Who doesn’t love a warm beautiful beach location, especially when it is cold in much of the country? When flights went on sale to go to Ft. Lauderdale, we jumped on it and reserved BeachPlace Towers. We live in Utah, so needless to say, leaving the cold and snow was a welcome adventure. Here is the view of our airplane window as we were leaving the gate in SLC.
BeachPlace Towers is not directly on the beach, but that doesn’t hinder access to it. There is a street between the resort and the beach, but no high-rise buildings. You walk through a small open air market to the street. Then you cross the street at a crosswalk, and the beach is right there — it isn’t any further away than a resort actually ON the beach with a big pool and grounds.
When to Go
My general rule of thumb is if I can drive to the resort, I stay 5 nights, checking in on Sunday. If I fly to the resort, I stay 7 nights. That maxes points — but we all know that sometimes adjustments are needed, and I’m the first to make them to meet my schedule.
The weather is great all year round for the beach — the temps range from mid 70’s to lower 90’s in the summer. The water is warm and the sand is soft compared to the CA beaches. Some important dates you need to be aware of when scheduling is Spring Break (March – April) and hurricane season (June – November). This doesn’t mean you NOT go during these times — just be aware of the potential issues. We went the first week of March, and Spring Break was just getting started. It did not affect our vacation in any way. We felt safe and had no issues in any way. Marriott did an awesome job of vamping up security at every entrance and throughout the public areas. I have never been there during the peak of Spring Break. I could see how it might affect things, mostly restaurants and walking around the area.
September or first half of December is low — the points required during those times are at the lowest. It takes only 1175 MVC points to stay 7 nights during those weeks in a 1-bedroom villa. May would be a great month to go with only 1500 MVC points required in a 1-bedroom for a week.
Prep Before You Go
As with all reservations to MVC Resorts, you increase the chance of getting a wonderful room if you call them about a week before you arrive. I explain all about doing that in this previous post https://maxingmarriott.com/2020/09/25/tip-alert-how-do-i-get-that-room/ . We did that and got an Ocean view room on the 14th floor — NICE! This was the view from our room.
The resort does not provide a shuttle from the airport so plan on taking a taxi or Uber. We took a taxi to the resort for about $25 and an Uber back to the airport for about $20.
As of now for COVID, face masks are required as soon as you enter the building, but not required outside. You are to wear a mask everywhere inside the building or when near others at the pool (getting cheese and wine, etc.)
Resort image courtesy of Marriott
Stayed there several times and always a pleasant experience. Rental of beach chairs and umbrella across on the beach is rather expensive and only complementary to neighboring Ritz Carlton guests. It’s unfortunate they charge guests a daily parking fee which should be waived at least to owners or Chairman’s club. Lots to do in the immediate area, boat rental and charters and very many restaurants nearby. Always a fun getaway even for a few days.
Beach chairs and umbrellas are expensive — I agree. We ended up buying two cheap beach chairs and a beach umbrella at the CVS — paid only about $65 and used them for the entire week. Then we donated them to someone at the beach when we left. They were happy, and we saved lots of money. (I’ll post about that in an upcoming post). And as for the parking fee for EVERYONE, it is something I have been outspoken about in the past as well. Sounds like we are on the same page. They claim that they are working to improve benefits for Chairman’s Club.
If you have any suggestions on restaurants to “not miss” or activities to for sure do, please share. It was our first time there, and we obviously didn’t do it all. Thanks for your comments!