Has anyone stayed at the Marriott Doral CC in Miami?

I booked a week in June, and I haven't found any reviews. Has anyone stayed there?

I haven't stayed there but here is a trip advisor review:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...Marriott_s_Villas_at_Doral-Miami_Florida.html

In case you don't know, Doral is a western Suburb of Miami. It's not near anything touristic except the airport. It's actually a city that is pretty much an industrial park with a huge golf course and some golf related communities around it.

I guess it would be okay if you had a car and could drive to the touristic areas but it probably would not be my first choice to stay as a tourist in Miami.

That said I live in Miami and I'm sure it's a very nice resort for what it is.
I hope you like golf and traffic.

I'm an owner at Doral.

As far as the villas go, they're pretty much the standard Marriott timeshare, though they're going through renovations at the moment.

I'm not sure what you're looking for. I don't think there's much reason to go there unless you play golf, and the golf is very expensive unless you have a membership.

That said, I've talked to some families staying there who tell me the kids love the pool at the resort.

But it's basically a golf destination.

I booked the exchange yesterday, I wonder if I can cancel it? Or, will I just lose my exchange fee and week?

Can anyone provide the telephone number of the Marriott Help Desk for owners? (I'll post this question alone since it'll be kinda buried here).

alchook said:

I'm an owner at Doral.

As far as the villas go, they're pretty much the standard Marriott timeshare, though they're going through renovations at the moment.

I'm not sure what you're looking for. I don't think there's much reason to go there unless you play golf, and the golf is very expensive unless you have a membership.

That said, I've talked to some families staying there who tell me the kids love the pool at the resort.

But it's basically a golf destination.

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This sums it up. You go there to play golf.

RedHook said:

This sums it up. You go there to play golf.

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You forgot the poolside view of the underside of the airplanes on their Final Approach to Miami International Airport. It's the only pool that I can remember looking up from and being able to read the instructions under the wing of the plane for the ground crew.

After a week there, you'll definitely know which airline dominates MIA (hint: they're no longer in the Marriott Rewards program).

Wonka said:

I booked the exchange yesterday, I wonder if I can cancel it? Or, will I just lose my exchange fee and week?

Can anyone provide the telephone number of the Marriott Help Desk for owners? (I'll post this question alone since it'll be kinda buried here).

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(800) 622-1747. Interval International will generally give you 24 hours to cancel an exchange and have your fee refunded. They'll restore your deposit as a full week, but it may be unlikely that you get your week back; if your week is a high demand week, it may have been exchanged already.

It was probbly 5 years ago

that we stayed there. Lots and lots of trafic. Also a lot of restaurants that were fine. Weather wasn't so great so we didn't get a chance to swim. Most big deal (at the time) was that Tiger Woods was there!!

Suite needed a little spit and polish.

Wonka said:

I booked a week in June, and I haven't found any reviews. Has anyone stayed there?

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Just arrived back today from a week at The Villas at Doral. We stayed there on exchange and had an event in Miami over the weekend. I have to say that the weather was spectacular and that made our stay at the Doral wonderful. The rooms are very tired and they are starting to renovate next weekend. The pool at the villas is wonderful, never crowded and an easy place to relax. Pools and other facilities can also be used at the hotel itself (spa and fitness facilities). The villas are located in a busy and undesirable area. It is 7 minutes from the airport. The hotel is right next to the landing path of pretty large planes. While you are sitting on your balcony enjoying a drink, you are watching plane land every 10 minutes or so. The hotel has 5 fabulous golf courses so you basically never have to leave the property if you're into golf. Otherwise, there's a great spa right on the premises. One high end restaurant, a golf grill, a lounge and smaller pool deck restaurants. If you are happy playing golf or going to the spa, this is a good place to go . All told, we were happy to spend the week there golfing and doing the spa. I hope this helps.
Margie

We've cancelled.

After reading all these posts, I'm kinda wondering why Marriott keeps their name on such an undesirable property.

The value of the Marriott logo, is it usually implies something nice...that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Wonka said:

We've cancelled.

After reading all these posts, I'm kinda wondering why Marriott keeps their name on such an undesirable property.

The value of the Marriott logo, is it usually implies something nice...that doesn't seem to be the case here.

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I wouldn't call it undesirable. It is a bit limited in its attractiveness, I think.

If you own there and have a golf membership the golf is pretty reasonable. I've been going there annually for 9 years and have a great time every year.

I doubt I would want to go there in June, and I wouldn't want to pay rack rates for golf, but under the right circumstances it's a great place to spend a week.

I've used this location on several occasions as a one night stop on the way to the keys. I can usually get a 2BR unit for less than $200 which for four people is quite reasonable.

I think the main knock against this place is location. It's in the middle of an industrial park and situated just off the northwest corner of the Miami airport; not exactly in the heart of the tourist area. It is however very typical in style and accommodations of most MVCI properties. I not quite sure you'd want to spend a whole week there, especially if you don't golf.

Wonka said:

We've cancelled.

After reading all these posts, I'm kinda wondering why Marriott keeps their name on such an undesirable property.

The value of the Marriott logo, is it usually implies something nice...that doesn't seem to be the case here.

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Easy now, no one said that it isn't nice. I've stayed there for a weekend while in Miami for a sporting event, and it was a great place to stay. I think we're trying to tell you that if you're planning on using your week to stay at a MVC resort, this probably isn't your place unless you are really into golf or you have something else in South Florida to do. I will likely stay there again in May for a baseball weekend, but there's no way I would trade my Frenchman's Cove week to stay there, because I'm not a golfer. But that doesn't take away from the quality of the place.

I've stayed at Marriott's Villas at Doral twice, each time for a full week (as an II exchange). And I'm not a golfer.

I enjoyed both stays very much. The villas all have 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The views are wide-open toward the pool, lake, and golf course.

I was fully aware that the location is nowhere near the beach. However, it was a convenient base for day trips to such places as the Miami Metrozoo, Everglades National Park, Coral Gables, and the Art Deco District in Miami Beach. Yes, it required a rental car.

The Doral Resort across the street has a spectacular pool area with a wonderful water slide. It's open to guests from the Villas. (There's a shuttle, but we walked.)

I think Marriott's Villas at Doral can be a terrific family vacation choice, even for non-golfers. For people using Destination Club points, it's an especially good value.

As a timeshare resort, Marriott's Villas at Doral appears to be a business failure. A few buildings were built, but the rest of resort appears to have been cancelled. That was bad for Marriott, but it's not bad for guests. It means the resort pool is never crowded and all buildings are close to the pool.

Marriott keeps their name on the property because Marriott built it. And they built it to Marriott Vacation Club standards. I would certainly not call it an "undesirable property."

hi just booked 2 nights there using bonus destination points i received for enrolling my week. we are heading down to the keys and thought this would be a good starting point. How far is the closet beach? we will be renting a car and would be happy to spend 2 days in Miami on the beach and in the touristy art district. any suggestions for shopping dinner beaches & tennis?

The whole Doral resort area gained its fame initially because of the annual PGA golf tournament which was held there at Doral Country Club. The course was known as an extremely difficult one, and it developed a "reputation". The tournament itself had a great monetary purse, and was known as one of the most desired tournaments in which to play. Sort of like the annual "Crosby Clambake" at Monterey, Ca's Pebble Beach which was hosted by Bing Crosby. In it's heyday, Doral was one of the big boys too.

The field of golfers naturally was one of the best, as every golfer wanted to be seen there, and wanted to win there, and over the years the tournament, golf course, and resort grew in fame, too. Because of the reputation and glitz, Doral became one of the "golf meccas", to which amateur golfers from all over the country flew with their buddies to experience. Was sort of like the Pinehurst NC area has always been.

Marriott tried to capitalize on all of that, but after many years, the tournament lost a bit of its glamor, and now the resort has suffered. I think the area adjacent to the course slowly drew it down. The whole experience became old. Several of the old-time big tournaments across the board fell on hard times. The hosts from Hollywood who held their own tournaments (Danny Thomas, Sammy Davis Jr, and others, slowly died off, and Doral has gone the same way.

I also think the demise of the aura of Doral can be attributed to the rise and popularity of the TPC golf course and tournament at Sawgrass in Jacksonville, Fl. For over a decade that has become one of the golfing meccas for amateurs. The prestige of the tournament (now considered the fifth "major") has superceded that of Doral.

Doral is still a big tournament, but not as much so, and the magnetism of the course and resort has faded. Simple as that. Can't see it becoming any better. Still a nice place golf-wise, but before, golfers ignored the location just because they wanted to be there, airport or not. Now, it seems to matter.

Personally I think George Bush had a lot to do with it, but.......

"As a timeshare resort, Marriott's Villas at Doral appears to be a business failure. A few buildings were built, but the rest of resort appears to have been cancelled. That was bad for Marriott, but it's not bad for guests. It means the resort pool is never crowded and all buildings are close to the pool."


I'm wondering why Hyatt seemed to open up/ take over a property at the NE corner of the Blue course? It's called "Hyatt Miami at the Blue" and from their website it shows that it has 1 and 3 br villas. Wouldn't they have learned something from Marriotts mistakes?

As far as beach access the closest beach i think is South beach.Ycan take the Dolphin Expressway east to the MacArthur causeway. Be prepared for a lot of traffic and a difficult or expensive time parking.There lots of resturants and bars along Ocean Drive to people watch

jme said:

Marriott tried to capitalize on all of that, but after many years, the tournament lost a bit of its glamor, and now the resort has suffered.

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The tournament is now a World Golf Championship and has more glamor than it ever did, attracting almost every one of the top ranked players in the world.

alchook said:

The tournament is now a World Golf Championship and has more glamor than it ever did, attracting almost every one of the top ranked players in the world.

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To me, the tournament is not as much fun as it used to be......what used to be The Doral Open is no more, and the feeling has just changed, at least for me.

The WGC is new and big, but ordinary golfers (amateur golfers on "golf trips") are not drawn there as much anymore, for whatever reason. The new tournament is about as much fun as the Fed Ex Cup debacle.......for me, it's like, WHO CARES? I seldom watch anymore, ESPECIALLY the Fed Ex Cup. In the former days of the traditional tournaments, I was glued to the screen every week.

I sincerely miss the older tournaments......I've been to most, so I know. Played in a couple of the pro-ams.

Another point----the new equipment of the last 20 years has changed the difficulty of the Doral "Blue Monster" course....it now plays a lot shorter because of the length of the tee shots, etc., etc. The extreme challenge of the "monster aspect" is now gone.

You can only lengthen a course so much. It's not the same. I still say it's lost something, and whatever that is, it's been felt by regular golfers, who do not respond by paying out the ears to fly down there. I used to play it, now I wouldn't. Not downplaying the WGC, but it's not the same. Look at the TOP 30 PGA money list players------do those guys really excite you?

jme said:

To me, the tournament is not as much fun as it used to be......what used to be The Doral Open is no more, and the feeling has just changed, at least for me.

The WGC is new and big, but ordinary golfers (amateur golfers on "golf trips") are not drawn there as much anymore, for whatever reason. The new tournament is about as much fun as the Fed Ex Cup debacle.......for me, it's like, WHO CARES? I seldom watch anymore, ESPECIALLY the Fed Ex Cup. In the former days of the traditional tournaments, I was glued to the screen every week.

I sincerely miss the older tournaments......I've been to most, so I know. Played in a couple of the pro-ams.

You can only lengthen a course so much. It's not the same. I still say it's lost something, and whatever that is, it's been felt by regular golfers, who do not respond by paying out the ears to fly down there. I used to play it, now I wouldn't. Not downplaying the WGC, but it's not the same. Look at the TOP 30 PGA money list players------do those guys really excite you?

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Well, I can't you any stats, but I've been going there for ten years now and I can tell you that the size of the crowd has increased exponentially in that time. Now, from a spectator's perspective that cuts both ways, but saying the tournament has lost its glamor is like remarking that no one goes to a restaurant because it's too crowded.

And yes, I think the top money leaders are very exciting to watch. I'd wager that the talent pool in the 20-25 year-old age bracket is the strongest it's been in history. In a way that, too, cuts both ways, because there's too much talent for any individual to dominate the game the way pros did in the past. But I thiink it's pretty exciting not knowing who's going to get hot on any given weekend.

Doral has lots of problems, mostly involving dated facilities that need a huge cash inflow. Donald Trump may or may not be the answer. I'm not sure what his plans are.

But the tournament is bigger than ever.

My family is staying there one night on the 21st of Jan because we could not get a convenient flight onto St. Kitts from IAD so we are staying over the one night. Will not be cooking. Is there a restaurant in the resort or across the street that we can walk to for dinner?

nothing in walking distance except the hotel facilities.

KathyPet said:

My family is staying there one night on the 21st of Jan because we could not get a convenient flight onto St. Kitts from IAD so we are staying over the one night. Will not be cooking. Is there a restaurant in the resort or across the street that we can walk to for dinner?

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There is a nice little 94th Aerosquadron near the airport. It's not in Doral but it's nice watching the planes taking off and landing. They have a great churrasco steak there.

Doral also has alot of restaurants. Mostly chains like Flanagans, Chevy's, Macaroni grill but there are a few restaurants that are local joints like Shorty's BBQ (my favorite BBQ in Miami), Ale House, Tony Romas and an all time local favorite Cuban place La Carreta.