else. The location is good in that it is secluded, private, and quiet. However, there really isn't much to do around the area.
In conclusion, I am sure this hotel was very nice when it opened and still has potential to be a very nice property. However, until this hotel undergoes drastic renovations, I would recommend to stay away. Maybe I am a little jaded, as I do travel a lot and have stayed in hotels much nicer than this one for a lot less money. I just feel like you can get a lot better for the money elsewhere. « less
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Amenities: Bay Point Marriott Resort
Recreation & Leisure
Situated on the Grand Lagoon of St. Andrew's Bay, the resort has its own private white sand beach. Water and sport equipment rentals available on property include wave runners, kayaks and bicycles....
Read more about Recreation & Leisure.Golf
On September 17, 2005, the Nicklaus Course at Bay Point made its debut. This Panama City Beach golf course is the first Nicklaus-designed golf course in Northwest Florida by Gary Nicklaus and the...
Read more about Golf.Spa, Salon & Fitness Center
Guests of the Marriott at Bay Point are now able to relax and rejuvenate at the new spa, which offers luxurious therapeutic treatments including messages, facials and aromatherapy using Pevonia...
Read more about Spa, Salon & Fitness Center.Dining
Kingfish Restaurant & Bar This casual elegant restaurant is a blend of Caribbean & Floridian foods and known to visitors as the Floribbean cuisine restaurant. This 320 seat restaurant offers...
Read more about Dining.Meeting & Conventions
The Marriott at Bay Point boasts the largest and most flexible meeting space along the Gulf Coast. The resort offers 40,000 square feet of contiguous meeting and function space, including the 12,000...
Read more about Meeting & Conventions.Hotel Services
Water View
Beauty Salon
24-Hour Security
Restaurant
Complimentary Resort Shuttle
Recreational Services
Whirlpool
Fitness Facility
Beach Access
