Marriott makes it very confusing because of all the terms they use - oceanside, oceanview, oceanfront, oceanvista (which is unique to SurfWatch, I believe, because of that building's placement on the marsh,) gardenview, islandview, etc...
I generally think of "oceanfront" (and "oceanvista" at SurfWatch) as units which face the ocean directly, with a slim chance that if you are placed on a lower-floor then trees/vegetation may somewhat block your view.
"Oceanview" should mean that you won't be direct oceanfront although you'll have some sort of view of the nearest ocean, but it's a crapshoot whether that will be a wide expanse or a sliver depending on how far you lean out from your balcony.
"Oceanside" means, to me, that you'll be placed in a unit which is not direct oceanfront and may or may not provide a view of the ocean - again it might be a wide expanse or could be a sliver - and your chances of getting any ocean view or the best ocean view of the lot are much better if you're placed on a high floor and/or in one of the buildings closer to the ocean. (For example, two of Barony's four "oceanside" buildings have expansive ocean views from the high floors; the other two are placed behind those and from some of the units in the back you won't see the ocean at all.)
With "gardenview" or "islandview" I pretty much resign myself to the fact that I could be placed on a high or low floor that doesn't offer ANY view of ANY ocean in the vicinity. With a little luck I might get a lovely view of the resort grounds, with the worst luck possible I might be looking at a parking lot or dumpster.
Our standard request with any stay is for "a high floor." The view is important to us, though, so II exchanges have always left me a little nervous right up to check-in. Being able to choose the view type is one of the DC's best features, IMO.
